March 2nd is a fitting day for a celebration of reading, as it is the birthday of Theodore Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss. This beloved author and illustrator has inspired and will continue to inspire generations of children and expose them to the joys of reading.
Five years ago, the National Education Association (NEA) conducted the first Read Across America Day by providing teachers with resources to celebrate reading. The day was intended to promote reading activities not just on the day of the celebration, but throughout the year. Dr. Seuss'' birthday was chosen for the celebration because, in the words of the NEA, "He epitomizes a love of learning and his use of rhyme makes his books an effective tool for teaching young children the basic skills they need to be successful."
In the last five years, more than 40 national education and reading associations have joined the NEA in making Read Across America the largest celebration of reading in the world. Groups such as the American Library Association, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the International Reading Association, Reading is Fundamental, and the Screen Actors Guild have all assisted in raising the profile of reading education and making this day a tremendous success.
The importance of this day is underscored by the challenge it addresses. Our nation has a well documented early literacy problem. According to the National Institute of Health, approximately 20 million school-age children have difficulty reading. Only approximately 2.3 million of these children are served in special education under the category of learning disabilities. The remaining 17.7 million children who are poor readers do not meet the eligibility requirements for the learning disability category. Some are provided assistance in the form of compensatory education, but others are overlooked altogether.
Intervention often only occurs too late. Typically, a child has reached the third or fourth grade before reading failure is diagnosed. At that point, a serious and challenging learning disability has developed out of what might have been merely a slight lag in learning had it been caught early. For students who have reached the third grade without the ability to read, every paragraph, every assignment, every day in the classroom is a struggle. They constantly battle embarrassment and feelings of inadequacy, fearing that their classmates and friends will discover they cannot read. Children without basic reading skills are at a greater risk of losing their natural curiosity and excitement for learning.
Last year, I worked with the President and my colleagues in Congress to complete a major reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. With the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, two new programs, Reading First and Early Reading First, will bring new federal resources for reading instruction and early reading intervention. I am delighted that my Reading First proposal was incorporated into the final education reform package, and even more excited that nearly $1 billion in federal funding has been allocated to this initiative in the first year. It is my hope the new services will reach children before a problem develops and before they fall too far behind their peers.
I have great faith that these new programs will effectively increase the rate of reading success. But nothing can replace the learning that takes place during interaction between parents and their children. Much of the learning and preparation that make reading possible occurs long before a child ever sets foot in a classroom. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, children who were read to three or more times in a week by their parents are almost twice as likely to be able to identify every letter of the alphabet. They are also more likely to be able to count to 20, write their own names, and read or pretend to read. It delights me to see the 18-month-old daughter of my chief of staff read to her stuffed animals. She takes a book, sits with them on the couch, and pretends to read them a story, demonstrating that she already shares the joy of reading. When a child enters kindergarten already recognizing letters and familiar with books, she or he is better prepared to learn and less likely to encounter difficulty in learning to read.
This year, the Maine Education Association is hosting festivities throughout the state on Read Across America Day. I visited Eliot Elementary School in southern York County on this year's Read Across America Day to join in their celebration of reading. I can speak from first-hand experience that taking the time to read to children is not only a worthwhile investment but also a wonderful experience. I have read to children in nearly 100 schools across the State of Maine and never tire of the joy and satisfaction such experiences bring. I often read books by Maine authors, such as Blueberries for Sal, or Miss Rumphius to show children that they, too, can grow up to author books.
Although I will only be able to visit one Maine school on Read Across America Day, I applaud all of our state's schoolteachers, librarians, and most of all, our parents, for their commitment to teaching reading and their celebration of this day. Go enjoy a good book!