PUSD Staggered Reading Scheduled For Coming School Year

A child's education does not start when the child enters the class room in the morning and the child's education does not stop when the child leaves the classroom in the afternoon.

I am inclined to believe some parents have that perception. A child's education is the parents responsibilty. A child's education does not start and stop at the classroom door.

Some parents are calling for another parcel tax election. They are calling for another parcel tax election because their perception is, this will resolve the staggered reading schedule in PUSD classrooms.

Parents must get involved with their childrens's reading skills starting at age three and remaining involved well past the K-3 grades. When your children are at home after school, encourage and help the children to read.

At age three and four a child can point and pronounce what they see. A parent can write and spell for the child, what the child is pointing and announcing. The parent should encourage the child to repeat what the parent wrote and to also spell it.

By age five the child can read comic books. They can read these easily and comprehend the text, to be captured with the story. A child reading a comic book is learning to read.

Encourage your child to ask for your help to understand a word, ask the child to spell the word he or she is struggling with. Discuss the meaning of the word with your child.

By the third grade the child can be reading the Nancy Drew Mysteries and enjoying them. A child at age ten should be picking up the local newspaper, and be encouraged to read what may interest him or her. Ask the child to read the headline on each story.

When I was a child at age five my parents allowed me to read comic books. The comic books were Dick Tracy, Batman, Superman, and many others. In the third grade I read all the Nancy Drew Mysteries.

My Mother would go to the local library and check out books for me because I was not old enough  and was not allowed into the library. We did not have a television in our home when I was a child. The television arrived when I was fourteen starting high school.

In the third grade my reading assignment everyday was to walk over to the seventh and eighth grade class rooms and read to them for thirty minutes while standing up in front of the class.

Parents need to be involved with their children's reading skills when they are not in the classroom. Parents must encourage their children to read while at home, one to two hours each day. The television is the reward after reading.

Parents should encourage their children and perhaps issue assignment for their children to read one book each week then write a book report on it. The book can be a short story and of the childs choosing.

Having another parcel tax election will not educate your child to read. Another parcel tax election will be defeated. Think about this issue, Pleasanton property owners pay premium taxes now.

The majority of home owners in Pleasanton are involved in business, are business owners, and/or manage corporations. They understand what it takes to reduce costs to be viable and a leader in business.

PUSD should apply basic business fundamentals to reduce costs. Learn how to operate as a lean highly competitive institution at the top of all education institutions.