#BTColumn – An urgent call for literacy renewal

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Walter Edey

Reading, writing and thinking have always been important transformative tools, skills and human development life lines. They are assets of education, learning, entertainment pleasure and fun. They help one to better understand one’s world, make connections, and build relationships.

More importantly, being literate makes one an active participant and contributor to the prosperity of one’s family, community and society.  When literacy is unattended, everyone is at risk.    

The late Dr. Leonard Shorey, an education reformer, chaired an education commission in the early 1970s. The commission discovered that primary school students had very poor reading skills and the report argued: if students can’t read, they will not be able to do well in other subjects that need reading skills.

Furthermore, if this deficiency is left unattended, it will compromise their academic, vocational, and social future. Fifty-two years later, after that public shame was decreed by an educator who never minced his words, literacy standards have continued to decline at a faster rate.

What should Barbadians do now that the literacy pigeon has long left its coop? This crisis, like many other things in life, presents two choices: complain and play the blame game, or work together to find a solution.

This is a high bar for many. The inherited plantation mindset does not welcome cooperation. It strives on individual performance and success. However, trusting the experience of others as shown by research is the best bet. There is no need to debate anything or reinvent the wheel.

Here is why a collaborative effort can work. Reading is more than just an activity that happens in a classroom. Studies have shown that, for example, “instilling a love of books and reading from birth is an excellent way to introduce reading to children.

Reading one-on-one to children apparently is nurturing and helps develop the relationship between parent and child while also encouraging a positive connection between children and books; and one of the best activities to stimulate language and cognitive skills, it also builds motivation, curiosity, and memory.” Indeed, researchers posit that reading aloud to a baby sets the stage for school readiness by increasing awareness of the art of reading.

According to analyses of the PISA exam (Programme for International Student Assessment), which is given to 15-year-olds worldwide, the biggest factor influencing higher scores was whether or not a child was read to on a regular basis when they were young.

Furthermore, since there is also evidence that suggests reading to a child from the time it is in the womb opens up the world for the child, then the parent who reads to their child will contribute to its performance on achievement tests like the 11 plus exam.

Besides family, the church community, because of biblical teaching, should also be challenged to play a role in the literacy renewal drive. Reading is neither restrictive nor selfish to a particular type of literature.

The Bible advocates that Christian men should be reading men. In the story in Acts chapter 8 verses 29 – 31, an Ethiopian eunuch was reading a passage from Isaiah, the old testament, while he was travelling on a chariot. He was reading about shearing wool and the slaughtering of lambs.

Chances are that he may have been wondering how he could break the cycle of injustice and humiliation that happens to workers like him.

A fellow passenger named Philip who was far more widely read, asked the Eunuch if he understood what he was reading. The Eunuch said that one could only understand after receiving instruction. What a beautiful lesson of and for life!

Aside from the theology best explained by trained theologians, the story exemplifies and amplifies reading – and by extension writing, as active contributors to consciousness, to personal growth and maturity.

Imagine, an Ethiopian Eunuch who worked for a Queen of Sheba reimagining a story got more than he bargained for or expected. Having accepted responsibility for his own learning, the action he took attracted attention and then later his life was elevated. The crisis of his constrained circumstances may have revealed the leaks and cracks in his life, but the said cracks permitted the flow of knowledge that took him up the rungs of life.

Such is the nature of crisis. If understood it is a blessing as it begets regeneration of self and then others. Renewal releases passion, purpose and vision. It should initiate deep study and continuous reflection. As people experience success, understanding leads to actions that change self and the world around them. Renewal is the luminance that follows action rather than debate.

Literacy advocates must at least champion:

1. A Classroom environment that is rich with books and reading materials.

2. Book recycling, and book drives.

3. Awards and rewards for teachers, parents, authors and adults who read to children of all ages.

4. A National Readers Association that promotes reading and writing on purpose as a Barbadian way of life. An organization that would engage and support book clubs, reading circles. readathons, walkathons for reading, and summer reading festivals, among other things.

Walter Edey is a retired math and science educator in Barbados and New York.