Pardon My English

Reading for Fun

Column by Katie Ehle

“The more that you read, the more things you will know.  The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

This March 2, take an hour or two to read, and then make it a daily habit.  Libraries and elementary schools across the country will be celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday and encouraging children to read.  But being in high school doesn’t mean the reading days are over.

Too many of us take the books lying around us for granted.  With the TV and computer always on, we like the information fast and the reading brief.  Sometimes we actually pick up a book if we have to for a class, but otherwise, there are so many other things to be done and distractions everywhere.

In second grade, my elementary school took the whole “Read Across America” day to devote to reading and Dr. Seuss.  We ate green scrambled eggs and slices of ham. We got Dr. Seuss stickers and wore Cat in the Hat hats.  We read Dr. Seuss books on our own and out loud as a class. Elementary school made reading fun.

Reading for pleasure is declining. According to a study, “To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence,” in 2007, Americans aged 15 to 24 spent only 7 minutes of their day on leisure reading, compared to 2 hours watching TV.

If we don’t start reading more books, we won’t be learning, and ultimately, we will fail. We can’t make the world a better place to live in unless we learn what others already know and have put in writing. We can’t move forward in anything if our society becomes illiterate.

Reading is like exercise for the brain. We need it. Just like running or lifting weights, the mind needs someway to stay in shape, too. Teenagers who read regularly tend to do better in school and on the ACT or SAT because they have better vocabularies and a better ability to stay focused.

We have forgotten how fun reading actually is.  When we aren’t reading under a deadline or because someone is making us, we can enjoy the world between the lines. With so many books to choose from in so many different genres, there is something out there for everyone to enjoy. Sitting in a comfy chair and getting lost in our imagination is the best way to relax and forget about our little high school problems for a while.

The goal of “Read Across America” is for every child to read with an adult.  Whip up some green eggs and ham and turn the pages of “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” with your little sister, brother, or the kid down the block. We learned in Cat in the Hat, “It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how,” and reading can be all the fun you need.

By: Katie Ehle

Fairbury Jr/Sr High School
1501 9th Street
Fairbury, NE 68352
(402)-729-6116 ext 106