Celebrate the importance of reading
BY DENNY BARNEY
When was the last time you read to a child? My children have outgrown the age when my wife and I read aloud to them but, as a parent, I appreciate the importance of early reading. According to experts, reading aloud to your child early in life is a great way to help him or her with language development. In celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday (March 2), I will meet with some hungry young minds at the Southeast Regional Library, one of 17 libraries operated by Maricopa County, to share my favorite Dr. Seuss book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” Studies have shown that reading aloud to young children stimulates the imagination, expands their understanding and develops the mind. The National Institute of Child Health and Development estimates that 10 million children struggle with the important skill of reading. Of those 10 million, 1 in 10 eventually drops out of high school. That is more than 1 million students. However, on a more hopeful note, the U.S. Department of Education found that children whose family members read to them at least three times a week were almost twice as likely to score in the top 25 percent in reading. The statistics speak for themselves!
month presented by a special member or members of its community. In place of regular age-divided morning story times those weeks, they did “mash-up,” where attendees of all ages enjoyed being read to by a wide variety of locals. Community readers included firefighters, dental assistants, veterans, an author, and even a pest control expert.
Let’s keep our commitment to youth and take the time to expose them to new and exciting reading experiences. We may not be able to travel to the jungles of the Congo or visit the museums of the Smithsonian Institution to keep up with our thirst for knowledge, but we can take our children to visit our local libraries and open endless worlds to explore. Last year, we had more than 3 million visitors to our Maricopa County libraries. That is more than the number of people who visited Mount Rushmore! In the past year, our libraries circulated 7.4 million items. Stacked on top of one another, that would reach a height of 116 miles. If electronic books (e-books) are your thing, the Maricopa County libraries are right there with you. There were more than 729,000 e-book checkouts in 2014, an 81 percent increase from 2012.
The Maricopa County Library District provides early learning programs to children and their families and offers services that benefit customers of all ages. The Maricopa County libraries do so much more than lending books. They are centers of community engagement, hosting more than 6,000 programs last year, including Library Con (a mini comic-con held at the Southeast Regional Library every October). Starting in 2014 the programming staff at the Queen Creek Branch Library teamed up to offer one story time each
In the spirit of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, I encourage you to read to your children daily or take an opportunity to read to a child in need. For information about upcoming events and programs, or volunteering at one of our many libraries, visit www.mcldaz.org.
Reading is an essential life skill to acquire. Expose your children to reading; you’ll be glad you did.
Denny Barney is a Gilbert resident and member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
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Letter to the Editor
College funding needs to be increased
The state of Arizona now has a surplus of more than $1.5 billion. That is a lot of temptation for legislators and lobbyists, but before they come up with new programs on which to spend it, they need to be reminded that our constitution requires that state university education should be as nearly free as possible.
Last year they cut $99 million from the universities’ budgets. Now they are talking about restoring $8 million from the surplus. How does $80 per student get to “nearly free”? We can and should do much, much better in restoring the required funding to our state universities.
Sincerely,
Joyce Whitmore Chandler
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