Reading comprehension essential for survival & development - Umoja
Smith, aka Edju En Ka expressed this view following what he deemed a relatively poor turnout for the recent Spelling Bee competition which was held in the Eileene L Parsons auditorium at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
Speaking on the Umoja show aired on September 13, 2012 on a local radio station Smith said “a lot of us could spell, but when it comes to reading comprehension, understanding what we have read... we have some challenges with that”.
Smith expressed that the importance of this emerges in the signing of contracts and agreements that are being engaged in. “We are vulnerable because of our inability to read and understand and think cognitively,” the host said.
Some of these agreements he expressed may not only make us vulnerable toward an adverse impact, but also our children in the future who will have to “live through the terms and the years of the agreements” signed .
“Reading is significant,” Edju En Ka continued, “and that is only from one perspective.”
He noted that there is also the realm of gaining information, expressing that one can gain a limited amount of information by listening but a “vast array of information is in books, and if we are unable to read and understand that information we are missing out on a lot of important information necessary for our survival and necessary for our development.”
He concluded that reading is perhaps the most important thing we could do apart from eating properly. “Reading is probably second to nutrition, that is why teaching is really the noblest of all professions.”
So it is sad, that we are not paying more attention to reading, he added.
11 Responses to “Reading comprehension essential for survival & development - Umoja”
The economies of developed and other developing nations are transitioning from agriculture and service to a knowledge-base economy. In the past, cheap labour provided a comparative advantage for many developing countries. Now, this has changed. Knowledge is now the new, comparative advantage tool. The BVI if it is to be competitive in the global economy must join the the knowledge society and must do so with alacrity.
The BVI transformed slowly from an agricultural to tourism and financial services economy. But it needs to quicken the pace transforming to a knowledge-based economy. And a key player(s) in ramping up this effort is TEACHERS. They are the tip of the spear, the leading edge, and the core of improving the education and training effort. The value of education and training must be effectively promoted and adequately resourced. Failing to quickly focus and buy into it , may set our progress, competitiveness, quality of life and standard of living back.
Cromwell actually making a good point.