Doctors in the U.S. and Canada encouraged to promote early literacy to families – CBC Sept. 12, 2018

A Sept. 12, 2018 CBC article is entitled: “‘Nothing short of remarkable’: Study finds parents’ chats with their toddlers pay off 10 years later: Doctors in the U.S. and Canada encouraged to promote early literacy to families.”

I began my teaching career in 1975 (I retired from the Peel District School Board in 2006) by working with infants and toddlers, as a substitute teacher at a day care centre in Toronto.

As I have noted elsewhere, the infants and toddlers that I had met in the 1970s, starting during the years I lived in Vancouver as a student at Simon Fraser University, decided that I was, for them, a celebrity. It was they who told me, by their enthusiastic response to my presence (the infants, toddlers, and I all shared a keen sensibility, with regard to what can be communicated through movement and body language), that I should pursue a teaching career. Otherwise, the thought would never have occurred to me.

I have always been impressed with the worldview and experiences – indeed, with the wisdom – of this age group, as with other age groups. I’ve been following research in the area of early years learning for many years. This article is of much interest to me. It ties in with a lot of previous research in this area.