Some of you may know that while working on projects for SB Productions, I also do some substitute teaching at the high school level to bring in a little extra change during the school year.
This week was my first week back and I was reminded of the poor reading level that is now common to so many of the high schoolers I work with. They seem disenchanted with books and often say, "I'll just look it up online when I get home."
As my wife and I step into the role of parents, I'm compelled to renew my vow that our children will be readers. In a culture that increasingly accepts fiction as a source of philosophical truth, and becomes informed by news programs so often accompanied by personal commentary, we'll need a generation of people that are interested in seeking truth out for themselves.
Maybe most people CAN struggle through reading just about anything. But it's not that they CAN'T read. It is that they don't ENJOY reading, or find the very act of reading to be a chore. Instead, they'd rather "see the movie" or watch the discovery channel. So the power is placed in the hands of writers and producers of documentaries, television and film, to shape the minds of tomorrow's leaders. When really, tomorrow's leaders ought to be shaping their own minds, today.
So if you look at the world around you and see ideas and values that you fear will distort the perspective of the rising generation, join me in grabbing a book and reading. Read by yourself, read to your kids. Fiction or non-fiction. Turn off the TV (or even an audio drama!) and engage your mind more fully.
The future will owe you a debt of gratitude.
And now, I have a chapter from my fantasy novel to finish before bed!
-Paeter Frandsen
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