When to start reading to kid
Why we all need to start reading aloud to our kids | Keisha Siriboe | TEDxWanChai
I'm just curious how many parents are in
this crowd with children between the
ages of zero to five clap hand raise
amen preach anything just let me know
who's here okay
we got a few parents in here now the
whole audience let's give them a round
of applause because being a parent it's
no small thing
and the reason why I have such a se
myself is like an ally and advocate for
parents because at this stage in my
academic career I am privileged to sit
on some high levels of education policy
globally I said on three different major
organizations and we're all looking at
this outcome how do we prepare children
to thrive in the future what does a
student in 2030 who's going to be at
this level in their academic career what
skills do they need to know and if
you're a parent that's a terrifying
question because whether we say it out
loud or not we don't really know what
education is going to look like in 2030
we are all putting together our best
educated guesses but technology is
rapidly changing there's a buzzword that
flows around 21st century skills have
you heard it it's like a selling phrase
on a lot of things 21st century skills
in education it's like a sexy word you
know like 21st century skills and you
automatically assume that I know
everything what I don't but here's the
thing what we're saying when we use to
turn 21st century skills we're trying to
provide you with our best educated
assumption on what education is going to
look like and what skills students need
to have to thrive in the future and if
you look at the World Economic Forum's
this is their review of lifelong
learning and these are the skill sets
they feel students need we have far more
here
under foundational literacies then
reading writing and arithmetic and for
the parents grandparents adults
stakeholders in the room if we're honest
with ourselves the education that we're
preparing children for is not the
education we received so we're all
learning at the same time but it doesn't
stop there
there we go from foundational literacies
to competencies and we start pulling in
skills like we moved past literacy to
digital literacy global competency now
we're thinking about critical thinking
skills and creativity and innovation
which are buzzwords within the larger
community in itself but then we move on
to character traits and if you look at
the OECD's education 2030 framework they
have designed 11 well-being areas I'm
going to pause so you can like look at
some of these notable suggestions these
are all areas we feel children should
have if they're going to do well in the
future as adults if you look at this how
many of these skills can you say you
know what in Hong Kong we are knocking
this out of the park like civic
engagement
you know we Rock 2014 you know we we we
gotta work we're clear on that housing
you know apartment hunting here is
enjoyable the landlords are the best
whoever my future landlord is I love you
don't raise my rich and the biggest one
work-life balance if anyone in the room
feels like you understand work/life
balance please let me know I'll try to
get you on stage next year because you
have a message Hong Kong really needs to
hear but for the parents who are in the
room and you know you're laughing along
but in the bit in the pit of your
stomach is this nervousness because
they're like you know what I really have
no idea how I'm gonna do this or how
much it's gonna cost me to get my child
of this skill set I am here to share
with you a research-based evidence
proven resource that is outstanding
parents
reading aloud and parent-child reading
aloud between the ages of 0 to 5 and
even further but during these
foundational years it's a powerful thing
now unfortunately in Hong Kong a lot of
times when I say things about parents
our reading aloud I get parents that
hear me and they think ok I get my child
to the point where they can read and
then I envision them reading alone
reading very impressive books like
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate
Events at the age of 6 you know because
we're we're hard achievers in Hong Kong
like I want to see them reading dense
books and loving it by themselves and I
want to say actually that's one outcome
but the power of parent-child reading
aloud it's more than just the skill it's
the bonding and if anyone has experience
being read to or reading to a child
there is something and I'm gonna use an
unscientific term to describe it it is
absolutely magical if you experienced
enjoying a story with a child but that
magic is not sprinkling through Hong
Kong the way I'd hope the theme for this
TEDx is emergence this was my moment of
emergence I was in 2014 I was starting
my doctoral research in Hong Kong on
early childhood literacy and you know I
told you a bit of who I am and I came in
after doing a master's in Beijing so I
already knew I already knew I wanted to
research this area and I knew I was
passionate about parent-child reading
aloud I'm like I'm gonna come to Hong
Kong and I heard about the refugee
situation so I'm like I'm gonna be the
Michelle Obama of this movement and I'm
gonna like help equality and all of that
it's gonna be awesome and then I found
out the rate of Hong Kong's engagement
in early childhood literacy activities
we were left guys we were left and I was
like and I had to make a decision I
decided right then and there I could
spend the next 4 years getting my
credentials and then addressing the
issue or I could drop my bucket right
where I was
and get involved in helping and that's
what I did I went to parents where they
were if you talk to parents and you ask
them why they don't engage they'll tell
you time so I went to the corporate
office I didn't stop there I went to to
the communities I went to the refugee
Asylum centers and I shared everything I
knew about effective early childhood
literacy and it boiled down to these
four things talk read sing play now if
you want to hear more you got to ask me
back because I'm down to like four
minutes but I will tell you a little bit
more about read if you can read at least
15 minutes a day the research says
that's the minimum amount of time you
need to invest in order to start seeing
some outcomes but I want to go beyond
just the 15 minutes I want to talk to
you about the power of reading in a way
that ties back into those 21st century
skills one foundational skill is global
competency the ability to collaborate
and work well with others technology has
made the world flat and there's a high
probability that in the future students
are going to work with students from
different parts of the world at earlier
and earlier stages what better way to
introduce them to the world
that through a children's book that
presents the child being a child
something they relate to and who better
to teach them that than by someone they
love more than anyone in this world the
parent in the safest place that should
be the safest place the home and if you
allow yourself to engage in this idea of
reading aloud with the child maybe we
can do something about this
the pearls stands for the progress and
international reading literacy study and
it's issued every five years 2011 was
the most recent cycle when I started as
of December 2017 they release the latest
results the 2016 pearls good news we
moved up two spots I've been looking at
the United States and England no no no
we're not higher than them they didn't
take the take-home survey so they're
just there to let you know like they
didn't participate we but we beat Macau
and we beat Morocco
you know whoo
we're on our way Hong Kong stories a bus
but I tell you this much in all
seriousness we got a great deal of work
to do we do and whether we are reading
aloud with our children engaging with
our children in loving ways or if we
feel like we're being absorbed into the
wider pressure of society that's trying
to make us think we need to be on the
cutting edge of every new class or every
new course our children are following in
our footsteps and this opportunity to be
in front of you is to let you know there
are people like myself who are
advocating for you who take issue with
the fact that you are dealing with a lot
of pressure financially socially to
raise children that meet this ideal
that's always changing but one thing
remains the same if you are willing to
set up a tradition of reading aloud with
your child creating a pathway of
storytelling which opens up conversation
you can build a bridge we don't know
what the world is going to look like but
if you have established a pattern of
reading aloud with your children talking
about civic events using that story time
to have conversation you can pull into
that into the future and when you notice
your child may be dealing with bullying
may be dealing with emotional issues
you can grab a storybook you can sit
down with that child and you can talk to
each other through a story you create a
space a dialogue and you remind them of
the pattern you already have so it's not
some new thing they already know this is
what we do so my call to action to you
all in another five years
another pearls exam will come forward
let's all come back with a story to tell
about how we built a bridge that
connects our children to a better
tomorrow
[Applause]
[Music]
