Reading, the Basis of Education

Today I had to miss class to help with the Consulate General Dinner.  One of the people being honored was a "lifelong educator", and in his speech he had a lot to say about education.  It really made me think about how important early education is to our society.  We all take it for granted that we start school at the age of five, and many of us don't finish until we are twenty-two or older.  All of our upper-level education is based on what we learn to do in kindergarten, first, and second grade: Read.  Teaching children to read is a daunting task, something I have learned by volunteering with the HOSTS program, but it is one of the most important things we will ever learn to do.  Children's books and literature play a huge part in this process.  Kids don't want to read text books or adult novels.  They want funny, irrational, interesting books.  Having reading mateial specifically for children helps a ton when trying to teach children to read, and reading is the basis for education.