It's hard to separate the process of reading from the reading material itself. Simply put...
Kids + books = literacy.
School libraries overflow with things to read, on paper and onscreen. School libraries and literacy - HARD TO SEPARATE
Unfortunately kids can be given books, and they can decide to watch television instead or to zone out in front of a game screen.
But there is no shortcut to literacy. We learn to read by reading. Nonreaders become readers by reading beginner books, which enable them to read books just a bit harder, which allow them to grasp more sophisticated writing and concepts.
Students need enormous quantities of successful reading to become independent, proficient readers. - Dr. Richard Allington
It takes an inspired teacher or teacher-librarian to lead our children on the path to literacy, but books are perhaps the more subtle, and enduring influences throughout our lives... Without knowing it, we, as readers, absorb not only the phrases and vocabulary, but also the thoughts, images, values and visions of the writer.
To a literate person, the library is a world of collective wisdom, a map to everywhere. No wonder it is the cornerstone of our schools, society, and institutions.
Further reading...
United Nations Site
A Call to Action: What We Know About Adolescent Literacy and Ways to Support Teachers in Meeting Students’ Needs; A Position/Action Statement from NCTE’s Commission on Reading
May 2004
Allington, R. (2002). What I’ve learned about effective reading instruction from a decade of studying exemplary elementary classroom teacher
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dr. charles best secondary school library
