NOV. 30 - DEC. 6, 1986 THE MICHIGAN CITIZEN
7
OPINION ".
�
eading
Together
A mother and her nine year old n h d been coming to the
libr ry together for about six wee . U ually, she helped him
lect book but on thi day the mother allowed her n to
lect his book alone while she went to the adult shelves to
find book for herself.
When they met at the check-out de , the boy, with a big
grim on hi face, showed hi mother the boo he had chosen.
The boo a Henry and Ribsy by B verly Cleary, a humorous
tory which ha been a favorite with children for many year.
The mother smiling ith mile disapproval, said to him
"You've already re d that book. Go and put that one back
and find another one.'
The boy I ked at his mother as though he wanted to de
bate the i ue but though better of it and slowly trudged
back to the children's section to find a different book.
This is a frequent eene between parents and children in
the library. Parents want their children to make progre s in
reading they encourage the child to read as many books
s po sible. Thi is good but it i al go d to allow children
, to re-read book a many times as they like.
hildren want and need the curity which come from
familiarity. bo k which has been read and enjoyed be
come a comf rtable a an old friend. It is very much like
becoming attached t a favorite blanket or toy.
Reading the ame book again and again will not impede
the child' progre in developin reading ills. On the con
trary, it an help tremendously. The child is not only gaining
pra ti e. but al devel pin onfidence and curity in
reading. hildren wh become highly literate have u ually
had the exp rienc of readin the arne books many times.
anting t re-re dab 0 i a ign that the child i begin
nin to find plea ure in re ding, whi h is nece ry if the
hild i to ntinue reading voluntarily. Children wh are
con tanly challenged in reading n develop a di taste for
it nd turn a y fr m b and reading as n as they can
fely do . But tho h have found th t b can b a
urce of comfort and relaxati n are well on the way to
devleoping trong reading habit which will last throughout
their live.
o d n't feel dismayed when your child de elops a crush
cert in boo. Encour e this buddin Jove affair ith
and re ding.
, label ...
�Madein
You don't have to answer that
u
ne line tatement
70 million dollar
11 or.
When Wilkins pre d the
i ue the bewildered Detroit
ho J Bard president Gloria
obbins looked toward School
Superintendent Arthur Jeffer
n a any puppet would '100
her puppeteer to pull the
trings. Jeffer n made an
uncharacteri tic re pon. He
said 'Y u don't have to an
swer that." Hi co r facade
wa in that in tance under
pre ure shattered. When Wil
kins pressed for a reply Jef
ferson finally composed him If
and called for a comment on
the matter from the front row.
At every school board meet
ing the front row i filled by
board executive that are alled
upon the answer any question
that Jeffer n can't handle. In
this ca the reply gave the
blandest facts of the ca .
But one stood out. The bard
is paying 4.25% interest on
the 7Q mil. That amount
to about 300,000 intere .
That's a lot of money for
merely two single line entries
in the info pac et that wa
pa d out. Moreover, the
company that was handling the
note wa not discu d in the
previous E.E.O. & Purchasing
Committee meeting. But, what
the hell, it's only a $70 mil-
lion dollar transaction.
ilkin questions remained
fundamentally unan ered. I
the school bard increa in its
deficit? I there a significant
cash-flow cri is that i being
hidden fr m the 'people?
Doe n't a transacti n of this
kind de rve full explanati n
without pr dding by a gadfly?
Why can't the ho I b rd
pre ident answer que ions ith
out Jeffer n? D esn't she
know what' going on? And
finally, what i this crap, You
don't have to answer that!]!"
Thoughts expressed here do
not necessarily reflect those of
the publisher, but belong entire
ly to their author.