Building Group Interests

       Group studies in school develop very much like family projects at home. Fortunately for some children and youth, revised programs in a growing number of schools make group studies an important part of the whole program. The day-by-day driblet assignment has been found of little use in the development of satisfying interests and therefore a hindrance to growth and thorough mastery of study techniques. An adolescent characterized this piecemeal program as "just getting you interested in something and then yanking you away to study something else." "You don't have time to really learn anything," another student added."

       From twelve through sixteen, boys and girls have reached a degree of maturity which makes long-term interests a more satisfying approach to studying. They have even acquired a desire akin to specialization, which ought to be nurtured, not defeated. We find youngsters of this age following a hobby with true scholarly zeal, not only for several years, but even into adulthood. One girl who at fourteen began experimenting with cross fertilization in her mother's flower garden, persisted in this work and is now planning a career in horticulture. The Permanence of Interests and Their Relation To Abilities by by Thorndike shows that preferences in books for this age group (4th grade through collage) reveals a great interest in stories depicting characters of various professions. This more serious development of interests is greatly aided by a good school and home program. Budding interests are thereby stimulated rather than crowded into an insignificant place in the child's life. 

       "But what," a parent may ask, "can we do, if our family has not had the benefit of such previous fun in reading and enjoying things together?" Merely buying books, magazines, and encyclopedias is not the answer, although a home library obviously becomes a necessity. A reasonable suggestion is to seize upon the first gleam of interest that appears. In fact, arouse interest. How quickly children take up a lead! A father at noonday lunch related a joke he had read in a magazine. That evening at dinner, his two children told jokes which they had read. Humor and nonsense are necessary in most lives. Children respond quickly to joke-telling discussions. From such reading and sharing, other activities quickly spring. Of course, the ever available comic is another excellent and refreshing medium for developing mutual reading experiences. 

       Parents might begin reading children's school texts and reference books and comment upon what they, too, are learning which is new to them. Children love to feel on a par with adult learners. We should give them this pleasure more frequently. In many families, children draw their most precious books from the library to be read aloud by either child or parent. Have you tried this with Alice in Wonderland, for example? Children, full of enthusiasm for some book being read, often insist upon Father and Mother enjoying this favorite volume too. Even if it is not always convenient, some time should be taken for these requests. 

       Reading is an experience interwoven in a varied, colorful, and interesting day-after-day group life in home and school. Its development cannot be assured merely by adults, parents, and teachers giving their young charges something to do. Instead, it involves the adults' interests and their ready activities too. And that makes it fun for adults as well as for the current young generation.

• National PTA Family Reading Experiences Engages Families in Literacy
• 5 powerful strategies for learning to read when you are an adult who hates to read... - For parents who want to get this "reading through modeling" under control before their baby is born...

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