Literacy scores / Daddy, read me a story

Every year, when those charts appear indicating Israel's discouraging standing in the world regarding scholastic achievements and reading comprehension, the crying commences: Why do the People of the Book not read books? And why is it that Israeli children, whose great-grandfathers mastered the Hebrew alphabet in heder at the age of 3, and whose grandfathers could recite by heart entire chapters of the Bible, have difficulty following their first-grade primer?

But the situation is not all that dire. First of all, because wealthy Norway, which nurtures its citizens, lags far behind us, and secondly, because Israel is a nation of immigrants that is undergoing far-reaching cultural changes.

Hebrew is spoken in the street, but in many Israeli homes it is not the native language. Comparison to Russian skills in Russia or Flemish skills in Belgium is silly. How many Flemish children were born to families with a grandfather who speaks Iraqi Arabic and a grandmother who speaks Russian or Ukranian?

In general, standardized tests are not suitable for complex societies, and even if they take variables and gradations into account, they might miss the point.

Not that we don't have a problem here, because we certainly do, and it is twofold. First, second-graders in Israel demonstrated better literacy skills than their fellow fifth-graders. Presumably the crowded classrooms and ever-less-qualified teachers, as a result of miserable terms of unemployment, don't help to develop the intellectual ability of the individual pupil.

Second, there is a correlation between parents reading to and with their kids and those kids' literacy skills later on. Isn't it obvious? Moms or dads who read to their little ones every night, from the moment their tiny hands reach out to turn the pages of the simplest picture book, provide their children with excellent verbal tools. This skill must be be instilled in young parents even before the baby has learned to walk. It is not the school system's job, but it is certainly a job the state must shoulder itself.

Literacy is particularly weak among Arab children, and not by chance: children's literature is not a natural part of Arab literature, which has a rich oral tradition.

The education and welfare systems have enough guidance programs for parents of young children. They just have to be implemented and strengthened, particularly among the Arab public.