Website: Reading Truly is Fundamental
August 29, 2007 – 5:48 am
When I look back on my formal education, including K-12, college and a variety of professional development courses, I can easily identify the one skill that has had the greatest impact on my professional and personal development – reading. I was fortunate to attend school in a consolidated school district that had an excellent reading skills development program. I must confess that during the early part of my adult life, my reading was limited to sports magazines and newspapers (oh yea . . . and a bunch of beer bottle labels). However, at some point “my job” became “my career” and professional development became much more important to me. I also realized that most employers were more interested in the skills I brought to the job than where acquired the skills.
This is where my self-directed studies took root, first through books and publications and later through the use of the internet. I am thoroughly convinced the internet is the great equalizer for professional development. Regardless of your interest or your skill level, there is a resource on the internet that will take you to the next level. The internet has come under criticism as a result of the many dangers that confront unsupervised children. However, I believe that positive aspects of the net definitely outweigh the negatives for both adults and kids.
For starters, there are a variety of on-line programs being developed that encourage kids to put down their video game controllers and get back to reading. One of these programs is the Rosetta Project’s Children’s Books On-line. The website, made possible by a donation from the John and Frances Beck Foundation, has been scanning children’s books into an electronic format since 1996. They are constantly adding new books, all of the books are all arranged by reading level and some are even narrated. Just click on the little kid in the red pajamas to visit the library.
Start your kids reading now so they learn to experience the joy of self-directed learning. By the way, when was the last time you read a book? Big boys and girls may want to check out Project Gutenberg or the University of Virginia’s Electronic Text Center for some free electronic books that are more suitable for adults. Of course, if you are just breaking into the on-line world of self-directed learning, check out Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopedia.
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