News: Rights Watch
Read Across--and For--America

People who cannot read by themselves are less able to think for themselves.

In the mid-19th century, the great poet Emily Dickinson penned a short paean to reading:

There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away
Nor any courses like a Page
Of prancing Poetry -
This Travers may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll -
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears the Human soul.

One hundred years later, another famous poet, Dr. Theodor Geisel, said essentially the same thing: "Oh," he wrote, "the Places You'll Go!"

No matter their literary style, both Dickinson and Dr. Seuss had a burning desire to communicate the joy of reading. It is this same desire that compels NEA to sponsor--for the fifth year in a row--Read Across America, our annual "get out the book" campaign designed to inspire adults to spend time reading to children.

Unlike past years, NEA's Read Across America 2002 will officially take place on Friday, March 1, instead of on Dr. Seuss' actual birthday, which this year falls on a weekend. Music legend Garth Brooks will be the event's honorary chairman.

This year NEA's Read Across America carries particular global and political significance as well.

Its spirit is the same: We want to encourage adults to foster a love of reading among children. We know firsthand that children who are read to at home have a higher success rate at school. The U.S. Department of Education has found that the more that students read for fun, the higher their reading scores. Conversely, we know that children who are not read to at home stand to fall behind not only in school, but in life.

Yet, given all that has occurred in the world since September 11, it's incumbent upon us, as educators, to emphasize the broader, crucial, national importance of literacy.

For literacy is not only about the fun of reading to a five-year-old. It is not only about the places children can go without leaving their sofas. Ultimately, literacy is about preserving democracy and freedom. It is the vital cornerstone of America.

When people cannot read by themselves, they are less able to think for themselves. This makes them more susceptible to rumors, demagogues, propaganda, superstition, exploitation, and extremism.

It is perhaps no coincidence that Afghanistan has the second-highest illiteracy rate in the world. According to UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 48 percent of Afghan men and 78 percent of Afghan women are illiterate.

But illiteracy is hardly limited to poor nations. Experts estimate that approximately 11 percent of Americans are, by UNESCO's definition, illiterate as well. If we are going to continue to flourish as a free and democratic society, we must ensure that every child, and adult, is visited regularly by the Cat in the Hat.

America, and free people everywhere, simply cannot prevail without literacy. 'Tis the "chariot that bears the human soul," indeed.

Comments? E-mail Bob Chase at BobChase@nea.org.