August 11 - Day 113 - 'It is never too late to shine; never.' George Eliot
As I nearly got wiped out by a car coming on to the roundabout I was turning right on, I decided to stop at the next junction and calm down a little. Luckily, I always cycle predicting that every driver will do something wrong so I was able to get out of the way and stop quickly. I do feel bad that I swore rather a lot at the time and then when he pulled up alongside me to say he was really sorry, I didn’t say anything. I was grateful for the apology, just remained a little in shock. I know that wasn’t good of me.
Anyway by stopping, I was able to catch sight of this little calf which at first was nearly hidden by the grass (second picture) and then obligingly stood up for its picture to be taken. It surprised me that the calf had been born a long time after the others I’d seen. For a calf, I suspect being born on a warm summer day is a much nicer experience than on a cold spring morning. I don’t know, however, whether it also has an impact on how well they do.
For children in England, the impact of your month of birth is much more significant. For many years now it has been understood that the school term and month of your birth has an effect on your progress, attainment and development, with children born in September and October making more progress than those born in June and July. There are of course other factors, such as socio-economic group, gender and language but what often surprises people is what research has shown about the impact of reading for pleasure. ‘Reading enjoyment has been reported as more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status’ (OECD, 2002).
Reading for pleasure can be a guide book, manual, non-fiction, novel or newspaper - whatever you enjoy. Many children over time started to enjoy reading because they read something by Enid Blyton, born on this day in 1897. I certainly spent many an hour reading Famous Five, Malory Towers and the Faraway Tree and would argue with anyone who says that other things should be read instead. With Enid Blyton’s work (over 800 books) translated into about 90 languages and with over 8 million sales of her books over 40 years, I don’t think anyone can deny the impact she has had on encouraging children to read. Given the impact we know reading and books in the home can have, it is not surprising that between 2007 and 2015 one local council, Rotherham, gave children under five a free book every month and by 2015 had sent more than 950,000 books to children in the town. What a pity that this couldn’t be a national entitlement for all children.
