Editorial

­Readers are Leaders 

With Book Week happening this week at many schools around the country, I thought it was good to remind us of the importance of getting lost in a book! MECS too, will celebrate with some Book Week activities in various year levels in the coming weeks.  

Harry S Truman is credited with the following quote, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Learning to love reading no matter what the genre, be it Romance, Military strategy, Drama, comics or classics, is something that sets us up for life! To teach your child to be discerners of the world they must learn to read. 

Learning to read is one of the first and most important things that we learn at school. The ability to participate in all other subjects well, depends on our ability to read. We need to be able to read the problems in Mathematics, read instructions in Design Technology, read patterns in Textiles and read recipes in Food Technology. The ability to read is quite obviously a really useful and practical skill but it is also something that can be a wonderfully enjoyable thing to do as well. It enables us to travel to far off lands, learn more about our favourite hobbies and pastimes and simply to unwind and relax. (I haven’t really had a holiday unless I have sat and shut out the world and read for a day!) Reading also gives us wonderful access into the Bible which is God’s word given to us in written form. In fact if we don’t learn to read well it can affect our finances, our job prospects for the future, our ability to participate fully in many of the everyday aspects of society. It is so important to encourage our children young and old to spend time off their devices and in books. 

So to help your children learn to love reading here are some hints and tips that may help. 

Your child will want to read if: 

• there is a choice of things to read.  If everything you own has been read a million times and now seems a little young for them, take a trip to the library or perhaps try swapping some much-loved books with a friend. 
• you offer a variety of texts.  Have your child read a recipe to you as you cook, or read the instructions for a board game you're going to play together, read the family devotion or even the back of a book that they want to purchase.  
• you're not too ambitious.  Reading at home with you should be about building their confidence in reading. They have worked hard at school all day mastering new literacy concepts so your time with them shouldn't be about challenging them further. Relax and have fun! It is OK to read appropriate comic books or 4 Wheel Drive magazines if that is what interests your children. All appropriate reading is good reading. 
• you have regular reading times together.  The end of the day is often a great time to read together, or a lazy school holiday morning in bed. You can either take turns reading aloud from the same book, or just lie side-by-side reading your own books quietly. Parents and other family members modelling reading is a great way to show your child the value of reading. 

So if you want your children to be leaders, help them to be readers! Now where did I put my book...