The statistics show that a successful American adds $5 million dollars of economic value to society during his lifetime. The opposite is true if that same citizen is unsuccessful. Children who read below grade level suffer great shame and humiliation. Children who can successfully read by the third grade are rarely involved in criminal activity. Many states predict needed prison space based on third grade reading scores. 

What can you do? You can read to a child. There are literacy programs in your area. Call your local library and let them know that you would like to volunteer to read to a child.  

When I was an instructor at Alabama State University I coined the phrase: “those who do not read will one day work for those who do.”  If you want to improve your own reading habits but feel that books are too expensive go to the dollar store. The best-kept secret in America is the one-dollar books at “The Dollar Store”. I have found many very current books at that store. So get off the couch and start reading to a child as well as for your own enjoyment and development. Read, Read, Read.

 In the words of my dad, “You must honor the chair whether it is sitting, walking or lying down.”