Read! Otherwise you have surrendered to self-chosen ignorance!

What’s happening today? Most college students that I’m around don’t read and actually go out of their way to find short cuts that avoid reading! Yes, the internet and access to online resources can be incredible until you end up becoming a person who only cuts and pastes into your Word Doc. What’s the disconnect with reading, owning books or using your kindle? Has texting or messaging replaced the need to actually expand your vocabulary and increase your brainpower? 

I admit that between undergrad studies in Biochemistry and Philosophy that I shifted from a non-reader and inept writer to someone that loved to read and has become passionate about blogging. This happened primarily through the influence of my wife who is a voracious reader. She grew up in a home where books, reading and learning were a delight not a duty. The challenge today, regardless of racial or educational background, is that we are just too busy to find the time to read to our kids so forget about reading for pleasure in our spare time. 

What’s happened that our up and coming generation has lost the passion for books, reading and ultimately learning? Is it really all about finding the shortest path for success? If I don’t absolutely have to do something than why waste the time and energy to do it? I have always been amazed at my wife’s imagination and ability to express herself in the written word! Yet, I know that this gift is totally a byproduct of her mom and dad’s passion for learning and having access to the classic works of literature.

My present journey is working with kids and teens that have grown up without a parent that read to them and have instead been plopped in front of either an iPad or big screen T.V. Many come out of homes where their parents don’t speak English much or at all which makes it very difficult for these youth to have the aptitude to pursue reading, writing and learning. So how does this present trend change? I believe that it is paramount that the readers who are aging baby boomers or seniors choose to take the time to be with their grandkids or adopt a little one. The magic of having someone listen to an expressive voice as they glance at a well-illustrated book is priceless.

There are no short cuts for changing the nonreading generation before us unless we make reading and writing a priority in our schools, colleges and vocational centers. Someone shouldn’t be allowed to graduate until they have developed the skills needed to read and write. Otherwise we have done them a disservice and they will miss out on a huge part of life. Dreaming and self-expression are some of the biggest gifts born through becoming a reader!

Yes, I confess that without having a wife that loved to read my kids and myself would be nonreaders will little imagination and ability to dream! The short sidedness of today’s nonreader is that we have chosen a path of ignorance and reliance upon others to understand the world around us and the meaning and purpose of life.