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| photo credit: Brett Jorgenson/Shutterstock
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As the sad situation in Ferguson unfolds, we at IRA feel all the more strongly about the role of literacy in today’s world—not just in our schools, but in our societies as well.
Hatred, ignorance, disrespect, and violence have many root causes. Finding solutions often seems impossible. But one path forward to a better and more understanding future is within our direct grasp, and that path is to spread literacy.
We open our students’ minds. We teach them how to listen attentively, communicate clearly, judge information carefully, and contribute positively to the world about them. These are the skills that may keep similar tragedies from happening in the future.
We owe it to our own ideals of citizenship, as well as to our professional calling, to undertake this commitment with renewed vigor.
To be truly literate is to face each day with a hunger for understanding and growth that can only be sated by new learning.
To be truly literate is to exist not in isolation but as part of the human community.
To be truly literate is to commit to engage in constructive actions founded in mutual respect.
To be truly literate is to appreciate what peace is—and to work tirelessly to bring about a more peaceful world.
Literacy transforms lives. We must never forget that.
As we pick up our work as literacy professionals in the coming days and weeks, let us do so with renewed cause and purpose. The students to whom we impart the values of learning and respect will be the better for it, as will our communities, our country, and world.
Marcie Craig Post (mpost@/) is the executive director of the International Reading Association.