Do Children NEED to read more books?

While working on the next funding application for Empleo, I came across this piece of pop discussion from the BBC. 

It's asking the question "Do Children NEED to read more books?"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24397801

It includes this comment from a Professor in Literacy at 

Sheffield Hallam University, Guy Merchant.

"There are numerous other forms in which reading and writing goes on these days, and I'd be keen to advocate their use as well. It's not just about books; it's about sharing the written form in whatever form it takes.
Interactive storybooks on [tablets], for instance, have huge benefits - they could be equally as important as traditional book stories.The most important thing is sharing text with a skilled reader, that's the core.There's often a strain of "golden-age-ism""When we were young the television was rationed so we enjoyed good books, and why shouldn't children today?"It's quite easy to blame new media for making book reading seem old-fashioned or "uncool". [But] we've got more possibilities now, and the more that we can encourage good quality interactive books in different media, the better.There's more reading and writing going on these days with the advent of things like the internet and mobile technology. Kids are growing up in a much richer literacy world, [but] it's not the world that some of us grew up in".

I read this argument time and time again. It always reminds me of something a lord mayor of a small town in Vichy France in 1941 might have said. "Well, Claude. Buggered that we've been taken over by the Boche, and it's not obviously not ideal, but at least we've still got our Claret and Boule!"

I'm not going to argue with a professor - he's far sharper than me, by the nature of his business, but I don't agree with him. 

Books improve literacy far more than any number of Internet blogs. I was badly let down by teachers, as anyone who has ever read my football book may attest, and when I arrived at Polytechnic, I was pulled up after my first assignment and asked if I wanted extra tuition in English. 

I said no and then, humiliated, read everything I could - all fiction. All of it. If that's "golden-ageism" then fine.  Bully for me. 

Had I carried on reading countless tediously written Psychology papers and text books, I would have been in big trouble career wise, as I went on to be a pretty decent bidwriter. 

It was fiction that improved my literacy, not magazine articles or sport commentaries. I am convinced that I'm not unique either.

Case in point: I've done some research and this is the 400 word paragraph I came up with to explain why a) Fiction maximises life chances and b) enhances communities. Thought you might like to read it.

"Evidence suggests that fiction readers achieve more in life, find better jobs and are generally happier, more contented human beings.  This message needs to get across to children at risk of leaving reading fiction behind. 

Reading helps children develop critical language skills and improve communication. It enables children to understand that life is a narrative and, essentially, so is community. 

Fiction since the Greeks is fundamentally about people. Books help children understand the history, context and psychology of the world they live in. 

Reading longer works of fiction, as opposed to blogs, joke sites, celebrity gossip, sport, magazines and other internet staples, improves concentration, opens up new worlds and stimulates the imagination.  

In fiction, children can see language written by skilled writers, in all its richness and glory, with all its sumptuous lexicon and extensive vocabulary; writing you don’t often get on internet blogs, which can be functional and prosaic.

Reading fiction can improve social skills, analysis, thinking and the ability to appraise - critical skills essential in higher education. A good work of fiction, gives life context, brings great joy and can stay with the reader forever, providing guidance, solace and inspiration when necessary in the challenges of life.  

Literate communities, where reading matters, are happier, more contented, healthier and enjoy higher levels of employment. High levels of literacy ensure inclusion and access to a wide range of jobs, education and leisure activities. Literacy enables access to University and students who access higher education have higher levels of income and are shown to be happier, more contented people. 

A strong, successful community requires strong and secure literacy skills for its constituents. 

Research suggests that low levels of literacy are associated with poor educational attainment, limited employment prospects, poverty, crime, health inequalities and lower social and political participation in our society. 

Children that don’t read often fall behind in a wide range of academic subjects, including mathematics. High levels of literacy ensure inclusion and access to a wide range of jobs, education and leisure activities. 

Poor literacy skills are strongly associated with social deprivation. Communities which have residents with higher levels of literacy are happier, more contented are healthier and have higher levels of employment. Lower levels of crime have been recorded.  

Books encourage an interest in the wider world community. Huge groups of people meet on social media to discuss books. These groups tend to be educated, knowledgeable, multi-cultural, international, and extremely passionate about fiction.


That's my bolding, by the way, for the purposes of this blog. All this information is freely available on the internet and I wish I had time to reference this - but if you were interested, you could look it up for yourself :D

Let's get kids reading fiction. Not just the Internet.