November is officially declared National Family Literacy Month, which emanates from the experience of reading with family and enjoying literacy gatherings.
The celebration first started in 1994, to advocate and spread awareness of the importance of family literacy. National Family Literacy Month is celebrated to engage families in supporting the learning and development of their children.
Families reading with their children can improve fundamental skills that may progress their success in the later years of their life. Research shows that links between family literacy and children’s development have shown success in education, leading to the conclusion that parents and guardians determine their children’s education.
Children may embark on a love for reading, usually engaging with picture books and illustrations made with creativity and imagination. Throughout their growth, they may have built their vocabulary, reading, and writing skills to create literacy in their respective work.
To spotlight National Family Literacy Month, we interviewed Del Mar students to hear their thoughts on the importance of family reading and how they find value in reading alone.
Ulises “Alberto” Balvaneda, a freshman, advocates for promoting literacy at home. In his English class, he has been actively participating in reading new books that have opened new perspectives for him.
When asked if reading had personally impacted him, he noted, “Recently, I started reading like a lot of interesting books that talk about certain aspects of different situations of life. Instead of like, reading comic books and stuff. I do find [text-heavy books] sometimes too, hit certain points that can help me think about different things as I go. So, yeah, I would say [reading] does impact certain points in my life.”
Balvaneda has personally experienced the impact of family literacy in advancing his reading development. When asked if his family had influenced his reading progress, he explained, “Yeah, my mom’s actually an author, so she’s writing her own books right now. So yeah, she encourages me to read a lot.”
When asked about his favorite book, he recalls childhood favorites, “… it’s Dog Man and Captain Underpants, just because in elementary I had a lot of teachers who would just have a lot of dogs. And it was that one book that everyone just wanted to get their hands on.”
Additionally, when asked for his opinion on how schools can promote families in promoting literacy at home, he mentioned that book giveaways should make a comeback. He explained how helpful it was as a kid to receive free books.
“I feel like we should start offering books to take home. I know they used to do that at one of my old schools and encourage the kids and adults to read [together]… Just having something like an option there, anyone who’s like, bored, [doesn’t know] what to do, or just wants to read.”
Lizann Lopes, also a freshman, shares opinions similar to Balvaneda’s. Lopes adds that reading in a classroom setting has allowed her to enjoy reading and discover her favorite book, “The Outsiders.”
“So I first read it in seventh grade because my teacher made us read it. And it was like, the first book that I liked, because of my teacher… He kind of got me into reading, because I never really liked reading before that. All the books I read would be like graphic novels. And ever since that book, it was like the one book that got me interested in reading, and it was just a really good book overall.”
When asked if reading personally impacted her, she commented, “Whenever I read, I feel like I can be in the shoes of the main character in the book, and it kind of makes you escape from reality. So it’s like you get to experience something new that you wouldn’t usually experience in real life.”
She elaborated further on how her favorite book, “The Outsiders,” had emotionally impacted her.
“…Especially the Outsiders and watching the movie beside [the book] too was like, the way we did it was we would read a chapter and then we’d watch a part of that movie, and it helps you visualize it even more, right?”
When asked about sharing a favorite memory when she was reading, Lopes replies, “Not really, no, no. Just with my class, when we would read it all together. It was fun, especially with the teacher.”
When asked if reading alone or with family has helped her education or personal growth, she recalled, “It makes me think more outside the box. Like if I hadn’t read that book, I feel like I would see things differently, but after reading it, I get to see things more differently, in ways that I wouldn’t have before, right?”
