Reading

When did you learn to read?

Did your parents read? Did their parents read?

Reading, from my understanding, has been the beginning of mental awareness.

Education was rare and infrequent due to kids working on farms and factories. News, as it was, was more word-of-mouth or town crier spreading truth or hand-me-down fiction. The church was a source of mind warping declaration of what to believe without any other reference to challenge. The church also had this book that no one could read or understand.

My father and my mother had the basic education to read. They understood the words, but referred to the Bible and Reader’s Digest as reading material. Television and radio filled the gaps of understanding.

Their parents were mostly uneducated. Understanding philosophy and global world order was far behind understanding how to get the crops in and the gossip was the newspaper of the time.

Before that, I’m not so sure any of my ancestries read. They might have been told from the baker that a cake’s weight was and cost was and had an agreement without dispute.

Those with ‘book learning’ were revered for at least sounding smart and thus got a following herd.

To communicate with another person required vocal grunts and groans and perhaps some creative cave paintings. As each of our family tribes learned a language to reference; we started to intermingle with other tribes. Our verbiage amongst our tribes had it’s own slang and cuss words and accents that could not be understood by others; causing fear and mistrust.

Many tribes tried to use symbols and numbers to express their culture, but even today, many are difficult to understand.

The church was the antitypes of the writing of words. Monks would labor pen and ink to scribe letters into Latin text defining the word of God. The power of being able to read these words was reserved to the church. More and more people became curious on being able to read this to others, thus began education.

Blocks of type, arranged in order on a slab, inked and paper pressed increase the availability of the written text. Great libraries were created to store these ‘books’ for scholars to read and contemplate the meanings of these words. As those who could read, they wanted to write their interpretations on what they read. Everyone has an opinion.

Learning to write was just as difficult as learning to read. Even kings had handshakes or a symbol pressed into wax to make their approval.

Since each individual had a name, learning to write your signature became a method of identity. Signing a name declared a vote, a purchase, or a declaration. The power of the pen was at hand.

Kids didn’t need to know much other than word-of-mouth instructions of how to hook up a plow or pluck and gut game, but with the introduction of the industrial age, the world of mechanics require better understanding.

As urban areas grew, schools were formed with fundamental education that included reading. Textbooks were becoming available so each student could repeat words that formed sentences that formed paragraphs so math and history and native language could be taught to the masses.

My understanding of reading was first the picture books. There was a ‘little engine that could’ and ‘Mickey and the Beanstalk’ that were supplemented by the television morning cartoons and afterschool kid shows. My parents didn’t read to me so I never understood the difference between the ‘there’, ‘they’re’, ‘thar’ difference. If the words sounded like the way people talked, but there were those pesky dangling participles. Still haven’t got it right.

I was lucky enough to attend university and find books that were more than just basic facts but pondering thoughts of possibilities and expanded ideas. Some of the words still confused me, but there was a dictionary and an encyclopedia to fill in the gaps. Today it is called ‘Google’.

I’m lucky to be able to scan the Internet and read whatever is posted out there (and there is a lot of stuff) and read the ingredients on a box of cereal (but have no idea what all that stuff is) and read instructional pamphlets (when my original intention is to build-it-myself). I assume most of the people I know can read due to all the books in their libraries, but now there are so many writings, it is hard to keep up.

Technology has brought us video with talking heads and sound and action to describe what was the written word giving the reader the challenge to imagine. Like the transition from radio to television where the character appeared as an actor that didn’t look like your image, video just pours true or false information for the mind to absorb.

I worry that many in our land, do not have or understand the basic reading skills. What we think is part of life, like breathing or eating, to read different points-of-views to form the ability to contemplate the various thoughts; forming an educated and logical opinion may be part of history.

Maybe I read that wrong?