Literacy - Vital to our Future

Banning in Bangor? : Hmmm the old argument about "which book contains the most violence, greed, sex, rape, incest, etc. is the Bible" could suffice here - however we are speaking of children reading fun books. I started reading at a very early age. What books started that love of reading? DR. SUESS!!! A whole slew of those words aren't even words! I love language and have also done crosswords and played scrabble since a very young age, which once again was seeded by "Green Eggs and Ham".This led to The Bobbsey Twins, Nancey Drew and so many other wonderful books. "To Kill a Mockingbird" showed me that just being from the south did not make you a bigot.  Considering the words kids hear on television and in every day life, stupider is so benign. Have you ever watched the stress an the face of an adult who reads on a second grade trying to fill out a  job application? It is frustrating for that adult and too bad for a possible employer who may be missing out on a fantastic employee. Literacy is the basic root of almost all future knowledge. Without the ability to read life is extremely limited. Relax and let kids be kids - it absolutely will NOT hurt them. I grew up in a very small Kentucky town where saying words such as liar and pregnant were "dirty words" and racial slurs were uttered by the same people who were afraid if they said pregnant they would have to explain sex to their children and their ignorance would surface. So please be happy that someone has taken the initiative to teach children to read - for that matter - to teach ANYONE to read. Books open worlds of imagination and you may be surprised when your child questions the same topics, opinions, and ideas you do. Don't limit their capabilities!!!

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