Reading is something that we started working on immediately with our children. We would read to them before they could actually walk, and taught them to read at very early ages. I think this was because we both like reading. I know I loved it from a very early age and would setup entire worlds around what I would read and act them out in play.
You are correct about behavior of children in classrooms. It is horrible. Yes, a good swat on the backside or two is what I used to get if I misbehaved at school, but is that necessarily the answer? I am not sure, but it worked and kids didn't act like the Lord of the Flies at school.
This is the way to do it!
We would do the same, and still do. From the moment she was born we started talking (in both languages) and then reading often. We read to her nightly still :)
Maybe it isn't the answer, but it worked. What is happening now is not working, so perhaps a retrace of steps until we get working again, and then find another path.
Let the beatings begin
:D :D
This is something that one of my brothers would say!