Field Journal #2 - Young Readers

As I read through this weeks lessons, like so many of my peers in this class, I was drawn to the power and importance of the written language and the evolution of print through history. 

I grew up an avid reader and blame my poor eye site on long nights of reading in subpar lighting in an effort to finish a book without my parents realizing that I was up past my bedtime. Looking back on my literary choices, I noticed that the publishers at the time spared no expenses in the printing of their books. Not only were the stories mesmerizing, but the cover illustration, the material in which the books were bound in, and even the quality of the paper that the stories were printed on were created to stand the test of time. I look at books nowadays, there's something to be said about the quality of printing. The paper is thin and prone to tearing. The covers are boring and plain, and often illustrated with the intent of selling the story for profit, rather than selling the story for the purpose of expression. 

I work at as a public school administrator, and before that, as a public school educator. I know first hand the power of the written word. Unfortunately, I often wonder if our present society has the same understanding. Reading for pleasure has been replaced with the internet, video games, and television/movie version of literary classics. 

Another observation: as our culture becomes more and more of a melting pot, and the population of non english readers and speakers climb, I've noticed that we have abandoned words and letters in publications and are now choosing to rely more on universally accepted signs as a way of communication. I wonder, how long before the standard red stop sign will drop the word "stop" altogether. As a culture, we will all recognize the same and color of the stop sign without needing to read the word on it.