We Must Promote Literacy in Florida

We Must Promote Literacy in Florida

Should more be done to promote literacy in the state of Florida? The ability to read and write effectively is the most efficient tool a person can have. Out of all the subjects in school, reading should be emphasized above all. Children are spending too much time in front of the TV and not enough time in front of a book! According to the TV Turnoff Network, the average child watches 3 hours and 46 minutes of TV a day, that’s more than 52 days of non-stop TV watching per year! Actually, the average child spends more time watching television than in school. Yes, children today are not spending nearly as much time reading and writing as they should be, but why is this a problem?

Studies from the Kaiser Family Foundation show that the average child, between the ages of two and eighteen, spends almost twenty hours a week glued to the television screen, compared to the five hours he/she spends reading for fun. More than 60% of American families have more than three TV’s in their household, encouraging their children to grab the remote instead of a book. In the United States, the number of videos rented daily is six million, whereas the number of public library items checked out daily is three million, as said by the TV Turnoff Network.

What did people do for fun before televisions could be found in every room? They read! Because of recent technology, the emphasis has been put on reality TV shows and computer games, rather than a good book. Although technology is very beneficial to today’s society, a plan must be devised to promote literacy in the state of Florida.

Something must be done to promote literacy in the state of Florida! In today’s world, where the television and computer consume people, children should read more novels, which help to develop the brain.