Courtney Jones

English 2010
Profile

Born to a family in humble circumstances, Julie Durrant did not grow up

in an environment conducive to learning. Her mother often worked up to 6
jobs simultaneously and did not have the time to worry about giving her
daughter the best education possible. With 5 kids to take care of, she was
worried about keeping them fed, clean, and sheltered; which she was able to
do, but because she was working so hard she found it very difficult to take
care of their educational needs the way most parents can. Julie grew up
feeling less than adequate; she always felt that she was not given the
opportunity to be as smart as the other kids.
She was made fun of for her lack of intelligence and it cut her deeply.
Because of this she has always been short of self-confidence. Whether its
public speaking or meeting new people, any social situation terrifies her. She
believes that the main reason for her intelligence deficiency is that she was

never read to as a child. Reading early promotes self-confidence by making

the child feel more prepared upon entering grade school. There are very few
children who know how to read before kindergarten, and often these
students are given praise for their accomplishments by receiving awards and
certificates. They may be encouraged to write their own stories, or even be
placed in advanced reading groups to further their skills. Such recognition
can foster a positive self-image in the students mind, which sets the tone
and expectations for the rest of their academic career. No parent wants to
see their child bullied; She didnt want her children to go through what she
did, so she decided to do something about it.
Her goal was to give her children every opportunity she never had.
The problem was that she was not quite out of poverty herself. She married
Sean Jones when they were just 19 years old and moved to a trailer park in
Logan to attend Utah State University. Luckily, Sean was on a football
scholarship, but Julie had to work for both of them while going to school.
When she became pregnant with her first child at age 20, she had to drop
out of school and work full time. When he was born, she started reading. She
read to each of her children consistently from the minute they were born
until they could read for themselves. Even though she was still working full
time, she made reading a priority. She bought books (and everything else)
from thrift stores so that they were able to have a variety of books on such a
tight budget.

From a very young age her kids always felt confident in their English
skills. They all love reading and have always read above their grade level.
Obviously, reading to them wasnt the only factor contributing to their
success, but it seems to be the main one. Her dedication to educating her
children was apparent and she did the best job she possibly could with the
resources available to her. According to an article by Teach Reading Early,
Early readers not only become lifelong readers, but also lifelong learners.
They are able to attain stronger concentration levels and improve their
attention span by mastering effective reading strategies. Not to mention,
longitudinal studies have proven that early readers achieve higher grades
than their peers through grade school.
Although reading to infants is not a new idea, last year the American
Academy of Pediatrics encouraged pediatricians to start talking to parents

about the importance of reading to their babies. They even asked them to
hand out books to high-risk, low-income children who visit their office.
Many parents dont realize the lasting effect that early exposure to language
could have on their children. Nancy Shute, co-host of NPRs medical Shots
blog, says Children whose parents read to them get a head start on
language skills and literacy, as well as lovely cuddle time with Mom or Dad.
But many children miss out on that experience, with one-third of children
starting kindergarten without the language skills they need to learn to read.
She goes on to clarify that the language they are exposed to needs to be
heard in person, and not by electronic devices. Early exposure to language,
whether through reading, talking or even singing, has a profound influence
on children's learning through life, research has found. Hearing language
from a TV isn't the same, studies have found. For young children, the words
have to come from a real live human.
An online journal documents a study proving that this practice returns
successful results. The effects of reading to infants and toddlers were
examined in a meta-analysis of six intervention studies including 408
participants. Results indicated that interventions were effective in promoting
the childrens expressive and receptive language. The benefits of the
interventions increased the earlier the interventions were started and the
longer they were implemented. These studies prove that the key to
effectively introducing language to children is to start early and continue
throughout their childhood.

Not only Julie make it possible for her children to become successful,
but she has also started with her grandson. She has read to him daily since
he was born, and now as a one year old he is constantly picking up books
and asking to be read to. He absolutely loves his books and its all thanks to
grandma. The passing on of her parenting skills, especially when it comes to
educating their own children, will be something that positively influences her
kids future families and many generations to come. She may feel less than
adequate, but in some ways shes truly a genius.

Bibliography

Shute, Nancy. "Never Too Young: Pediatricians Say Parents Should Read To
Infants." NPR. NPR, 24 June 2014. Web. 06 Sept. 2015.
Dunst, Carl J., Andrew Simkus, and Deborah W. Hamby. "Effects of Reading to
Infants and Toddlers on Their Early Language Development." CELL Reviews
5.4 (2012): 1-7. 2012. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
Mehta, Angelee. "Its Never Too Early to Start Reading." Educational
Connections, Inc. N.p., 23 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.