something i've been thinking about lately. . .
what's the big deal about
books? why has our culture elevated books as a superior form of communication? why is it so imperative that we nurture a
lifelong love of reading in our nation's youth? what is so terrible about not really liking to read books?
Iliteracy in the US and around the world is a problem. there is absolutely no question about that and therefore i won't bother to discuss it. people should
be able to read. but why are so many people up in arms about this apparent problem of
Aliteracy?
Aliteracy, for those who aren't familiar with the term, is having the ability to read, but choosing not to. it seems to me that our culture demonizes
Aliteracy and the people who 'suffer' from it.
Aliterate people are looked down on as less cultured or deficient because their first instinct when they have some spare time is not to pick up a novel. for example, a textbook that i'm reading for one of my classes discusses the idea of SSR. sustained silent reading. the textbook suggests some ways to deal with 'those children who simply refuse to read.' it suggests just letting them 'sleep' and assumes that eventually, when they see how much all the other kids are enjoying it, they'll realize that they love reading too. what a crock of s*#t? first of all, why must we assume that a child who does not like to read is broken? or...
tired for that matter? perhaps this child just likes to receive information in other forms and through other mediums. perhaps during SSR said child should be allowed to listen to music or read a comic book. i could be wrong about this, but isn't the purpose of reading to
enrich our lives and teach us new things about new people and the world around us? why is it that we believe reading books is the only
real way to accomplish this?
i type this diatribe as someone who could be thought of as [gasp]
Aliterate. i've got the disease, people. don't come too close or you might catch it. when i have some spare time, my first instinct is almost never to pick up a book. in fact, my first instinct when i have some spare time is usually to [shudder] listen to my favorite rock music cd. shhh. don't tell
the first lady.
now, don't get me wrong. i
like books. i like novels and short stories and poems. i like reading. i like literature. i'm going to be an English teacher, for crying out loud. i think that all people have the ability to, at the very least, appreciate books and probably even enjoy reading them. but i also think that all people have the right to choose how they spend their time and how they receive information. and so i do not think literate people who choose not to read are stupid or ignorant or lame. perhaps instead of pouring resources into fighting
Aliteracy, we ought to be striving to promote
multiple literacies. if a kid likes to watch tv, let's teach him how to do it properly. certainly
all forms of communication--written or otherwise--have the ability to enrich our lives and teach us new things.
