"Research shows that children with educated mothers are more likely to learn to read at a young age and to thrive in the classroom.... Reading aloud to young children gives them a leg up for the rest of their lives and makes them more likely to do well in school and more likely to pursue higher education." "Seven-hundred seventy-one million adults across the world cannot read, and more than two-thirds of them are women.... When we teach mothers to read, we not only empower them to take control over their own lives, we also help them start their children on the road to a better, more hopeful life." "Our call to action going forward from today must be to take these lessons we have learned and find the ways and means to identify, expand, and replicate effective programs to spread literacy and opportunity. Parents all over the world want their children to have a better life. And we must work together to give them that chance."

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New York — U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today joined First Lady Laura Bush at the first-ever White House Conference on Global Literacy in New York City. Secretary Spellings hosted a panel on Mother-Child Literacy and Intergenerational Learning. Following are her prepared remarks:

Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Bush, for organizing this important conference and for bringing us together from all over the world. It's been my privilege to know and work with Mrs. Bush for more than 10 years and to observe her lifelong passion for helping others. She's traveled all around the world as a tireless advocate for our children. And as a former librarian, I think she must feel very much at home here today.

I'm honored to moderate this panel on the importance of mother-child literacy and intergenerational learning. As the first mother of school-age children to ever serve as U.S. Secretary of Education, I know firsthand that parents are a child's first teacher. That's true in every culture and every country.

Research shows that children with educated mothers are more likely to learn to read at a young age and to thrive in the classroom. A mother who reads can introduce her child to the joy of words and learning at a young age. Reading aloud to young children gives them a leg up for the rest of their lives and makes them more likely to do well in school and more likely to pursue higher education.

Mothers who read can also give their children a healthier, safer start in life. Reading empowers parents to do simple everyday things that many of us take for granted, such as reading directions for medicines and following safety warnings.

As you know, 771 million adults across the world cannot read, and more than two-thirds of them are women. Many of these women are mothers who want their children to begin life with the opportunities and advantages they never had. That's why mother-child literacy programs are so important. When we teach mothers to read, we not only empower them to take control over their own lives, we also help them start their children on the road to a better, more hopeful life.

The panelists you will hear from today are leading successful mother-child literacy programs in different areas of the world.

• Maria Diarra Keita started the Institute for Popular Education in Mali to help empower entire communities through spreading literacy and promoting intergenerational learning.
• In South Africa, Florence Molefe has worked for the Family Literacy Project since 2000. The group helps parents develop their own literacy skills so they can share the importance of reading with their children.
• And here in the United States, Dr. Perri Klass is a pediatrician, who serves as the president of the Reach Out and Read National Center. I visited one of the group's centers in Pittsburgh just last week and saw what a difference it's making. Reach Out and Read helps doctors and nurses teach parents about the importance of reading aloud to their children.

[Remarks from Panelists]

I want to thank all our panelists for sharing their inspiring stories with us today.

From Mrs. Keita from Mali, we have learned how the Kanga program has fostered a deep transformation within communities, liberating women from the oppression of illiteracy and helping them build the desire to see their children have the same opportunity to learn.

And from South Africa, Ms. Molefe has shown us that parents become role models for their children when they learn to read and write and that families engaging in conversation and reading together build vocabulary and reading skills.

Dr. Klass from the U.S. reminds us that it is incumbent upon all of us to break cycles of poverty and dependence and reinforce the importance of a mother's attention, voice, time, and ability in building critical literacy skills in the early years of a child's life.

Our call to action going forward from today must be to take these lessons we have learned and find the ways and means to identify, expand, and replicate effective programs to spread literacy and opportunity. Parents all over the world want their children to have a better life. And we must work together to give them that chance. Thank you.

A fact sheet on the White House Conference on Global Literacy is available at www.globalliteracy.gov/press/fs_091806.html. For more information on global literacy issues, please visit www.globalliteracy.gov.

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