Read Aloud

Thanks to delegates for courage to speak Our thanks go to Delegate Bobo and her 10 General Assembly colleagues for their letter of protest to President Bush ("11 Assembly Democrats send Bush protest letter," March 27). I do not agree with Delegate McMillan that this is not the time or place for disagreement. How long should we be silent? How many people have to die, suffer and lose their loved ones before we are allowed to speak? Yolanda Bruno Columbia Article on reading called misleading As a longtime reading instruction specialist, I found part of the article by Laura Shovan, "Pupils make best friends with words" (March 26)

I love to read, and I've been doing it ever since I was able. My wife is also an avid reader. But my wife and I are blind, and we can't get our hands on very much to read. There are services for us, of course. Government entities and nonprofit organizations convert books into Braille, audio, or digital form for our use. But only 5 percent of all books published undergo such a conversion. A few more are available as commercial audio books, but these are often abridged, and those that are unabridged are quite expensive.

We have only one more decade until we reach Stanley Kubrick's 2001, and we seem a long way from HAL, the recalcitrant computer.Or maybe not.I just received a program called Monologue ($149 list) from a company called First Byte (3100 S. Harbor Blvd., Suite 150, Santa Ana, Calif. 92704; [714] 432-1740), which invests personal computers with the power of speech.Why would you want your computer to talk? The company gives several good reasons. If you work with spreadsheets, you can have Monologue read out to you rows or columns so you can check them against a master list.

Advice and strategies to help your children read Editor's Note: Jerdine Nolen today discusses reading activities. Her column appears biweekly. Boring summer days did not exist for me as a child, or for any of my siblings. If we complained about being bored or having nothing to do, my parents remedied that situation by making us do chores. I was as happy as the next person to oblige my parents' desire to have the cleanest garage or sidewalk on our street, but I was even happier thinking of things on my own to do for those moments in between the excitement of a baseball game or a friend stopping by. After reading a really good book with your child, extend the pleasure of the experience by engaging in an activity.

Does software exist to convert text to audio? If so, which would you recommend? It's far easier for a computer to turn written text into speech than for it to wreck a nice beach (I mean recognize speech). Enormous subtleties of human speech have prevented computer-makers and software writers from attaining reliable conversion of stuff like casual oral interviews, telephone calls and even radio and television broadcasts into computer-ready text. Each computer must be trained for an individual user's unique voice to get acceptable results.

Practice makes perfect with reading, writing Editor's note: Jerdine Nolen today discusses creating a daily reading and writing habit. Her column appears biweekly. Daily reading and writing practice are habits to nurture and foster. Exposure to good literature also develops and maintains good linguistic abilities. Like every other skill, writing fluency does not happen overnight; rather, it builds up with daily engagement. Some things to consider: * By making signs, labels and advertisements, children can demonstrate an increasing awareness of the world of print.

I sometimes wonder why Thanksgiving happens before Christmas. I, for one, would be a lot more thankful if I could be thankful that all the shopping and worry were done.I suppose it all goes back to the days when Thanksgiving was first celebrated. In those days, Christmas meant it was time to revel in the birth of the savior. There were no shopping malls, no toy commercials, no jewelry stores or cards.I think sometimes I should take my cue from the early settlers. Does anyone know of a nice, large, sparsely settled continent?

CLEVELAND -- My wife caught me reading the personals the other day, and in perfect personal-speak asked, "Are you seeking a soul mate?" I showed her a page of personals filled with declarations of love for the outdoors. I told her I was intrigued by the pastoral connection. One writer "loves long walks in the woods." Another pines for a soul mate at home in nature. Another writes, Whitmanesquely, "I find myself by losing myself in nature." My wife suggested we take a nice long walk in the woods.

It came to her while she was passing through an airport, watching kids tentatively pass through scanners and eye security guards patting down their parents. Stormy Friday, author of several books on managing facilities, had finally found a vehicle to write her first children's story: It would soothe children's fears of flying by having her Siamese cat and two British shorthairs take on an airport caper. "A lot of young children are afraid to go through the metal detector," said Friday, who owns a consulting firm in Annapolis.

It came to her while she was passing through an airport, watching kids tentatively pass through scanners and eye security guards patting down their parents. Stormy Friday, author of several books on managing facilities, had found a vehicle to write her first children's story: It would soothe children's fears of flying by having her Siamese cat and two British shorthairs take on an airport caper. "A lot of young children are afraid to go through the metal detector," said Friday, who owns a consulting firm in Annapolis.