Books and reading teach us that we are not alone. We go into ourselves when reading. But there we find another self – our reader self. The internal dialogues we have with the words of the author and ourselves are part awakening and part fellowship. It’s hard to feel entirely alone as a reader.
Engage the children you shepherd, whether teacher, administrator, or parent, in daily doses of reading with you and by reading on their own. This helps reading be something they own and look forward to each day. It becomes part of them and helps to shape their identities by fueling their passions and soothing the rough parts of life, too.
Books in hands. This is where it all begins. This is where it grows over time. From my forty years as an educator, especially as a literacy specialist, I have witnessed many reading wars and engaged in numerous passion fights myself to champion what I know as truth: We learn to read by reading. In this simple truth, I have supported and watched hundreds of children (thousands, in truth) bud and blossom as readers. The exact journey and timeline of reading learning wasn’t and isn’t the same for all children. But, from my observations and interactions, a few common factors have become vital patterns in successfully nurturing growing readers.
In the last year or so, the ugly reading wars have once again become fonder for argument and division. Worst of all, these fights are political, commercial, and drive learning and teaching into the desert of odd programs which provide children with little or no actual reading. I try not to let this crush my heart but I must admit that I am flabbergasted that we continue to fight with one another over methodology when common sense so clearly and vividly illuminates the truth – To grow readers, children need to read. Period.
Reading not only has tremendous power when it comes to fueling the development of all aspects of language ability, its importance to the entirety of a human life in this day and age really can’t be overstated.
- A book is a gift you can open again and again. — Garrison Keillor
- Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. — Kofi Annan
- Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. — Frederick Douglass
- Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his needs, is good for him. — Maya Angelou
- There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book. — Frank Serafini
- Children are made readers on the laps of their parents. — Emilie Buchwald
- One of the greatest gifts adults can give—to their offspring and to their society—is to read to children. — Carl Sagan
- You may have tangible wealth untold; caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be. I had a mother who read to me. — Strickland Gillian
- Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift. — Kate DiCamillo
- Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light. — Vera Nazarian