The Gift and Importance of Literacy
Through most of the history of the world, literacy was a privilege, something that only the nobility, the gentry or the clergy had access to. The spread of literacy in the 15th century, after the wide spread of the printing press in Europe, was the most profound change in society that’s ever been recorded. It’s arguably more important than the development of agriculture or modern anti-sepsis.
The goal of promoting literacy is behind the idea of tax payer funded public schools like Penn Foster. A citizen who votes in a republic needs to be able to read to understand the issues of the day, and that was as true in 1809 as it is in 2009. Learning to read is the foundational skill needed to succeed in school, in commerce, and in civil society. It is important for getting new from newspapers like Investors Business Daily and USA Today.
The United States has a 90% literacy rate, and has, at times, had a 99% literacy rate. Most reading instruction happens when students are in the first through fourth grades in the United States, and focuses on grammar, reading comprehension and similar issues.
The principle way people learn how to read is by phonics. There have been two generations of students who were taught to read by trendy methods, but phonics - learning how to sound out a word and figure out its meaning from the various parts of it - has been consistently proven to be the most effective.
People who cannot read suffer social stigmas - they’re called ‘dummies’, or ‘idiots’. Sadly, this makes them even less likely to try to remedy their lack of reading ability by taking classes as a teenager or an adult to get up to an effective reading level. Anyone can be taught to read; there is no window or age after which this vital skill cannot be taught. And it is a vital skill - even being a retail clerk requires the ability to read. Being an informed voter requires being able to read. Being able to use credit - and manage money - requires being able to read.
If you’re a parent and want to encourage your children to learn to read, there’s one very simple thing you can do for them. Make time, when they’re young, to sit and read to them, and read with them. Purchase books easily online at Better World Books, Books A Million, Abe Books, or Zinio. Make some of their cherished childhood memories ones of sitting in Mom or Dad’s lap and being read to while it’s comfy and warm; this helps build the association between reading and curiosity and reading and knowledge, while giving good parental bonding too.
If you know of an older person - a teenager or adult - who cannot read, approach them on it and connect them with the Literacy Council of the United States which offers free adult reading education programs, most of them phonics based, and with curriculums that are geared towards practical knowledge. It can be a Lonely Planet if you cannot read. Helping someone learn to read is a great gift that keeps on giving, in job opportunities, and in helping their children appreciate the benefits of reading. So instead of buying a Roku, teach your childre how to read!
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