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Reading
is a human right
By Melissa Martin
Children and adults in all countries around the globe deserve to be
able to read. Literacy is a fundamental human right.
Literacy for All
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) estimates that 175 million young people lack basic literacy
skills. To address the issues, UNESCO Regional Office of Southern
Africa (ROSA) is supporting programs and activities to develop quality
literacy materials for literacy educators and learners through
integrating mother language in literacy teaching and learning.
Fifty-two years ago, UNESCO officially declared September 8
International Literacy Day, with the goal of highlighting literacy as a
human rights issue. www.unesco.org/.
According to Atlas (2017), the 25 most illiterate countries include:
South Sudan, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Chad, Somalia,
Ethiopia, Guinea, Benin, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Senegal, The Gambia,
Bhutan, Pakistan, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Central African Republic,
Cote d'Ivoire, Nepal, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Mauritania, and Togo.
www.worldatlas.com/.
The International Literacy Association affiliates, established in 86
countries, including 42 developing countries, are independent,
organized homegrown organizations dedicated to literacy.
In 2018, The International Literacy Association developed the
Children’s Rights to Read project. The Case for Children’s Rights to
Read lists 10 fundamental Reading Rights. 1. Children have the basic
human right to read. 2. Children have the right to access texts in
print and digital formats. 3. Children have the right to choose what
they read. 4. Children have the right to read texts that mirror their
experiences and languages, provide windows into the lives of others,
and open doors into our diverse world. 5. Children have the right to
read for pleasure. 6. Children have the right to supportive reading
environments with knowledgeable literacy partners. 7. Children have the
right to extended time set aside for reading. 8. Children have the
right to share what they learn through reading by collaborating with
others locally and globally. 9. Children have the right to read as a
springboard for other forms of communication, such as writing,
speaking, and visually representing. 10. Children have the right to
benefit from the financial and material resources of governments,
agencies, and organizations that support reading and reading
instruction.
“The ability to read, write, and communicate connects people to one
another and empowers them to achieve things they never thought
possible. Communication and connection are the basis of who we are and
how we live together and interact with the world.”
www.literacyworldwide.org/.
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-lowest-literacy-rates-in-the-world.html
Children Need Books
Family Scholarly Culture and Educational Success: Books and Schooling
in 27 Nations, a 2010 article in the ScienceDirect Journal found that
“Children growing up in homes with many books get 3 years more
schooling than children from bookless homes, independent of their
parents’ education, occupation, and class.” www.sciencedirect.com/.
Children need to see other kids that look like themselves in picture
books. Why? Kids of color need to be represented in literature to show
they are important in the world and that they matter. Diverse books,
both fiction and nonfiction, help kids understand that even though
children look different on the outside, they are all the same on the
inside. Our homes, schools, libraries, and communities need diverse
books on bookshelves.
We Need Diverse Books is an organization with a vision of “a world in
which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book.” Find
more information at www.weneeddiversebooks.org.
“It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give
them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their
imaginations—something that will help them make sense of their own
lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are
quite different from their own.”—Katherine Patterson
Melissa Martin, PhD, is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist.
She lives in Southern Ohio.
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