10th June 2016 1:00
By Blue Tutors
A survey has recently revealed that many parents are now bribing their children to read at home instead of using their phones or playing computer games. The survey by Coventry university revealed that parents offer sweet, money, extra screen time and trips as incentives for their children to read. The researchers found that teachers also incentivise their pupils to read, with promises of extra creative activities such as drawing or painting in exchange for extra reading time. While many parents have said that incentivising children to read works well, it is a little alarming that this is what it takes for children to read. Shouldn’t reading be its own reward? And how should private tutors respond to this – should we follow suit, or try to show that reading can be fun?
One of the problems with offering incentives for reading is that there is an inherent suggestion that reading is boring. Some parents incentivise their children to help with household chores, and reading clearly shouldn’t be categorised as a chore. If that is the attitude parents take, their children will assume that reading is dull. As a general rule, private tuition is seen as a privilege, but as every private tutor who’s worked with primary school pupils knows, it isn’t enough to tell them it’s a privilege. You have to make it fun, and the same goes for reading.
One of the problems highlighted by the parents surveyed is that the books available for children - especially those in school libraries – do not capture their interest. They point out that available books are unimaginative and, crucially, out of date. Rather than bribing children to read, tutors, schools and parents should do what they can to ensure that the books available have interesting storylines the children today can relate to. Of course in part this goes to an issue of school funding, which those campaigning for children’s literacy should address. However, rather than bribing students, a better solution would be to reinvigorate reading for children.