The Value of Reading and Learning as a Family
By Diane McGifford, Chair of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), and Minister of Advanced Education and Literacy and Minister responsible for International Education, Manitoba
and
Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Education and Minister responsible for Early Learning and Literacy, British Columbia (the CMEC pan-Canadian lead on literacy)
January 27, 2010
On January 27, Family Literacy Day will mark a week of literacy-themed events being held at thousands of venues across the country. These events are coordinated by literacy organizations, schools, public libraries, and families to engage both adults and children in literacy-building and to promote family literacy.
Family Literacy Day is an excellent time to reflect on the long-term value of reading together as a family. Participating in shared literacy activities gives families the opportunity to spend quality time learning, growing, and sharing. It helps build and enforce family relationships and gives children a sense of attachment, security, and belonging.
Nothing can empower people and change individual lives like strong literacy skills. Literacy skills grant confidence and open the doors to education and employment. These skills provide access to the information people need to live productive, healthy lives and to participate fully in society.
Research has shown that children have a better chance of becoming fully literate adults when reading is encouraged in the home. Families are instrumental in fostering positive attitudes toward education, by taking the time to focus on reading and writing skills when children are still young and by making literacy a fun part of their daily lives. By getting children involved in books and reading, as well as interested in literacy through play-based activities, we can support their development into capable adults who are fully equipped with the skills they need to compete and thrive in an increasingly knowledge-based economy.
It's not only children who benefit from family literacy activities; parents and grandparents, too, can develop and improve their own reading and writing skills. Learning is intergenerational. Parents who struggle with literacy can inspire their children by showing them that it is never too late to learn. Grandparents can help children develop vocabulary and communication skills through storytelling, while children might, in turn, teach their grandparents valuable technological literacy skills such as how to use a computer or surf the Internet.
Like any type of skill, literacy requires practice. Even the busiest families can take 15 minutes a day to play a word game, read a storybook, or write a letter together. And there are countless other ways to promote literacy in the home — from working together on a recipe to having a family singalong to playing simple counting games like skipping or hopscotch.
Parents and caregivers can further support literacy by engaging with their children — helping them with their homework, asking and encouraging questions about stories they've read, or even getting children to participate in making shopping lists. By simply reading to children and giving them access to books, magazines, and other learning materials in the home, parents can create an environment of lifelong learning and literacy.
There's no need to wait for Family Literacy Day. Local libraries, schools, and literacy providers offer a wealth of support services and programs for families year-round. Literacy is more than words. Get involved and help create a culture of learning in your family!
Ministers Diane McGifford and Margaret MacDiarmid on the importance of family-literacy activities, on behalf of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC).
CMEC is an intergovernmental body composed of the ministers responsible for elementary-secondary and advanced education from the provinces and territories. Through the joint ministerial declaration Learn Canada 2020, Canada's ministers responsible for education identified literacy as a top priority and created a literacy action plan to raise awareness among Canadians of the importance of literacy as a lifelong issue, and to encourage collaboration and sharing of information on literacy across Canada.