Jessica Lin: Work with teachers to aid reading

Regarding the Feb. 9 Point of View “Poor reading skills stymie children and the N.C. economy”: While I agree with Jim Goodnight’s opinion that children in North Carolina need improved reading skills in order to be successful, I disagree vehemently with his recommendations.

As a former North Carolina public high school English teacher and a current elementary program reading volunteer, I would urge the CEOs of the Business Roundtable to spend time in actual state public school classrooms talking to teachers and asking them what they need.

Do they need more data systems (created by SAS), or do they need more books in their classrooms? Do they need more so-called alignment or more resources and smaller class sizes?

I believe we need to cultivate reading as the joyful life skill it truly is. Reading should not be just a means to an end. Creating students with adequate reading skills in order to have a more able workforce should not be the ultimate goal. Maybe it’s good for companies’ bottom lines. But we should want more.

Let us create lifelong readers and learners who devour books and hunger for knowledge. Partner with teachers. They may not have the deep pockets of CEOs, but they do have the deep reservoir of knowledge and experience to help students succeed.

This story was originally published February 13, 2017 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Jessica Lin: Work with teachers to aid reading."