By Mayrene Bates
Reading has been called the gateway skill for learning. Many teachers tell us that when a student is underachieving, the underlying cause is many times lack of reading skills. Most research studies agree that poor preschool children hear fewer words than wealthy children.
Growing up in the South, my siblings and I were expected to be seen but not heard, and when visitors came, my mom always asked us to leave the room. I hated that, because I loved listening to the adults talk, plus, there wasn’t anything interesting to do outside. So, when it was our turn to make home visits, I preferred to stay home alone and read old newspapers that my mother brought home from work.