By Rick Garcia
If I could go far back to the very first book I opened, it was a used tattered hardcover called “Smudge.” I was four or five and my older sister read aloud as I followed the colorful “smear”
illustrations of a brave black kitten and her siblings who were off to adventurous mischief.
As the years passed, I did not enjoy reading as much until I had children. As infants I read to them aloud “Clifford the Big Red Dog”, “Thomas the Tank Engine” and scores of pop-up books.
Over the years this ritual progressed to meatier stories and children’s book series where their ability to read aloud and in silence gave them the confidence to excel in school. Now with my two younger twins – half hour reading every night before bedtime is a standard ritual.
This month has been designated “National Reading Month” and there is no better time to address the need for children everywhere to be introduced to the early learning skills which will
play a critical role in their lives.
School children across the state and country are opening books to the likes of Dr. Seuss and “Pinkalicious” to “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” or Percy Jackson. Thanks to the ongoing efforts of PTO, PTA, Public Libraries and The Great Start Collaborative, which is part of the State’s Early Childhood Investment Corporation, we’re seeing more concentrated efforts on the zero to eight age group – to prepare them for school readiness.
Successful early child development starts from the first four years of their life which is a critical stage in learning language. During this period it is easier for them to learn any type of language including verbal, receptive, foreign and written. In Michigan the Early Childhood Investment
Corporation’s Great Start
Babies as young as nine months have the ability to read. Not only is this natural, it is an essential part of development, says Dr. Robert C. Titzer, an expert on infant research, who notes that early readers have more self-esteem and are more likely to stay in school.
Additionally, a national panel of reading specialists and educators determined that most of the nation’s reading problems could be eliminated if children began reading earlier.
Reading Month should not be limited to children but for adults as well. Approximately twenty percent of the adult population in the county is illiterate. According to the National Institute for Literacy, more than 20 percent of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level – far below the level needed to earn a living wage. Nearly 44 million adults in the U.S. are functionally illiterate and can’t read well enough to read a simple story to a child or do simple tasks like balancingcheck books, reading drug labels or writing essays for a job.
Let’s not forget that Dyslexia, a learning disability in reading, spelling and writing which affects one out of every five children or ten million in America, is a growing problem for adults as well.
To learn more on how you can get involved in helping children and adults read or participate in a reading project, contact the Capital Area Literacy Coalition (CALC) also known as “The Reading
People” at (517) 485-4949.
Rick Garcia, a nonprofit executive, a civil rights advocate, blogger and a contributing writer for The New Citizens Press can be reached at rrgarcianrg@gmail.com
This was printed in the March 10, 2013 – March 23, 2013 Edition
