The fact you can pick up this newspaper and read these words is not something you should take for granted.
There are many in our community, of all ages, who struggle with reading the instructions on their pill bottles, never mind a news story.
That’s precisely why organizers are encouraging anyone and everyone to take in Family Literacy Day activities this Sunday at the St. Albert Public Library from 1 to 5 p.m., including a scavenger hunt, a giant scrabble board and a puppet show.
Shelley Passek is the director of the adult literacy program STAR Literacy, which is partnering with the library for the event. She said getting a good handle on reading early in life is something many of her organization’s clients missed out on, and they’re paying the price for it now.
“I get adults coming into the program who for whatever reason never learned to read or write very well, so this is just one way of promoting how important it is to spend that time reading with your kids,” she said.
Adults who didn’t have the benefit of developing strong literacy skills early in life tend to struggle with many aspects of daily life, and it can even have the effect of marginalizing them from a social standpoint within the community.
“Usually, people who aren’t very literate aren’t very strong members of the community because they feel they can’t fit in and don’t belong,” Passek said. “When people start to learn how to read, it’s kind of alike a light bulb goes on for them and they’re not so isolated any more.”
Terri Skinner sees first-hand the kind of benefit family literacy can have in her role as an early years parent coach with St. Albert’s Family Resource Centre. While literacy is just one of many ways families can build resilience together, spending the time to read together
“As with any activity within families, it builds family relationship which promotes a healthy kind of family dynamic,” she said. “Literacy is just one way that is done, but it is a valuable activity.”
