At what age do you think a child should know how to read? I remember when I was in kindergarten, and some of the kids did not know how to read or write their own names. I don't really remember learning how to read in school; I could do it before I enrolled. Do you think teaching a child to read is a parent's or teacher's job?

I'm not sure when child should be able to read, but I do think it's the parents job to get the child started. I don't think the parent needs to help he child for the teachers' sake, but for their child's sake. The faster the child learns to read, the more developed their brain will be and the more they can learn from reading.. developing the child even more. I have seen some commercials on tv lately that show kids learning at about a year. Is that true? Can someone really read that early???

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-Brittany Brydahl

Well, considering how many kids spend their entire pre-kindergarten lives in pre-school, I would think that they would be responsible to teaching them. Personally, I think that a child should know at least how to write their name before they reach kindergarten whether or not they are in pre-school, so I guess some of it has to come from the parents.

I knew all letters when I was two, and I could write any word if it was spelled out for me. I am no genius, trust me, so I think every child can be taught to read and write by three. And yes, parents should not rely completely on school to teach their kids. It should start at home.

It was pretty fast-paced at my school. We were learning new words and everything, but that was just building on a foundation that we were assumed to already have. I think that a child that can't read when entering school will be behind his or her class.

A child should be able to read by the age of 5 and it is both parents' and teachers' responsibility to teach the children how to read. When at home, a parent should encourage the child to read as often as the time allows and the teacher should enforce that at school. I see a lot of kids who can't even read a simple 2nd grade book by the time they are in 5th grade and I think that it's a shame.

I knew a 14 year old who could barely read. He'd look at the first several letters of a word and try to guess the word rather than actually read it. Needless to say, he "hated reading." Shame.