Reading and Literacy

I love reading.

My mother read bed-time stories to me when I was only three or four, and I began to recognize words through repeated readings of my favourite books, including a collection of Dr Suess books that I wish I still had.

It wasn’t just picture books, either. I had several books that were collections of children’s stories that had an illustration or two for each, but were mostly text.



I didn’t realize it at the time, and in fact it was not until I was an adult that I did come to realize that knowing how to read when I started Kindergarten was very unusual.

I’m not sure that I was as precocious as Roald Dahl’s Matilda, but I certainly was well ahead of my classmates, in terms of reading and comprehension.

I don’t say this to brag, but to underscore my life-long love of reading.

What’s better than losing oneself in a thrilling adventure, or a suspense-filled mystery? Of course, a light-hearted comedy is always a good choice.

I also enjoy reading for information: news magazines, non-fiction books on a variety of topics, and – although not exactly bed-time reading – legal texts, legislation, by-laws, and similar documents.

There is a tremendous push in education, today, for literacy.

Ours is a world that is increasing dependent on literacy. Few jobs don’t require at least a minimal competency at reading. Even “McJobs” require that employees read various electronic displays.

But is literacy just about reading?

No.

Literacy is about communicating and comprehending. Yes, the printed word is important. But there is more to literacy than knowing the alphabet, and how to arrange it into groups of words, sentences, and paragraphs.

As a teacher, I want my students to experience the same joy I do from reading; I know, however, that many students struggle, and do not consider reading an enjoyable pastime.

I am aware of other forms of literacy, and I must embrace these – as my students do – so that I can better communicate with my students, and provide them with an opportunity to succeed.

I have been reading a book on literacy called Reading Doesn’t Matter Anymore…. [©2006, Pembroke Publishers, David Booth.]

A controversial title, at first glance, but one needs to take note of the ellipsis (…) before rushing to judgement.

Each chapter begins with that statement, followed by an elliptical statement concerning literacy. For example:

Reading doesn’t matter anymore, unless we 1. Expand our definition of literacy.

Booth points out that, while adults are often critical of young people and their use of text messages and its short forms, young people are generally more plugged-in than most adults. For them, the concept of literacy extends beyond the printed word into a world of graphic images, interactive videos, blogs, emails, chat lines, and other forms of communication that didn’t exist twenty years ago.

We have to consider, too, that children are learning to manipulate the words they use: on a computer, text can be animated, moving around the screen, changing colour, flashing in time with music. Text is also interactive, acting as a link to further web pages or a trigger for further actions and animations.

While we adults struggle to figure out what is going on, children seem to intuitively know how to use these emerging technologies.

Even video games are a form of literacy.

I recall playing a game with a friend’s son, who was 5 or 6 at the time. I was doing okay, but not as well as he was. He attempted to help me, telling me to make my character jump up and smash into a solid wall. I did it, and the character went through a “hidden” door into a bonus area.

I asked how he knew that, and he just shrugged.

As adults, we look at a solid wall and tell ourselves it would be pointless to run into it.

Children have no such preconceptions, and will try anything and everything that might earn them a reward.

I think that we, as adults, and especially as educators, who grew up with books and the printed word, have a difficult time allowing young people to explore the new media, these new forms of literacy.

I know that, for as forward-thinking as I like to consider myself to be, I am disappointed when a student tells me they have never read a certain book, but they did watch the movie.

I try to explain how the movie is simply one person’s interpretation of how that story might be transformed into live-action (or animation), but they don’t buy it.

True, there are students who share my view regarding books, but it seems there are more who like the movie better.

For them, someone else’s depiction is good enough. It doesn’t matter that this or that scene was dropped, or changed. They aren’t concerned by scenes that were added, or dialogue that was changed.

Not having read the book, they aren’t aware of the difference.

For them, watching a movie for an hour-and-a-half or two hours is an acceptable investment of their time, versus the few days (or more) it may take them to read the book.

And watching a movie isn’t a struggle: the dialogue is spoken, and the imagery is presented larger-than-life.

Those of us who, like myself, prefer reading the book still have that option and, I suspect, we always will. I don’t believe that “books” are becoming obsolete, although they may take a new form using electronic ink.

At one time, writers wrote with ink and quill pen; later typewriters became the norm, to be followed by computers. Whatever the media, writers will write.

The difference will be that what we know as “the written word” will not be the only form of communication; writers will collaborate with graphic designers and web developers to make their work more interactive, and appeal to a broader audience.

What we need to do is to embrace the changes.

I am debating whether or not to purchase an e-reader, those pocketbook-sized devices that display books on a screen, and can store hundreds, even thousands, of books in their memory banks.

I see the advantage of these devices – most notably their portability and capacity. I could take an entire box of books on vacation with me, or a single e-reader.

I also see the disadvantage – the battery never dies on a printed book.

For me, though, whatever the format and the enhancements, what it all comes down to is basic literacy.

In the mid-60s there was a program called Reading Is Fundamental, which continues to be the largest, not-for-profit organization promoting literacy in the USA.

Often their promotions would emphasize the fun in “fundamental.”

It’s unfortunate that some children (and adults) struggle to read, and cannot find the enjoyment that many of us do in reading.

It is also sad when politicians, like Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford, propose cuts to library and arts funding, because literacy is not the sole purview of the school system; literacy is communication, in any form.

Reading may be the primary building block, but it is only the beginning.

But… that’s just my opinion.


“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”
- Groucho Marx