Read more to succeed in life, says author
sharjah — Celebrated author and literacy advocate James W. Parkinson led a student session at the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) and sought to inspire the young generation to take ‘personal responsibility’ for their own education by reading and writing more.
Born in Louisiana, USA, and now based in California, Parkinson left his law practice after spending two years in Argentina learning Spanish — an experience that inspired him to begin writing about his experiences.
Parkinson told students how he ended up in prison in Utah trying to find the key to success. “I wanted to go to prison. I wanted to interview some prisoners in order to really understand failure. To really talk about success, it’s important to discuss failure first,” he said.
Parkinson recounted his brave encounters with some of the most serious criminals in the country while in jail, where he learned that 80 per cent of them could neither read nor write; which rose to 85 per cent in juvenile correction facilities.
“So, if you want to fail, then don’t read,” Parkinson warned the students. “Or, on a more positive note, if you want to succeed, read more,” he added.
He then recalled a particular meeting with an illiterate prisoner who, said the following when he was asked to share a message he’d like to pass on to the next generation: “I want you to tell every single child you meet that they matter. No one ever told me that.”
Parkinson then told every single child in the room that they mattered, and their destiny lies in their hands. “What keeps you from being a better student? Do you want to be as ignorant today as you were yesterday? No, so who’s in charge? You are,” he added.
Recalling his own education, Parkinson recalled that he was not top of the class, his report card stating that both his writing and reading were poor. “But that all changed in January 1969,” he said.
“I got on an airplane from LA to Buenos Aires. At the start, the only way I could get any food was by pointing at it. In three months, I learned the language; one new word a day helped me converse with children. I started buying newspapers, and nine months later I found myself conversing with high school students.
“Then, I went and got text books from school. After two years, when I left Argentina, I spoke Spanish as well as any Argentinian,” Parkinson told his young audience.