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Good Morning

After the debate about this year’s SATS reading tests for Year 6 pupils, there was some unqualified good news about reading this week. A study revealed that Primary School children in England are now the best at reading in Europe – up globally from 8th to 4th in the space of five years.

As a school governor in two schools I know just how much emphasis is put on improving reading skills. Teachers and parents are to be congratulated. There is, of course, still a lot of work to do. Jonathan Douglas, of the National Literacy Trust, pointed out this week that 1 in 7 state primary schools don’t have a library – and in areas of low literacy, many children don’t have access to books at all.

Globally, it’s always been the case that where people don’t have access to basic education, including reading, they invariably end up disenfranchised, without any kind of voice, controlled by others. Illiteracy and the conscious denial of education is unacceptable in the extreme and needs to be challenged.
The simple act of reading can be transformative. Literature provides a framework for understanding and meaning, through parables and stories, across multiple genres which the reader or hearer can identify with. It provides real awakenings, throwing light on life’s up and downs, our loves, losses, hopes and successes.

In religion, the relationship between literature and life has an obvious spiritual dimension which I find fascinating. The Book or A Book can play a significant role in religious identity and culture. The Torah, Quran and Bible, for instance, speak of divine revelation and wisdom. People of faith will tell you that their sacred book is a source of great wisdom, partly defining who they are. The holy book is re-read and reinterpreted to absorb contemporary culture, but there are eternal truths too. I can never hear the words of the bible enough.

If we have the means, maybe we can all do a little more to ensure that every life has the potential for a relationship with literature. In the case of local schools there are often opportunities to help. I’m personally committed to doing everything possible to ensure that children really enjoy books, talking about them, and relating the stories to their everyday lives, as they mature to adulthood.

The author CS Lewis, a wise observer of humanity, says literature adds to reality, it doesn’t just describe it. And in reading, he says, I become a thousand different men, but still remain myself. I see with a myriad eyes, but it is still I who see.

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