Summer vacation is drawing near an end. Did you go on any high adventures, sail the open seas, have a duel with a wizard, kiss a frog, or cross paths with a monster? Did you laugh or shed a tear? Did you fall in love or discover new interests? Did you learn something new or refresh your memory? Reading has the potential of answering all these questions and much, much more. However, before we can talk about fun books to read these remaining weeks of summer, let’s address some statistics that will have you rushing for the nearest library or bookstore.
Depending on where you live, your school district’s calendar, summer vacation can be excessive. Mental gears slow down and begin squeaking, creative thinking is set aside for immediate techno gratification, and books remain on shelves unopened.
Do you realize that for some children, reading is not an integral part of their lives during summer or any other part of the year, books are not in their homes and library cards are an anomaly. This is a tragedy, as reading is fundamental and essential to life long success. For four decades, the literacy rate of 13 to 17 year olds has been at a stagnated low. What is the reasoning for this?
From 1993 to 2007, parental involvement in encouraging literacy with various activities, such as reading to the child, telling a story, or teaching numbers and words, has increased substantially. This increase in familial involvement has helped more preschoolers be ready for school, but it is still insufficient. Somewhere along the way, children are not getting enough literary attention. In 2011 about one-third of 4th and 8th graders reached reading proficiency. That leaves two-thirds of this nation’s elementary students below proficiency.
Studies have proven that solid reading skills lead to future successes. If the low literacy trends continue, so will low graduation rates.The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy revealed that 30 million American adults scored at “below basic”, meaning they could perform no more than the most rudimentary literacy tasks. There is a correlation and it is sickening to see that the trends are not significantly improving. Just because a parent may get their child ready for kindergarten by teaching them the alphabet and their numbers, it is not sufficient for the parents to then step out of the picture, leaving the entirety of education to the public schools. Parental involvement must continue throughout all the child’s education…yes, even into high school. Children’s Bookstore offers several articles with great ideas to encourage literacy, not to mention a very large book selection!
Only weeks remain before that anticipated first day back to school. Whether you are 5 and going into kindergarten or 17 and entering your final year of secondary education, reading is forever a part of your academic career. Give heed to the statistics and start reading.
If you haven’t read a book all summer, don’t fret, it’s not too late to still pick up some books from the store or library. Rub the sleep out of your eyes, stretch your bored and lazy mind, put your feet up for a while and cool off, relax. Grab that book and dive into something other than a pool.
Here are just a few books to fill these final summer days with, in preparation for that first day back to school:
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Resource:
Pre-K-12 Literacy. The Progress of Education Reform. 2011,December, 12(6) www.ecs.org/per