[ridesthemiles]

All 4 of us kids could do basic reading when we got to first grade.

Knew our colors

Knew our numbers

Knew our ABC’s

BUT THEN-—WE had parents who could read/write/speak English/ do math

Not so sure many ‘parents’ in the USA can do that any more

[rdl6989]

I was reading newspapers in fourth grade.

[Jolla]

My great aunt (grandmas little sister) lived one block away and was a grade school teacher. I had the alphabet and numbers down before first grade (sugar rock candy is a great motivator for a little boy). First book she gave me was Sherlock Holmes.

I thank the Lord I was educated in the 60s and 70s.

[PapaBear3625]

“BUT THEN-—WE had parents who could read/write/speak English/ do math”

AND THEN you had TEACHERS who could read/write/speak English/ do math.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/new-teachers-stressed-about-losing-licences-if-they-fail-provinces-mandatory-math-test

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2019/03/13/why-so-many-aspiring-teachers-cant-pass-a-licensing-test—and-why-it-matters/?sh=7f03b487321a

[Bernard Marx]

BUT THEN-—WE had parents who could read/write/speak English/ do math Not so sure many ‘parents’ in the USA can do that any more

Truth. We've devolved into a basically illiterate, innumerate society. It began in the 1960s and has only grown worse.

[LibertarianLiz]

My two children were the same. I started reading little picture books to them when they were not even able to sit up by themselves. I have forgotten how many copies of the Muppet Babies Alphabet" book that I purchased. Also, a little book on colors. But, I was a stay-at-home mother and had the time to sit and read to my children. They are still readers.

[Jaysin]

Wow! Very true.

There was a time when education actually meant something.

[Vermont Lt]

If they could read in Spanish by first grade, at least that indicated someone worked with them.

But, these kids get no help at home.

[arthurus]

Taught my 4 kids to read when they were three and four years old. I used phonics, of course. I had realized that what was being taught in school was a slicked version of hieroglyphics and hopeless. The reading revolution when literacy became a property of larger populations than the rulers was the invention of the alphabet with letters that have particular sounds. So we went back to hieroglyphics to make reading again a property of the elite.

[DrewsMum]

But it’s actually more ideal for kids to learn to read about age 7 in average.

[SecAmndmt]

“All 4 of us kids could do basic reading when we got to first grade.”

That’s great, but the school system *should* be able to teach reading and writing IF the parents do not. But the government school system is a disaster. When conservatives and Christians (many of whom still support that system in spite of all the damage done) finally wake up and get their heads out of their rear ends, it may change. But I doubt it. Too late.