German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Fatsinger called for children to read more, in light of the poor reading skills of many primary school students.
The Minister’s invitation comes on the occasion of National Reading Day, which falls on Friday. Tests showed that one in four children in Germany suffers from reading problems at the end of primary school.
The minister, who belongs to the Free Democratic Party, said in statements to the German News Agency (DPA) that the consequences are grave, and she explained: “Because there is no other basic skill that has such a decisive impact on the entire subsequent educational path, and thus on the path of life as well.”
A recent poll showed that in more than a third of families, parents rarely or never read to their children aged between one and eight years. The minister said: “This has a direct impact on their linguistic development,” explaining that whoever reads to children helps them learn to read well on their own. “Therefore, we must read to all children: on National Reading Day or on any other day,” she said.
National Reading Day is an initiative in which the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit, the Leisen (Read) Foundation, and the German Railways Deutsche Bahn participate. Since 2004, the initiative has been keen to emphasize the importance of reading to children every November.
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