Development of Reading Skills

Abstract

In the past two or three years we have witnessed more interest in the teaching of reading skills than in any comparable period within my memory. The press, radio, television, parent groups, and professional meetings have brought to the fore many controversial issues in this area. This interest in the teaching of reading is indeed encouraging if those of us in schools maintain a calm and inquiring attitude, appraising carefully the values and the limitations of the techniques we use. But defense of the status quo is no substitute for scrutiny of our practices. Therefore the most urgent challenge to schools today is to take stock of the methods actually used by teachers, to appraise the results achieved, and to strengthen our reading programs in every possible way. Only after this is done can we interpret to the public, with confidence, our current practices in teaching reading. In this article I can do no more than highlight certain trends in the teaching of reading skills in the elementary and the high schools.