Learning to Read Early

Today I noticed a posting online from the Oklahomian entitled "Learning to Read Early A Benefit Forever".  Although, as the parent of a child that read at 3.5 years (with no direct instruction AT ALL), I can appreciate the benefits that Charlie has gained by being a reader for 18.5 years at age 22, I also want to caution that early reading is not normal for every child and to force them into this mold before they are cognitively, emotionally and academically ready is a mistake.  I can honestly say that Charlie came to the reading table when he was ready, after having a rich experience with language and books on a daily basis.

One of my favorite people, Richard Allington, said, "There are many roads to reading" and I might add that there are also many starting points and entries at the reading able and they aren't all the same for every child.  We are so into this "rush to reading" mentality in our world today, expecting every child to be reading three letter phonically correct words by holiday break of their kindergarten year, that we too often ignore the important readiness piece.  We never want to hold them back but we want to be sure that children have the foundational "pre-literacy" skills that will make learning to read easier for them.

Those of you who are parents and teachers, how do you see this issue?  What is your experience and how do you address the artificial pressures?  Does RTI help or hurt each child's unique "prime time"?  I welcome your comments.