My mom said I wanted to learn to read so badly I memorized stories and recited them aloud while pretending to read the pages of a book in my lap. Though I started reading when I was 4, it’s a process that to me still seems miraculous –deriving meaning from individual letters that become words, sentences, paragraphs and pages.
Throughout history, books have served as a means of recording events and a way for people to express their feelings and emotions. Comfort can be found in the scent of ink-filled pages or the smooth touch of felt on fingertips. In the age of technology and social media, reading a book for enjoyment might seem archaic. However, books are learning tools every child and adult should utilize.
One of the most important factors in determining a child’s educational success is their proficiency in reading. A study on elementary school children’s reading skills found students who don’t read proficiently by the third grade are four times more likely to drop out of school without a diploma than their peers, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Since reading and writing is integrated into all subjects — such as solving story problems in math and creating and testing hypothesis in science — reading well positively impacts a child’s overall educational success.
Parents who read aloud to their children help them develop concentration skills, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Allotting specified daily reading times to children helps them become self-disciplined as well as acquiring a longer attention span and improved memory retention.
Reading also instills logical thinking skills in children, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Books expose them to abstract concepts and different scenarios through which they develop and learn to use good judgment. The parallels between the events in a book and real life help children develop the skills they need to overcome obstacles and address challenges in their lives.
The damaging effects of not learning to read aren’t limited to children. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates more than $2 billion is spent each year on students who repeat a grade because they have reading problems. More than 20 percent of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level, as reported by the National Institute for Literacy in 2001.
Advances in technology have undermined the role of books in our society and the importance of reading. The National Literacy Trust, an independent charity in the United Kingdom, cited the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in a report in 2006 saying, “people cannot be active or informed citizens unless they can read. Reading is a prerequisite for almost all cultural and social activities.”
Reading is a crucial component of everyday life, from prescription labels to instruction manuals, and in order for society to function at its highest capacity everyone should learn to read well. The expanse of knowledge and information provided by technology has increased the importance of learning to read, not lessened it.
Instilling a love of reading in a child may be difficult if they don’t have a natural aptitude, but parents and children need to understand why it’s important. Books are not antiquated objects of the past — they are tools that determine our future success.
Elisa Eiguren can be reached at [email protected]