Ian Rankin to Head UK Commission on Childhood Literacy

By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 6/24/2008

Scottish writer Ian Rankin, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels, will head a government commission to explore the declining standards of literacy in Scottish schools.

The Edinburgh-based author will investigate why thousands of pupils fail to achieve minimum standards in reading and writing, says the Times. Almost half of 14-year-olds in Scottish schools don’t meet basic standards in writing, and Scotland has slumped from 14th to 26th place in an international ranking of reading achievement, behind Latvia and Lithuania, the paper says.

Rankin, who has criticized the government for not doing enough to improve childhood literacy, was asked to head the commission by Rhona Brankin, the Labor party’s shadow education minister.

In an interview with the Times, Rankin said parents weren’t doing enough to encourage reading and writing at home, and were often happy to allow their children to sit in front of the television.

“I’m a parent myself, I know what it’s like,” he said. “It’s easy to persuade yourself that you’re very busy and the easiest option is to plant your kids in front of either a computer game or the telly. But it’s a hell of a lot more fun and a hell of a lot more satisfying if it’s interactive — if it’s you and your child sharing the adventure — and the way to do that is through stories.”

Last December, Rankin was among more than 500 leading authors, including Joanna Trollope, Kate Mosse, Jackie Collins and Nick Hornby, who wrote to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urging him to confront childhood illiteracy and teach pupils to read for an hour a day.