Shut Up, and Read!

Most of you reading this know that I've been a long-time volunteer with the Orange County Literacy Council. When I returned from my one-year stint as a VISTA Volunteer in rural, northwest Florida, I immeditately connected with the local OCLC and soon became a volunteer in the Family Reading Program, later a trainer on the tutor training team, later a board member, and now, ten years later, I'm the chair of the fund development committee. Ironically, in these past ten years, I haven't actually helped an adult learn to read, but I did in college and in Florida. One day I'd like to get back to that, the heart of literacy volunteer work, in my opinion.

Adult Literacy. Adult Illiteracy. Breaking the Cycle of Illiteracy. I think most Americans, conservative and liberal alike, would agree that being able to read and write well is very important. I think we'd all agree that Reading Is Fundamental. But are we really tuned in into how important this issue is and how linked this issue is to a whole host of other issues in our community like poverty, crime, school success, the economy, racism, etc? Personally, I think the word "literacy" is one of those words that when you hear it you think it's important but you may gloss over all the implications this word packs into the big scheme of being a full citizen in Twenty-First-Century-America. I'd like to stop using the word "literacy" to reach people to become involved, but shift to the connection people have with "reading" and try to light the fire from that angle.

We have to reach the adults that for whatever reasons have made it into adulthood without being able to read and write well. What I like about the OCLC, is that we exist to help adults mean their own personal literacy goals, however large or small those goals are. If they want to pass their driver's test, tutors can help them meet that goal. If they want to pass the GED, (high-school equivalency exam), that's another level of tutoring. Many people express interest in reading the Bible (let's not start with the King James version, please!) or a story to their children.

Parents: can you imagine if you did not the have the skills to read a story to your kids? Do you know how bad you would wcieg uriems eodkgm psodlgmd tkwosisim bjdigmdh oskdmg bjeure, dinogn? Tragic! Breaking the cycle of illiteracy begins with reading to your children. Every day. I've done quite a bit of work with comprehensive Family Literacy programs where the model integrates four components: adult education, early childhood education, parent and child together time, and parenting time. Studies show that approaching "literacy" as a familial unit is more effective than an isolated approach. In other words, the whole, (holistic) is greater than the sum of its parts.

When I started volunteering for the council, I was part of the Family Reading Workshop Team and we were a traveling dog and pony show that went around Chapel Hill and Hillsborough putting on workshops to people that lived with or worked with young children, stressing the importance of reading to them. Often. We didn't teach people how to teach kids to read, we just shared the gospel about how important it is to read to your children every day. I was committed to the work back then, but now, as a parent of young children, the fire has been lit in a whole new way. I know I'm preaching to the choir, because I know you parents read to your children, (and I know you're steps above thousands in the Chapel Hill community by virtue of just being able to read this blog), but--take literacy enthusiast, Mem Fox, the author of many children's books but also the author of a fantastic book that I read recently called "Reading Magic." Ms. Fox states,

" If parents understood the huge educational benefits and intense happiness brought about by reading aloud to their children, and if every parent-and every adult caring for a child-read aloud a minimum of three stories a day to the children in their lives, we could probably wipe out illiteracy within one generation." Right on, Mem!

And for those of us who can read and enjoy reading, do we really need to be convinced of how wonderful it is to read with young children, especially your own? It's staggering how many ways new parents, particularly moms, can feel guilty about what they are or aren't doing with their children. I'm telling you, never once have I questioned whether I was doing the right thing when I was reading to Grace and Johnny. Reading to them is my panacea of parenting, a perfect activity that has immesurable rewards for all of us. Of course I want them to become good readers and writers and students and all that. But the sheer joy of cozying up with them in a chair or in bed to read Shel Silverstein poems, or Richard Scarry's "Cars, Trucks, and Things That Go", or "Miss Nelson Has a Field Day", or any of the hundreds of kids' books we have, it's priceless, just priceless.

Reading to children is the most important twenty minutes of a parent's day, in my mind. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

So I'll get off my soap box now but leave you with some of our favorite kids' books in our house...and a personal request from me to you to read to your kids every day, and support your local literacy program!!

1. Goodnight Moon
2. Have You Seen My Cat?
3. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
4. Drummer Hoff
5. Big Red Barn
6. Barnyard Dance
7. The Bear Snores On
8. The Pigeon Has Feelings Too
9. Chrysanthemum
10. Harry and the Lady Next Door
11. Sheep in Jeep
12. Giggle Giggle Quack
13. Where the Wild Things Are
14. Hop on Pop
15. You are My I Love You
16. What Mommies Do Best
17. What Daddies Do Best
18. The Mitten
19. No Nap!
20. The Snowy Day