Read on Twitter
There was A LOT of positive coverage for the @clpe1 #ReflectingRealities report yesterday. But the inevitable ‘why do we even need this’ was there ending up in frankly racist comments directed at & largely dealt with by @DapsDraws & @nikeshshukla. (thread…)
2. @clpe1 wasn’t tagged so I missed it 'til today but, for the sake of all our nation’s children, we need to be clear about this. To be a real reader, to read for pleasure you need to be able to make a connection with what you read…
3. You can make a connection with a bear or a character that doesn’t look like you, of course you can, but if you NEVER see or read about a character that is like you the likelihood of that connection is reduced...
4. by having libraries, bookshops and shelves where 33% of children do not see themselves we are creating inequality, we are making it more difficult for a third of our children to become readers, we are literally putting barriers in their way...
5. that’s not just unfair, its educationally and economically stupid. Reading for Pleasure at age 11 has more impact on your future success than almost any other factor – so it is not OK to make it more challenging for some children...
6. And more than that. We know from the work of @empathylabuk and others that READING DEVELOPS EMPATHY. Reading stories teaches children about other people’s lives and viewpoints, being a reader makes you a better member of society...
7. So @clpe1 we publish the survey because we want to ensure that EVERYBODY has the best chance of being a reader and because, right now, they don’t.
