Does it really matter if I can read or think?

I was fortunate as a youngster to have a mom who would read to me all of the time. My mom wasn’t necessarily a voracious reader herself but the dusty bookshelves of my father showed his passion that I inherited which was to become someone who thinks.  I know that my dad’s love of books drove my mom crazy as they consumed their various houses over the years. The sad fact today is that most millennials have grown up around a texting, facebooking, snapchating, instagram world where reading in the old school fashion has been lost.

I work and live in a world that has a vast variety of people that range from PhD’s to those that won’t graduate from High School because they can’t read or do math. What is frightening for the American populace is that we are raising a generation that will never touch a book, even as a youngster and most likely be placed next to a tablet or I should say Ipad mini in their crib. The scary factor that must jump up at everyone is that there is a direct correlation between an individual’s reading ability and their ability to think critically. 

I work with at risk youth and college students where the ability to communicate is key to exist, yet, most of these young people fall so short when it comes to writing a complete sentence or articulate their views or biases. The question that must jump out at us is WHY? What has caused the U.S. youth population to lag so far behind educationally from the rest of the world, especially what would be perceived as 3^rd world countries like India or China? Reading and thinking becomes the pathway to a better life and the ability to influence those around you!

I had asked a few of my summer interns over the last couple of years to read a book that would help them be better equipped to work with our at risk population. I hate to confess but my efforts to persuade these interns to read failed. The couple of books I give away all of the time are excellent but the amount of effort and discipline required clearly is missing. I confess to the fact that I have read most of my life to gain information and not to necessarily enjoy the act of reading and indulging in growing my imagination.

Recently one of my interns had posted about watching a newer T.V. series on Netflix. I chuckled when I had messaged her about the newer T.V. series that is based on a true story that was based upon a book.  When I initially told my friend about the book she gave the impression really, like I expected her to have red it first before watching the series. I said I had finished the book and believed it to be excellent and was clearly the basis for what made the series a hit. She gave the impression that she didn’t see any reason to read the book.

Most get the maxim that knowledge is power and the ability to gather information is the path to succeeding whether that is in the business world, family, church or non-profit sector. The opportunity is to understand the difference between accumulating knowledge and the ability to use that knowledge as a tool for good that promotes reconciliation and peace. What will be missing when reading and thinking are cast to the wayside is the wisdom that is needed to help in life’s tough circumstances that require critical thinking! So what should you do? Get a book and start reading and then find a kid, young kid and become their special reading friend!