Are You Aliterate?

Last December, we shared information about the status of reading at Dexter Regional High School. The underlying reason for the lack of interest in reading is not entirely the fault of the school.

Some believe that reading , whether for information or pleasure, involves too much of an investment of time. Others believe that "the times they are a-changin" and for them, video and internet sources are efficient and sufficient. For some time there has been a trend towards "infotainment", and the abandonment of narrative as the source for enlightenment.

There was a time when reading was the tool to inform the masses; when the difference between an educated society was defined by its literacy, and when mass communication was dependent on the ability to read and write effectively. Even the Maine Learning Results benchmark requires that all students must be "clear and effective communicators." How clearly must they be able to read, in order to satisfy that standard?

In the current political primary contests between Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Republican John McCain and his previous primary contenders, there has been a barrage of sound bites and "You Tube" videos upon which many voters are apparently making their choices among the candidates. How many of us have even desired to read their many prepared speeches or policy papers before we decide on our choice of candidate?

If schools are using internet-based literacy programs that teach phonics, are students learning to read or are they learning to get what the screen offers them? If we use the web as the source for information are we shortchanging ourselves of the real wealth of enlightenment we can get from books and periodicals? What is the value of the joy of imagining as you read from the printed page?