聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Reading not only exercises the imagination, but it helps youth develop in many aspects of life while also giving them the opportunity to spend time with family.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Since 1999, ABC Life Literacy Canada has been promoting the importance of literacy and have been holding a day of awareness on Jan. 27 ever since. The day is intended to highlight different, fun literary activities families can do together.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Literacy is also defined as being more than simply being able to read and write. It is a comprehensive term which includes someone鈥檚 ability to interpret and understand language, numbers, and symbols in our environments every day.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 According to Saskatchewan Libraries, a proficiency exam conducted a few years ago showed 33 percent of 203,000 people have low prose literacy and 42 percent of these individuals tested have low numeric literacy, both at the daily level of use.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 These numbers are actually comparable to the national averages, with 42 percent of individuals between the ages of 16 and 65 having low literacy abilities.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Encouraging literacy is therefore an important part of effective communication and can be a fun process for families to enjoy along the way.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 ABC Life Literacy Canada encourages parents to read, do activities, or make crafts with children in order to develop their love of reading and learning, strengthen the bonds between parents and children, and prepare the youth for school.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Some fun suggestions they make, to have more to do than just reading together, is to write plays as a family, plan a family trip and map it together, play various car games while driving, describe road signs to each other, sing the ABCs or 123s, learn nursery rhymes, make up songs, write letters to family, talk to your baby/infant, and ask your children questions.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Helping make literacy fun at a young age will encourage them in the future. There is a rather strong link to high literacy skills being associated with good jobs because of the training opportunities they have available to them.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Individuals with poor literacy skills (prose, numeric, or spoken language) usually struggle to find jobs or find themselves qualified for minimum wage positions.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 With technology becoming key in all aspects of people鈥檚 lives as well it is becoming even more important for individuals to have an aptitude for reading, math, and science.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎 population鈥檚 literacy skills also have a bearing on how well a country performs economically,鈥� Stats Canada writes. 鈥淭he world we live in today is vastly different from that of a generation ago. Technological change has transformed the way in which work is done; competition in many industries is global in nature; and the industrial structure of the Canadian labour market has rapidly evolved from a manufacturing and agricultural base to one based on services.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hese changes have, in turn, brought rising skill requirements. Countries that are successful in endowing their populations with strong skills are usually in a better position to meet the economic challenges of operating in a globalized information economy.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Therefore what is done now for youth regarding literacy can impact their futures.
