Survey: What do NY parents want from English education?

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - How much does New York care about reading? According to a survey commissioned by the national teaching organization the American Reading Company, the answer is quite a bit.

The American Reading Company has released the results of a survey conducted by YouGov, which consulted parents of children in school from kindergarten to 12th grade in New York, and asked for their views on how reading should be taught in schools. The majority of parents said they want their children to learn from reading curriculums that include lessons on phonics, texts with a grounding in history and science, and daily writing time.

“Parents value strong reading skills and seek a curriculum with knowledge building and explicit phonics that helps set the stage for them to not just be strong readers but to develop a love of reading,” said Chris Melchiorre, Senior Vice President at YouGov.

The survey got responses from 2,062 parents across the United States, all parents between the ages of 6 and 17. The New York-local parents among those surveyed gave feedback such as:

• 86% in favor of a curriculum with phonics in addition to writing, as well as reading materials with a focus on science and history
• 82% feel it is important for their child to not only be a good reader, but to love reading and to learn from what they read
• 54% feel that love of reading is more important than proficiency, at 46%

“At such a divisive moment, it’s heartening to hear so much agreement from parents," said American Reading Company CEO Gina Cline Rose. "Writing matters, science and history matter, foundational skills matter, and a love of reading matters.”

That agreement grew in other areas. 99% of surveyed New Yorkers said students will enjoy reading more when they can choose topics themselves. 97% said students should be able to use their reading skills for writing and research and should enjoy learning to read. 96% said reading comprehension and writing should be part of all learning subjects, and 93% agreed that students should start learning to write as soon as they learn to read.