Read, Read, Read
I was reminded again this week just how important reading is and I want to share my thoughts with you. I just want kids to love reading, and really adults, too!! Reading is one of those skills that precedes all other skills; once you can see letters and words, the world opens up to you. Former President Barack Obama captures this so well in his quote, "Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible.” If a child can read, school becomes easy and worlds open up for them.
I am tutoring a few afternoons a week at the school where I used to teach. I am part of a book club that a few staff members put together and I absolutely love it! I went in last week and could not wait to tell my friend that I finished a book she told me about (Shoutout, Jones!). Bonding over books is a real and true phenomenon and I love it! A few minutes later another book club member, “Mr. G”, came to my classroom to tell me he finished said book, and our excitement was so palpable that my 10 tutoring students could feel it! Several of them had Mr. G last year and after he left they asked me how long we had been, “best friends”. My heart melted. I told them we had only met last year and that reading books together really brought us closer.
At that moment, my passion for kids to LOVE reading hit me right in the face. The students I tutor, and those I used to teach, all struggle with reading, and I really want to fix that for kids, but it takes everyone. Study after study reveals just how important reading is, especially engaged reading, for fun and just the pleasure of it. Brain scans actually show that while reading fiction the same portion of the brain is activated that is activated in real-life events, and that empathy for others is triggered in children as young as 5 years old when they read about someone else’s struggles. (Huffington Post Article)
Here are some amazing reading facts compiled by We Are Teachers. Reading is so good for you and a few of these facts may even get some adults to crack open a good fiction book, and if you have children in your life, buy them books and read to them every chance you get!!
Reading for 6 minutes a day reduces stress by 68% (Reading proved to be 600% more beneficial in fighting stress than playing a video game, and 300% more useful than going for a walk. Its impact even surpasses drinking a cup of tea (100%) or listening to music (68%)
When children have a home library, as little as 20 books of their own, they achieve 3 MORE YEARS of schooling than children who don’t have any books at home.
Read 20 minutes a day and you will have read 1,800,000 words per year.
Children who read 1,000,000 words per year are in the top 2% of reading achievement.
Children learn 4,000 to 12,000 words per year through reading.
If you read just one book a day to your child, they will have been read 1,825 books by their 5th birthday.
There can be such mystery and intrigue when you open a good book. As Stephen King says, “Books are uniquely portable magic”, and he’s right. Nothing else on the planet can be carried in your hand while you are transported to another world. I know you may say phones and the internet here, but it’s still not the same as a book. JK Rowling, who might know a thing or two about books, says, “Wherever I am, if I’ve got a good book with me, I have a place I can go and be happy.”
My daughter FINALLY started reading for fun again and it’s wonderful to share these adventures with her. She enjoyed reading when she was in elementary, but it all went away when she had to read for knowledge during her school years. I remember the same thing happened to me. I didn’t start reading for pleasure again until after college and I wish I hadn’t waited so long. The benefits of reading are countless, but here are a few more you may not have thought of:
Reading improves sleep and overall literacy
Reading increases general knowledge
Reading teaches empathy
Reading is motivational
Reading can increase your lifespan (According to a study published in Social Science & Medicine, reading books for at least 30 minutes a day can increase one’s lifespan)
Bonding over common themes in a book builds huge connections with others, especially those in different shoes than yours. We need more and more empathy in our world and the fact that something as simple as opening a book can help, I say we all go for it! Maybe make February a time to love people a little better. Integrate Black History Month into your book choices. Maybe grab a book by an author you have never read and see how your mind can open. Take time to read about people and celebrate their lives.
I’ll leave you with a quote from the wonderful Maya Angelou, “When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”
