Mother and daughter have teamed up for a little reading time. More people should do this this summer, believes Margret Hagerup, Høyre’s education policy leader. – The easiest thing we as parents can do is to put away the mobile phone and iPad, she says. She is worried about the development. Norwegian children read less than before. The latest reports on the reading skills of Norwegian children and young people show that children today read worse than before, and that they do not find it as enjoyable as before. Norwegian children read less The international reading survey PIRLS shows that Norwegian ten-year-olds read much worse and less than before. In addition, Norwegian children had the lowest reading enjoyment of all the 65 countries that took part in the survey. The PISA reading survey also shows a clear decline in the reading skills of Norwegian 15-year-olds. Hagerup has previously promised that the government should look at the length of the summer holidays, and consider whether it should be shorter. Precisely in view of the research that shows learning loss. Up to three months apart Research shows that the long break children get during the holidays can cause some to fall behind in learning by up to three months. The researchers call it “summer loss”, explains Elaine Munthe, who is professor and head of research at the Faculty of Educational Sciences. – Being away from school for a long time can mean that you lose some of the lessons you have gained during a school year. It is reading and calculation that have been looked at, says Munthe. According to Munthe, researchers still know little about other learning areas. Elaine Munthe, professor and head of faculty at the Faculty of Educational Sciences. Photo: Hanne Høyland / news She thinks it might be a good idea for some children to get more learning content during the summer holidays. – There are also many people who have more than enough content during the summer holidays, but it is very variable what children have to come up with during the eight weeks, says the professor. The researcher believes that the summer holidays are a golden opportunity to do something else, and advises parents to think carefully about what opportunities exist. – There are no elderly parents who have eight weeks’ holiday. Think carefully about the possibilities you have. Play in teams with other parents. Use opportunities available in your municipality, and pay attention to inventing things with the child. It can be both reading and something that gives them other good experiences during the summer. How to read with your child during the summer holidays Professor Elaine Munthe has the following tips for how you can go about reading with your child during the summer holidays: Have good cuddly moments with a book together. Go to the library and ask the librarian for tips. Listen to the child’s needs and interests. Show your child that you read yourself. Visit the National Reading Center for more good tips. Want to have the holidays in peace The students at Madlavoll school give their all on one of the last school days of the year. The Norwegian relay gives them both physical activity and brain exercise. But now a long and good holiday is just around the corner, and the students are very much looking forward to the summer holidays. Then they should relax and do exactly what they want. Saga Løhre Burhol (white sweater) is busy cheering on team participants in the relay. Photo: Hanne Høyland / news They are somewhat worried about interference from parents in the content of the summer holidays. – It’s better with a holiday, we have school for the rest of the year. I think we deserve a little break, says Saga Løhre Burhol (11). But she is taking part in the reading competition Sommerles, so her Norwegian skills will probably be maintained during the summer. Aleksander Lunde Kollsgård (12) is not as enthusiastic about reading. – I should start with that, but reading is not my favorite, he says. Magnus Mæland Nilsen (12) prefers football to reading, but thinks there is a lot of good learning in sport as well. – I can read occasionally, when I first need to relax, he says. The pupils’ teacher, Pål Jæger Jakobsen, notices well who has maintained reading and who has not during the summer holidays. Nevertheless, you have to look at the children, he believes. – Some have a great need for a good holiday now. I think it’s difficult, you shouldn’t push the children too much either, it’s their holiday first and foremost, he says. Teacher Pål Jæger Jakobsen sees that comics are popular reading material among students. It makes more people want to read. Photo: Hanne Høyland / news Education Minister Kari Nessa Nordtun tells news that she hopes that children and young people can log off and spend some time this summer sitting down with a good book. – This also applies to parents. If children and young people are to enjoy reading, we must be good role models and inspire children to read, says Nessa Nordtun (Ap). Nice fit for the teacher Hagerup believes that not much is needed to maintain learning during the holidays. She encourages parents to spend some time finding books their children actually want to read. The reading training can be a nice way to help the teachers after the summer holidays. – Reading opens the doors to all other learning. It is incredibly important, both to participate in society and to understand what is happening around you. It can also be very nice to sit with your children and read together, she says. Margret Hagerup will read to her daughter Leonore Hagerup Gjesteland this summer. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news She turns to her daughter Leonore Hagerup Gjesteland (8) and asks: – Are you going to read this summer? – No, it comes in cash from the daughter. – I’m going to have fun. I will only be read to when I go to sleep, she continues. – We will fix that, chuckles the representative of the Storting. Published 26.06.2024, at 12.57 p.m
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