Via ‘n skakel by De Papieren Man land ek op The Chronicle of Higher Education se webblad waar ek lees van besonder interessante navorsing wat gedoen is oor die verband tussen die aantal boeke in ‘n ouerhuis en die skoolprestasie van die kinders in daardie huishouding. Die artikel, wat na aanleiding van die navorsing deur Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, gepubliseer is, is ongelukkig nie op die internet beskikbaar nie. Die samevatting lees egter soos volg: “Children growing up in homes with many books get 3 years more schooling than children from bookless homes, independent of their parents’ education, occupation, and class. This is as great an advantage as having university educated rather than unschooled parents, and twice the advantage of having a professional rather than an unskilled father. It holds equally in rich nations and in poor; in the past and in the present; under Communism, capitalism, and Apartheid; and most strongly in China. Data are from representative national samples in 27 nations, with over 70,000 cases, analyzed using multi-level linear and probit models with multiple imputation of missing data.”
Fassinerend. Ter afsluiting, nog ‘n aanhaling uit The Chronicle of Higher Education se oorsig-artikel: “Thus it seems that scholarly culture, and the taste for books that it brings, flows from generation to generation largely of its own accord, little affected by education, occupational status, or other aspects of class … Parents give their infants toy books to play with in the bath; read stories to little children at bed-time; give books as presents to older children; talk, explain, imagine, fantasize, and play with words unceasingly. Their children get a taste for all this, learn the words, master the skills, buy the books. And that pays off handsomely in schools. Even a relatively small number of books can make a difference: A child whose family has 25 books will, on average, complete two more years of school than a child whose family is sadly book-less. “
Uiteraard kan ek dit ook nie verhelp om na aanleiding van die kommentator se slotopmerking ietwat moedswillig te wonder oor watter effek die elektroniese boek (Kindle) hierop gaan hê nie? Hopelik sal die ouers – vanweë die geld wat hulle glo gaan spaar met al die “gratis boeke” wat hulle van die internet aflaai – meer boeke vir hul peuters kan koop, want soos ons almal weet, wil ‘n peuter ‘n ding in sy hand hê … Of gaan die ouers hul vyfjariges toelaat om die dure Kindle met taai en sjokolade-bevlekte hande te hanteer? Boonop het die Kindle darem nie dieselfde voordele ten opsigte van binnenshuise versiering en die ambiance van ‘n vertrek met boekrakke vol boeke nie …
Of wat praat ek nou alweer?
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Vanoggend is daar ‘n paar stewige plasings om jou aan te verlekker: Chris Coolsma skryf oor CIA wandade, Vrouwkje Tuinman vertel van dinge wat haar irriteer in die skryfwerk van haar studente; Andries Bezuidenhout vertel van die oggend ná ‘n CD launch en Bernard Odendaal lewer die eerste aflewering in sy beoogde reeks oor die versreël.
Lekker lees en geniet die naweek wat op hande is. Ons hervat weer Maandag.
Mooi bly.
LE
Ek hou aan om papierboeke te koop in die hoop dat my kinders op lang wintermiddae deur my biblioteek sal krap soos ek deur my pa s’n, ‘n miljoen jaar gelede in die ou Transvaal.