There is more to literacy than reading
Posted by Tim Bergman on February 20, 2009
I love it that my 6 year old daughter is taking music classes in 1st grade. Actually, I’m rather jealous. When I was her age I definitely didn’t know where to put all of the types of instruments in an orchestra pit. That’s right, this week she brought home a stack of quizzes, tests, and work sheets where she has been learning all about woodwinds, brass, percussion and strings, as well as where they are positioned relative to the conductor. Simply astonishing.
Naturally, my first reaction to all of this was a great sense of pride that she had gotten all A’s with this — I’m sure that has nothing to do with my appreciation of music. :) Quickly after that thought I was so appreciative of the fact that she has such wonderful opportunities at her school. As I began my mental descent back down through the clouds and toward the ground though, I realized how much she is really learning about music as a whole.
Music is far more than just learning a few cute little songs or how to hear a tune and match your voice to its melody. Music is something tangible like the notes on a page, yet it also remains intangible through the influence it can have over the heart. It includes the instruments, musicians, conductors, composers, and audience. So, those notes on the page are just the beginning. You have to learn how to interpret those notes into an intonation of sorts. Then, you must continue to practice until finally you are able to enjoy more music. Not simply as a listener, but as an artist.
My mind wandered down this path and brought me to a fork in the road, so to speak. I realized that there is a difference between the amount of enjoyment that people can get from merely listening to a CD compared to the artists that recorded the music to the CD. As a musician you are exposed to so many more levels of musical enjoyment. That thought made me say to myself that it’s just not fair that some people cannot enjoy the deeper appreciation. And then it struck me… as though someone had thrown over the music stand and it came crashing to the floor. I realized that there are millions of people that are being deprived of far more than musical enjoyment because they cannot read music — what about the people that can’t even read?!
I cannot imagine what it would be like to do even the simplest of things without being able to read. Imagine how much you would miss even on television! We take for granted that we can read the ticker scrolling across the bottom of the screen when we watch the news. We forget the fact that we’re reading the names of a product on the package being displayed on a commercial. And we never even think twice that we’re reading the names on a door when we see an actor go into an office building. Yet there are millions of people around the world that may be enjoying the same TV shows, commercials, and movies that we are, but they aren’t able to enjoy them to their fullest potential.
Suddenly, my mind’s eye raced through my house, past the living room, down the basement stairs, past the game tables, and into the play room where my thoughts froze. I was looking at 72′ of shelves made of wood and absolutely crammed full of books. We’ve got a collection of nearly everything from the first books we read to the girls when they were babies, up to some of my technical programming books, or the biographies that my wife enjoys reading, and everything in between. I was ever so grateful that my girls all have the ability to read, and even more thankful that they have the opportunities to partake of an abundance of literature that is available to them at any time. But my heart slumped when I thought of all of the children around the world that do not have such wonderful opportunities. What about the people that don’t have such a selection of reading material?
It’s hard enough for me to imagine not being able to pick up on the seemingly insignificant details of everyday life without being able to read. But even if people can read, there are still many children that never get to practice. Just as a musician learns a deeper understanding and appreciation of music as they practice over and over, the same applies for individuals as they read. Through practice, an understanding of music can be developed that enables a person to use their own imagination to create their own melodies. By having a variety of reading materials to choose from people learn to unlock their imaginations, and in doing so, broaden the scope of their potential. So, people need to have literature available to them. But how?
I have the priviledge of working for Better World Books, a company that promotes literacy initiatives around the world. Actually, we don’t just promote literacy — we’re driving it! If you walk through the halls of our offices you will see pictures on the walls of adults and little children alike from around the globe that are so excited to receive the boxes of books that we send them. These children are learning to read, and you can tell that they certainly have an appreciation for books just by looking at the smiles on their faces and the sparkles in their eyes. If you go to our website you can see images of adults in other countries browsing the shelves of their local libraries that are stocked with books we have sent. I get excited when I think of what my work is doing around the world. I love it that we are giving people the opportunities to set their minds soaring so they can see a world beyond their homes.
So, you see, literacy is very much like music in that it can be appreciated on many levels. Everyone can enjoy listening to someone read a story just like we can enjoy listening to a song. There are those who read the stories, and there are those who play the songs. There are those who write the melodies, and there are those who put the words together that stir our imaginations and awaken our minds. Yes, literacy is so much more than letters formulated into words and grouped in clusters on a page. Literacy is the gateway to a better future full of limitless possibilities.
