On first learning to read it”s hard to be aware that the next time we see the strange figure that has a certain sound to it, such as A, B, or C, etc., it will still have that same sound. We finally learn the entire alphabet by countless repetitions and reviews a la John Dewey. It”s not fun to learn the alphabet, but a teacher or parent, by reading stories to children can demonstrate that interesting worlds lie dormant in these weird symbols.
What we don”t want is for literary studies, especially reading, to become associated with the fear and bad feelings the old-timers thought so essential to teaching children. We may feel at times we need to spur the little guys along somewhat; but that”s not the case at all. There”ll be plenty of time for catching up when reading gets easy.
Reading is a complex process. To read a word we must first decipher the little squiggly symbols that signify different sounds, then recall the sound and meaning of this particular blend of sounds (the word), after which we gather an emotion peculiar to thinking (analogous to a stem-cell because it”s the same for all thought), then create the meaning of the sounds in the form of an image, and finally express the image in the form of silent or audible speech.
I don”t know if we”ve ever learned how much of the body”s energy that little three pounds of brain uses in this kind of action; but even at rest, the brain, which constitutes only 2-percent of the body”s weight, uses 25-percent of the body”s oxygen. Reading is the best kind of exercise for the brain, wither and die.
Let”s hope man”s avid progress in technology never infringes on his necessity to read. If it does, we”re ruined.
Dean Sparks
Lucerne
