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The "keys" to the Kingdom: Reading, the most basic skill
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Location: Blogs Sly Comments |
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| Posted by: Emory Schley |
4/17/2007 5:48 AM |
The wonders of the world patiently wait for a certain class of individuals in our society. I suppose you could roughly divide the world’s citizenry into two camps: Those who can read, and those who cannot. Those in the former category have the world at their fingertips, while those in the latter probably never realize just how much they are missing out on.
When our children were growing up, I of course wanted them to learn history, arithmetic, how to write and spell correctly, and all the rest, but we always tried to place a very special emphasis on encouraging our children to read. They both had library cards by the time they were 7 or 8 years old.
My wife and I, with our children, used to spend a lot of time in libraries, she looking for yet another murder mystery or love story, while I always browsed the nonfiction sections, looking for books on calligraphy, photography, astronomy, amateur radio, computers, and whatever other technological subjects I could find. The kids, of course, were intent on finding books by Dr. Seuss, or about Raggedy Ann and Andy, Winnie the Pooh or Mickey Mouse, or whatever else seized their imaginations back then.
But the point is: We each found our own little form of happiness within the confines of those book shelves, but none of it would have even been remotely possible had we not been able to read, and appreciate, whatever book happened to capture our fancy at the time.
I have noticed, now that I’m an older, and hopefully somewhat wiser man than I used to be, that many members of our younger generation don’t seem to place as much value on reading as we once did. There are exceptions, I’m sure, but I recall a time when schools placed particular emphasis on the first of the “Three R’s.” I always believed there was a reason that Reading was the first named skill in that old phrase, and that reason, I believed, was due to its overwhelming importance in our lives. ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic are both important disciplines to master as well, but I believe reading should be the paramount choice.
After all, if you can’t read, you’d have to get much of your information from television, and that would be absolutely appalling, don’t you think? You would find precious little to learn from other than soap operas and reality TV, both of which fall a bit short on the true essentials in Life.
When I was a child in grammar school, they used to administer reading and comprehension tests, to make sure we were mastering that most basic of academic skills. I wonder if they still do that? I know newspapers and magazines, as well as other forms of printed matter, seem to be slowly sinking in popularity and that’s a cause for concern among those of us who think reading is fundamental to a full participating role in Life.
A very grave cause for concern. |
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