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Meeting Children Where They Are Builds Readers Strong Enough for the Challenge

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A recent The Atlantic article sparked an important debate about literacy, arguing that we should stop “meeting students where they are” and instead push them toward more rigorous, sustained reading. It is an important conversation. But I believe it is missing something critical.

Across the United States, 25 million children cannot read proficiently. That reality should shape every conversation about literacy in America.

There is truth in the argument. Children are capable of more than we sometimes expect. They deserve literature that challenges them, and the opportunity to wrestle with complex ideas and sustained attention.

But before we talk about pushing children forward, we must ask a more fundamental question: 

Where are they starting?

At Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), we work with millions of children each year who are still building the skills and confidence needed to become readers. When we talk about meeting children where they are, we are not lowering expectations. We are recognizing how reading development actually begins.

Meeting children where they are is not about staying there. It is about building the bridge that allows them to go further. 

The Starting Line Is Not the Same for Every Child.  Some children grow up surrounded by books and nightly read alouds. Others encounter books primarily at school.  Today, 61 percent of children living at or below the poverty line have no books at home, and one in three enters kindergarten without the foundational skills needed to learn to read.

This is not about whether children are capable of reading challenging texts. It is about whether they have had access to the building blocks that make those texts possible. If we ignore those differences, we are not raising standards, we are widening gaps.

Joy Is the Engine of Reading

Reading does not begin with rigor. It begins with engagement.  At RIF, we define the joy of reading not as a soft or secondary outcome, but as three measurable drivers of literacy:

  • Motivation, a child wants to read
  • Frequency, a child reads often
  • Engagement, a child stays with a text

These elements complement the science of reading. Children need both strong foundational skills and the desire to use them.  Joy is what activates practice. Practice builds skill. Skill builds confidence. This is why:

  • Book ownership matters, reading becomes personal
  • Choice matters, children read more when they choose
  • Format matters, meeting children where they are with formats that resonate with them, from graphic novels and chapter books to audiobooks and digital texts.

A child who reads widely and often is building the very capacity required for complex texts later. Rigor is the goal.  But motivation, frequency, and engagement are what make rigor possible.

In a Digital Age, Meeting Children Where They Are Is Essential to Building Readers

Children today live in a digital world. For many families, screens are more accessible than shelves of books. Meeting children where they are means ensuring they have access to books in the environments and formats that are part of their daily lives.

That is why RIF has invested in Skybrary, our interactive reading platform that provides access to more than 1,000 books, including 100 free titles. 

Digital access is not a replacement for print. It is an expansion of opportunity.  For families without books at home, for rural communities, and for caregivers balancing multiple responsibilities, digital access can close gaps that would otherwise persist.

If children are already reaching for screens, we should ensure those screens open doors to stories.

Joy Builds the Resilience The Atlantic Calls For

The Atlantic essay emphasizes endurance, the ability to sit with difficulty and sustain attention through challenging texts.  That is exactly right.  But resilience in reading does not develop in isolation. It develops in readers who already see themselves as readers.

Earlier this year, I visited a Club RIF site in Arizona. Despite real challenges in this tribal community, the joy was unmistakable, children laughing, sharing stories, and connecting through books rooted in their culture.

That joy is not incidental. It is foundational.

Children who experience joy in reading read more. Children who read more build stronger skills. And strong skills make complex texts accessible, not intimidating.

Joy does not dilute rigor. It creates readers who can sustain it.

High Expectations Require Strong Foundations

The debate sparked by The Atlantic is a healthy one. High expectations matter.  But expectations without access and without engagement are incomplete.

Children can rise to great literary heights. We see it every day.  But the ability to stay with a challenging text grows from motivation, practice, and confidence.

Meeting children where they are is not a ceiling.  It is a foundation.  Because if we want children to climb the heights of great literature, we must first ensure they have a ladder.