reading day
Federal Minister of Education calls for reading
A mother reads to her daughter. photo
© Lars Klemmer/dpa
The ability to read fluently is a decisive factor in education and thus in life, says Minister of Education Stark-Watzinger. She worries about the results of the Germany-wide IQB education trend.
Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger has called on many primary school children to read aloud in view of the weak reading skills.
“By reading to children, we support their academic and personal development and make a valuable contribution to achieving equal opportunities and education in Germany,” said the FDP politician to the German Press Agency on the occasion of the nationwide reading day this Friday.
The IQB education trend – a regular Germany-wide test for fourth-graders in Germany – recently showed that they are increasingly having math and German problems and that their skills have fallen significantly in a ten-year comparison. About one in five people did not reach the minimum standards in reading, listening and mathematics.
Reading decides on further educational path
“We must be aware that this is about a fundamental question: In particular, the ability to read fluently is more decisive than any other basic skill for the entire further educational path and thus also for life. We urgently need to achieve a turnaround here,” said Stark -Watzinger.
The Reading Day is an initiative in which the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”, the Reading Foundation and the Deutsche Bahn Foundation are involved. Since 2004, this has been a sign of the importance of reading aloud every year in November.