Reading takes you places
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I often ask myself, and sometimes people I meet, what the leverage point is in our country? If there was a difference that would make all the difference what would it be? What's the one thing that if we got it right, it would shift things in a positive way, it would move us forward towards more mastery and fulfilment?
I always find the replies I get fascinating. And what's even more interesting, is education comes up most often.
My next question is then what specifically in Education is our leverage point to make the difference that would make all the difference? The answers vary.Tonight though, I got an answer not from directly asking my leverage question, but from listening to the extensive research Dr Lilli Pretorius is doing at UNISA around reading.
Her talk at the Origins Centre at Wits University was entitled "Reading: the means to a transformed mind and changed brain."
What stood out for me is how reading is a 'new' skill for humankind, in that it is only 4000 years old, and it is not a genetic or biological factor like language is. Reading is a skill that has to be learnt for the specific neural pathways required for reading to be formed. Through the process of learning to read, the brain is literally re-wired and new areas of specialisation are formed. They don't naturally form, as the connections for language do. And the more you practice reading, the more these connections are developed.
Dr Pretorius also mentioned how literacy, specifically reading, has also been shown to be the foundation of all formal education, in that writing and even numerical literacy improve as and when reading improves.
The data on how our children in South Africa are performing when it comes to reading is quite startling. In one study of Grade 4 and 5's, 78% of the learners did not meet minimum standards. In another international study, South Africa came 8th out of 14 countries in terms of literacy scores. These kinds of results are an indictment of our education system- not of our children- and how our system of education is failing them in giving them what, in our world today, is the basis of formal education and the information age: the ability to read.
Dr Pretorius went on to say that the tipping point is going to be in the classroom. And as early as possible. It sounds like as the brain ages, so it takes a lot more effort to re-wire and develop the much needed connections for the first component of reading to become automatic, which they called 'decoding'. Without this foundation step in place, any of the higher levels of comprehension and response to the information being read, are thwarted.
Her suggestions include making books more accessible, creating the opportunities for children to read, and inspiring them to read. We also need to be building our teachers capacity and parents interest, so that they are knowledgeable about reading and how reading extended texts, such as stories, help to not only rewire the brain to develop the skill, but also becomes a vehicle for transforming minds.
As I thought about publishing this on my blog and on Facebook, I thought too that the entire mechanism of blogging and Facebook is based on our ability to read. How lucky am I, and you who read this, to have a brain that was rewired so many years ago, such that we take it for granted that we can decode and comprehend these symbols. We so often forget that the most powerful learning tool we have, we were not born with. How liberating it is to know that the ability to read is available to anyone who experiences the opportunity to rewire their brain. And with that, can read a bit of text that can lead to "a leap into transcendence" (A. Rich).
So, anyone for a story?
NOTE: I'll be collecting books for the 'Bookshelf Project' run by Chris Dykes, to help create these opportunities and the much needed inspiration for children less fortunate than I was, to rewire their brains, so that they too can one day take their ability to read for granted. If you'd like to get involved, get in touch :)
Labels: Dr Lilli Pretorius, literacy, reading
posted by Telana @ 11:34 pm,
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Telana Simpson
Telana Simpson is a Professional Personal and Communication Coach. She is a caring and focused facilitator who has a passion for expression. She helps executives, individuals and entrepreneurs find authentic ways of communicating their inner potentials.
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