Reading
posted in General |READING
The other day, we had the pleasure of baby sitting our 5 year old granddaughter. Pretty good duty. She is right at the point of learning how to use a pencil, learning about letters and numbers, and starting to read. When you think about it, the process of learning to read is astounding. Here is a young mind that can translate marks on a piece of paper into a grouping called “words” and then visualize objects, names, persons, feelings etc. by putting some of these “words” together. Amazing.
I went through 12 grades in the Public School system. Everyone knew how to read and write. Sure, some better than others, but it was inconceivable that anyone in our classes would flunk because they couldn't read or write. Yet we now have huge percentages of kids in the secondary schools who can't do either. And lot of them are blacks. Personally, I don't think the big issue for black leaders is an extra 20 points to get into the Michigan Law School. Not while 30-40% of kids in some high schools can't even read or write. Sad commentary on what has become of our public school system – and the priorities of so-called leaders.
Speaking of reading, in retirement years there is a lot of opportunity to read, and I enjoy it. Unfortunately, my reading span is about 20 minutes before running into an unplanned nap. But I can work my way thru an occasional best seller, the local newspaper, Sports Illusttrated, Time, an occasional issue of the Economist and the Wall Street Journal. I don't really devour the financial data in the WSJ but I am convinced that it has the best editorial page in the USA. An excellent example is “If Saddam Survives” which appeared in this morning's Journal (1/27). It employs the simplest of logic in re Iraq, i.e., “What if we do” and “What if we don't”. Nowadays we are hearing more an more from the anti-war folks with scant attention to the opposite side of the coin. What are the consequences if Saddam gets off the hook? Every thoughful American should read the aforementioned editorial before locking into a position. It's worth 5 minutes of anyone's time.