Read more than words
SCHOOL OF THOUGHT DR ALI BLACK
OVER the past month during my time off work I have engaged in a lot of reading. Reading has enriched me and sprinkled delight, wonder and splendour into my days.
I read compelling beautiful and frightening stories by Robert Macfarlane, who documents the fascination with the ‘underland’ and his and others’ journeys into the underground; Claire Bowditch’s stunning memoir on family, love, music and living with and through anxiety; Deborah Coughlin’s 50 speeches by incredible women; and various lighthearted books that fall into the category of chick lit.
Each book connected me to myself somehow. Words and stories took me to places in my inner world, inspiring me, healing me, causing me to think, reflect and ponder.
Reading is a gift. It is a gift that invites us into imaginary scenes and the meeting of new friends, to humour, fresh understanding and inspiration. We need to read to our children when they are young, from before they can talk, to bounce them on our laps while pointing to beautiful pictures and using silly voices to animate characters, creating intimacy and fun. I have fond memories of watching my two-year-old reading Ian Falconer’s Olivia books, exclaiming “Wipe that glop off your face, young lady, and get in the car now!” She saw something of herself in Olivia, the spirited little pig who believed she could be anything. Books do that – help us recognise who we are and imagine who we might become.
I worry about how we are raising young readers now. Dissecting beautiful words, reducing them to phonics and rules, removing the magic and the joy. Reading should generate happiness and connection.
William Godwin wrote about the true object of education and of reading. His ‘radical’ view? “The true object of education is the generation of happiness.” It is my hope that if your child or adolescent is starting school this week that they will be in a childcare centre, kindy, school or university class that inspires the happiness-generating education Godwin writes of. A love of learning, a love of words, a love of ideas, a love of reading – these have invaluable lifelong benefits. Such experiences (like my holiday reading) have the capacity to invigorate and empower, the ability to transform us and our futures.