I used to get frustrated when I would read a word I didn’t know or come across something I wasn’t sure of the meaning. I used to have an English teacher who would make us write down words we didn’t know, find the definitions and then create our own spelling and definitions tests at the end of the month.
I used to hate that, but now, I am glad she did it.
Today, when I come across a word I don’t know, I am eager to look it up and see what it means. I like to figure out how to use it in a sentence and then find a way to remember the word and use it sometime that same day. That way it sticks in my head. Finding new words is like finding a mini buried treasure.
My love for words and almost all things written translates into horror when I read headlines such as “Nearly half of Detroiters can’t read.”
For years, I could never understand how people could attend school, pass through the elementary grades and not know how to read. How can someone sit in a classroom and not hear one word about ABCs?
I never understood it until I saw a documentary called The Boys of Baraka. The film documents the lives of inner-city Baltimore boys who are given a chance to go to Africa and learn how to read, write and take care of themselves.
The premise of the movie seemed stupid to me. I thought, “Why would anyone leave the United States to go to Africa, of all places, to get an education?”
However, after seeing the film, I see why. It showed me something I had never seen before – an actual inner-city ghetto and how it functions. There were no Hollywood spins. It was all real.
I can understand now how a child born in that environment grows up knowing nothing else. Anything outside of that world is fiction. The worst part, however, was seeing the school. It was complete mayhem. If there were teachers, I didn’t see them.
The kids were running in the halls and rooms screaming and fighting. They would randomly leave and not come back. The film went in one cut for at least five minutes and there was no adult in sight.
It is no wonder the kids don’t know how to read. I can’t believe any of them would come away knowing anything after being in an environment like that. I imagine the schools in Detroit are the same. They must be.
The report says that 47 percent of people in Detroit are “functionally illiterate.” That means, “Not able to fill out basic forms for getting a job, reading a prescription; what’s on the bottle, how many you should take; your basic everyday tasks.
To reuse a famous bumper sticker, if you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this, thank your parents. And, if you can read this, be thankful in general.
Staci Dennis lives in Norfolk, VA, is married to Eric, who is awesome, and has a fat cat and two cute Puggles. She has been published in various newspapers and magazines across the nation, and worked as a reporter for 12 years. She is a contributor for Nexxt,realestatejobsite.com, and armedservicesjobsblog.com.
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