“Reading Is Fundamental” goes one slogan for one program. Accelerated Reading is another program. These are aimed to get young people to read. The important question is: Do You Read?
When I was growing up, there was an antismoking slogan: Do as I say, not as I do. Parents would smoke and lament when their children took up the habit.
It applies to reading as well. If a parent doesn’t read, why should their children? How do you convince a child reading is important, if it isn’t important to you?
Why Does Literacy Matter?
Imagine you are going grocery shopping and can’t read the labels. You must depend on pictures on the labels. Sometimes there are no pictures. Other times there are several choices as in canned fruit: heavy syrup, light syrup, fruit juice. How do you know the difference? There are labels with pictures promoting scents, not what is in the containers.
There was a television program many, many years ago in which Johnny Cash played an illiterate man. He had many work arounds for filling out job applications and getting others to read directions for him. Ultimately, he was always found out.
Getting Information
There are many places purporting to give you the news. How do you know which ones are real news versus opinions about the news? If you can’t read, you can’t even read the headlines.
If you look up directions, you could find a podcast showing the directions. How do you know it’s right? Are there other methods that would work better for you?
Excuses, Excuses
There are learning disabilities making reading difficult. And there are other ways of reading such as audio books. A disability is not a good excuse.
“I don’t like to read.” Such a favorite excuse. There are books on all subjects, at all levels. Novels come in age levels and numerous genres. Some are graphic novels done mostly in pictures. Somewhere there are books to interest you.
Do You Read?
Literacy is the basis of a democracy. Reading lets people know what is going on. Finding out more about the many sides of an issue let’s people make good decisions.
Do you want to make our country great again? Read!