06/07/2026
AI can summarise a book in seconds, but it can't read out loud for your child in class.
A researcher at the University of Chicago has been studying what happens when we let AI do our reading for us. Her concern isn't just about comprehension. It's about what reading actually builds - the ability to analyse, empathise, form judgments and engage with ideas critically.
When AI mediates our understanding of texts, it also influences how judgments are formed, potentially narrowing the range of perspectives that inform how we think and participate in the world.
Sight-reading is where that starts.
When a child reads out loud in our lessons, from a script they haven't seen before, something real is happening. They're decoding language, managing pace, finding meaning in punctuation, deciding how the character feels and communicating all of that out loud in real time.
AI can generate the script, but it actually can't do the reading.
At Ten Feet Tall, sight-reading is woven into our Speech and Drama programme from the early years. We believe that reading aloud with expression, confidence and understanding is a skill that transfers everywhere. Classrooms, presentations, any moment where your child has to process language and respond to it out loud.
These skills don't develop without conscious effort
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