America’s Single Most Important Social Factor

Jim Trelease was the “read-aloud” guy, and what a guy he was.  Dedicating much of his life to what he called the best kept secret in education, his message was pointed:  “Reading is the single most important social factor in American life today.”

His claims were bold: “The more you read, the smarter you grow.  The smarter you grow, the longer you stay in school.  The longer you stay in school, the more money you earn.  The more you earn, the better your children will do in school.  So if you hook a child with reading, you influence not only his future but also the next generation.”

His motives were equally clear: “I read to my kids because my father read to me.  I just wanted them to have the good feelings I had …”  In fact, Trelease can’t remember a day when his father did not read to him.  Isn’t that incredible?  Well done, Mr. Trelease!

Though Jim’s read-aloud case was compelling, it was nonetheless a hard sell for the majority of his parent-audiences.  “Most people don’t believe me when they first hear it,”  Trelease said.  “They dismiss it for three reasons:  One, it’s simple.  Two, it’s free.  Three, the child enjoys it.  So how good can it be?”

But every parent who has practiced this time-honored habit knows exactly how good it can be.  It’s not only a powerful educational event, it’s an enormous bonding experience.  And the benefits are not only intellectual, psychological and emotional, but spiritual as well!  In fact, there is historical evidence that the Puritan homes in New England made this a commonplace practice; John Adams himself wrote about it.

So as reading literacy remains at the foundation of a solid education, we must be forever committed to giving our young the best possible literacy teaching through the best possible literacy curriculum reinforced by the best possible literacy training.  “Sold a Story,” Emily Handford’s ground-breaking podcast that taught us the dangers of accepting the status quo, made us more determined to never fall into that trap again.  

Our schools must require comprehensive teacher-training in structured literacy that is  phonics-based and informed by the science of reading.  As they do so, our parents must become equally heartened in their resolve to read to their children at home.  

By teaching them how to read at school, and reading aloud to them at home, the message that reading is one of life’s greatest gifts will not be easily lost.  And the more this becomes a way of life for them, the more the sky becomes the limit as well.   

Schroeder is the former Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction, an ordained minister and founder/president of The ChrisCorps Association (bschroeder081858@gmail.com)