According to UNESCO, currently, more than half of the students in the world who finish secondary school do not understand what they read, and are unable to write a short paragraph that allows them to break down a simple idea. Experts call the above phenomenon “functional illiteracy.”
Technically, functional illiteracy is then defined as the difficulty that, even knowing how to read or write, some people experience in understanding texts and writing an idea clearly. This problem affects students of all levels and economic sectors. Without the ability to understand, the meaning of what is read or written to integrate it into our own experiences will become very complicated; The development of the student, as a thinking and critical being, will not be realized, exposing them to imminent failure in the face of a competitive society.
Fighting it is a multidimensional challenge that demands integrated solutions, such as government policies aimed at reducing school dropouts and improving the professional level of teachers.
But the “mustard seed” to form new human beings willing to understand is in our power. The earlier and more playful the interventions on our children to promote reading are, the more efficient they tend to be. And to achieve this it is recommended:
- Read stories to them from a very young age.
- Periodic visits to bookstores or libraries.
- Let them choose their books.
- Teach by example.
- Share a space of place and time with them, and books.
- May this space be full of recreational activities.
- That reading is not mandatory or associated with a punishment.
It is time to make a difference, for our children, for the world we want for them.
