we need to read more
I was looking at Kevin Smoker’s blog and saw his mention of how Seattle is the most literate city of 2005. How did Dallas and Ft. Worth rank? I don’t think that you want to know… but you need to.
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This is sad. Very sad. But then again, are our educators too busy training teaching kids for the TAKS test instead of teaching them the tools that they will not only need to take the test but to learn in general? Is this taking so much of their time that there is none left to encourage free reading?
I read a lot when I was a kid. Looking back, and knowing this, I am not sure when I quit reading on a regular basis. I am trying to recapture that, and have finished Lunar Park, and am now reading Glamorama. Right now I am reading while on the treadmill at the gym. I have not moved into reading at home in lieu of being on the computer or parked in front of the TV, but I think I will eventually get there. It does make my cardio seem like less of a chore.
These numbers are embarrassing for Dallas and Ft. Worth. I am not even sure where to begin with trying to determine why this is. Is it the education system? Are people not being encouraged to read? Do we need more literacy programs? I don’t know about other people, but when it comes to newspapers, I usually consume that online. Anyone have thoughts on this?
I grew up before television, so reading was encouraged by parents. Schools and public libraries encourage reading, but it’s easy to lose interest because they push propaganda instead of material with spirit. Incidently, over on The Christian Prophet blog today Jesus takes Christian socialists seriously to task.
Yep, apparently Seattle has some literate people. But I can’t say I agree with the quote that schools and public libraries push propaganda–it seems someone else is doing that.
Cully
Degreedate.com
Having lived in several cities before Dallas, I can attest to the lack of literacy among the population. And I am not solely referring to the literacy rate of the populas, but more to the fact that people do not read period. Aside from that horrible Quick, you rarely see people reading a major news publication or book. It’s virtually impossible to have conversations of a literary nature in general because most of the people I encounter (at least) don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.
At work I always have The New York Times and Morning News to myself. The only section ever missing is the sports page. That’s says it all.
Very interesting point that you raise. When I ride the train to work every morning, it is almost like a traveling library car, people are so intuned to their “Quick” newspapers and some are either reading other fictional books, listening to music or sleeping. However,in further reflection, overwhelmingly, it is the Caucasian populous that is reading more so that others. It comes from what most caucasian tell me was teir upbring, which was “we had TV, but my parents insisted that we read a book a week” I hear this from a majority of them. Whereas from other minorities it is either alisten to music or sleeping and some readers of the bible that you see. I contribute that to being a parental issue where the parent is not instilling into our kids not only the power of the “big book”, the bible, but how important it is that they read fiction, non fiction, periodical, etc… so that they can be able to converse on multiple levels and improve the very TAKS test that is testing their aptitudes. I remember something in my you that stics with me, it is “Reading is Fundamental”.
Very interesting point that you raise. When I ride the train to work every morning, it is almost like a traveling library car, people are so intuned to their “Quick” newspapers and some are either reading other fictional books, listening to music or sleeping. However,in further reflection, overwhelmingly, it is the Caucasian populous that is reading more so than others. It comes from what most caucasian tell me was their upbringing, which was “We had TV, but my parents insisted that we read a book a week” I hear this from a majority. Whereas, from other minorities it is either that they are listening to music or sleeping and some readers of the bible that you see. I contribute this neglect to a parental issue where the parent is not instilling into the kids not only the power of the “big book”, The Bible, but how important it is that they read fiction, non fiction, periodical, etc… so that they can be able to converse on multiple levels and improve the very TAKS test that is testing their aptitudes. I remember something in my you that sticks with me, it is “Reading is Fundamental”.
Very interesting point that you raise. When I ride the train to work every morning, it is almost like a traveling library car, people are so intuned to their “Quick” newspapers and some are either reading other fictional books, listening to music or sleeping. However,in further reflection, overwhelmingly, it is the Caucasian populous that is reading more so than others. It comes from what most caucasian tell me was their upbringing, which was “We had TV, but my parents insisted that we read a book a week” I hear this from a majority. Whereas, from other minorities it is either that they are listening to music or sleeping and some readers of the bible that you see. I contribute this neglect to a parental issue where the parent is not instilling into the kids not only the power of the “big book”, The Bible, but how important it is that they read fiction, non fiction, periodical, etc… so that they can be able to converse on multiple levels and improve the very TAKS test that is testing their aptitudes. I remember something in my you that sticks with me, it is “Reading is Fundamental”.
compared to my time living & spectating in nyc, where the subways and buses were filled with people reading books and newspapers in every language, the daily life i see in dallas is quite non-literary–note the lack of bookstores and active libraries here–but maybe no more so than the average large american city, plus one needs to take into account computer usage, i guess…
books and newspapers are dying anyway. we have cell phone-devices with increasingly sophisticated features to help us communicate and get “news”–the grapheme is morphing into the sound/image as the symbol of choice for the 21st-century citizen. dallas is ahead of the pack in this regard; who needs language when you have the new-reality of virtual contact?