Let us support the book week
Sep 17, 2009
The National Book Week opened on Wednesday and ends on Saturday. The theme of the seventeenth edition of the Book Week is “A reading parent, a reading childâ€. <br>
The National Book Week opened on Wednesday and ends on Saturday. The theme of the seventeenth edition of the Book Week is “A reading parent, a reading childâ€.
Over the last several book weeks the emphasis has been on children, this year the organisers are employing a different tack in targeting parents. It makes sense because one of the reasons our children are not reading is because they have no role models to look up to in this area, as their parents barely read for pleasure in their presence.
The average literacy level is an indicator of national development and for good reason.
A literate society is one that can be communicated to and can, therefore, be mobilised easily for development purposes.
And a society that reads need not reinvent the wheel but can “stand on the shoulders of giants†drawing knowledge from past experts from distant lands to further the development process.
There is a significant correlation between a more literate a people and better developed country.
Beyond literacy, a well-read society would be more tolerant of dissenting views because that is what books do: expose one to divergent views, lessening the knee jerk reaction to go on the defensive in the face of divergent views.
In light of the recent upheavals in central Uganda, a society with a better reading culture would have a critical mass of discerning minds to temper the senseless violence that we saw last week.
Reading is a personal pursuit and all meaningful developments in human thought have been born out of solitary endeavour.
We will become more confident in stepping away from the crowd to assess situations instead of abrogating our decision-making process to the crowd.
Our reading habits maybe irredeemably damaged but let us make sure our children read more for a more stable society.
Over the last several book weeks the emphasis has been on children, this year the organisers are employing a different tack in targeting parents. It makes sense because one of the reasons our children are not reading is because they have no role models to look up to in this area, as their parents barely read for pleasure in their presence.
The average literacy level is an indicator of national development and for good reason.
A literate society is one that can be communicated to and can, therefore, be mobilised easily for development purposes.
And a society that reads need not reinvent the wheel but can “stand on the shoulders of giants†drawing knowledge from past experts from distant lands to further the development process.
There is a significant correlation between a more literate a people and better developed country.
Beyond literacy, a well-read society would be more tolerant of dissenting views because that is what books do: expose one to divergent views, lessening the knee jerk reaction to go on the defensive in the face of divergent views.
In light of the recent upheavals in central Uganda, a society with a better reading culture would have a critical mass of discerning minds to temper the senseless violence that we saw last week.
Reading is a personal pursuit and all meaningful developments in human thought have been born out of solitary endeavour.
We will become more confident in stepping away from the crowd to assess situations instead of abrogating our decision-making process to the crowd.
Our reading habits maybe irredeemably damaged but let us make sure our children read more for a more stable society.