Thursday, 28 March 2024

World of Words: Reading is fun!

Reading isn't just for education. Reading is supposed to be fun!

It just so happens that reading just for the joy of it also has some big educational benefits for students.

The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development found that reading for enjoyment was a more important marker for children’s success in school than their family’s income, education or occupation.

Research done at the Institute for Education in London had similar results. They found that a love of reading was more important for a child’s educational success than having a parent who had attended college.

The study states that, “The combined effect on children's progress of reading books often, going to the library regularly and reading newspapers at 16 was four times greater than the advantage children gained from having a parent with a degree.”

Common Sense Media published a report that found that the percentage of 9 year old children reading for pleasure has dropped 5 percent from 81 percent in 1984 to 76 percent in 2013.

The report shows that older children read for pleasure even less. About half of 17 year old teenagers report reading for pleasure less than twice a year.

This is unfortunate because children who do not develop a love of reading at a young age often miss the benefits of the reading they are assigned in school.

Children can fall behind as they develop the feeling that reading is boring. This leads to less developed language and literacy skills that can harm the child throughout school and their adult life.

The good news is that it only takes one role model to share the joy of reading with a child.

It can be as simple as reading for pleasure yourself, sharing your favorites from childhood, and helping children find the books that match their interests.

Do you have a child in your life you can be a model reader for? Take a field trip to the library!

Find more information about your local library at http://library.lakecountyca.gov/ .

Christopher Veach is the county librarian for Lake County, Calif.

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