I know someone who is illiterate. It's an understatement to say that his education was neglected by his parents and the school system he was enrolled in. He can probably identify most of the letters of the ABC's and write a handful of words from memory (i.e. names of those he is close to and a few other frequently used words) but that's pretty much it.
He would carry around a card with the word for each number spelled out to help him write checks and I've witnessed myself a number of times that he complains that a font is just too small for him to read so he'd like for me to read it aloud for him. When he got a new cell phone he asked my to put in the names of family and friends because "he's just no good with technology" and casually had my husband read aloud a line or two from a legal document regarding ownership of a property. My husband asks me to spare him embarrassment by not sending him thank you cards for gifts and even though the invitation was hanging on the fridge, he asked us multiple times what date our wedding was on.
I've known this man for a large portion of my life and he is a highly functioning individual. He's a hard worker and can build anything he sets his mind to. But to see him struggle regularly on some of the things that most people take for granted is such an eye opening experience - no matter how long I've known him.
So, today, I plan to celebrate World Read Aloud Day. I will read to my child and visit a library or book store. We'll pick up a new book and I'll point to the words so he can read along with me. I will point out letters and sing the ABC's. We will doodle on paper and I'll label the drawings. I'll etch his name with crayons as he watches reminding him once again that "J" is for Jude. I will express to him the importance on literacy and the joy and knowledge that can come from reading.
What will you do to celebrate??
2 comments:
we probably celebrated similarly to you. I don't know what day was Read Aloud Day, but we generally read every single day. Trent loves reading along with us (I read one word at a time and he repeats each word as best as he can), and we are constantly going over the alphabet.
I can't beleive I let this day slip by me. I remember reading about it on becomingsarah (otherwise I wouldn't have even known about it!) and thinking I needed to mark it on my calandar. I was planning on dedicating a week toward just reading skills with Matthew anyway, so I'll just bump the plan up to next week and tie it in with teaching him about the holiday.
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