A recent article in The Telegraph describes, in a nutshell, that simply talking to children before bedtime “could be up to six times more effective than reading to them” in terms of literacy development. Now as someone who is in celebratory mode after just finishing reading The Fellowship of the Ring to my five-year-old and seven-year-old, this seemed like disheartening news. But, really, as writing teachers, we should feel good about this study’s findings. After all, they further reinforce what we as compositionists advocate for all the time in terms of writing and literacy development: the value of an active learning environment, of conversational dynamics in the classroom, of exchanges of language.

Reading to your children is a good thing. But breaking out of the monologue and engaging them in dialogue is even more valuable. Let’s extrapolate. Talking to your students is a good thing. But having a conversation with them is even more valuable. We need to keep reminding people that literacy develops best in an active environment, but that type of teaching takes the proper resources and support.