Essay: The Benefits of being a Literate Teen

[Shinobi-Iri (nick)]

The Benefits of being a Literate Teenager

An Essay by Nick Holbrook

Don’t you hate it when you’re browsing somebody’s MySpace or Face book page (if that’s what floats your boat…) and you see somebody give the reply ‘bookz, hu fukin reeds books, gey…’ to the question about your favorite pieces of literature? It makes me pretty angry considering there’s nothing gay or uncool about sitting down with a good book, since when did it ever? I bet your favorite guitarist or football player reads so why is it such a scandal for you to do it? But don’t get me wrong, if reading just isn’t your thing then that’s cool, but there’s absolutely no reason to give shit to people who do, period. (And just for the record, talking about it on your fucking MySpace makes you just as retarded as you perceive us for reading books)

I’ll relay to you a personal anecdote of mine that occurred just this year, (2008 for those that are unsure) which should show you just how bad the miseducation of youth is getting. While sitting in the LIBRARY of all places, with a bunch of friends, we were asked for help by a couple of year 10 students doing an assignment for Modern History. A friend and I got up and went to help them, as it was the last day of formal lessons for year 12 students and we had nothing better to do than to help two fellow students in trouble. After asking some legitimate questions about history (which, admittedly, was probably a bit too hard for their year level) they thanked me for the help, and then proceeded to throw themselves into a deeper grave by asking me how to spell ‘gave’. Are you serious? Did you not learn four letter words in primary school? Don’t get me wrong, I sometimes have problems with my spelling too, but with words in excess of twelve or more letters, not words we use everyday and are spelt how they sound.

I don’t like speaking ill of my fellow students, but come on man? How did you get into year 10 if you can’t spell gave? You know what would remedy a problem like that? Reading more books; because apart from expanding the imagination and widening the view on the world, it’s also great for improving your vocabulary and spelling. Which makes reading an important part of education, and being able to spell and use words other than ‘like’, ‘kinda’ and various swear words doesn’t make anything worse. It actually saddens me, and I’m usually a happy person.

This whole thing might make it look like I hate people that don’t read. Not true, I know many people who don’t like reading books, but they are some of the most intelligent people I know. But they do know how to read, and will read if they have to. Most of them have gained their knowledge by reading something and not just filling their brains with video games and sports. Again, sports are great, but they should be played alongside reading, not instead of. I know it seems like I’m hating on people but I swear I’m not, I just wish more people would pick up a book instead of picking a fight or drinking themselves into oblivion.

[sion]

Oh you are so right. Im an avid reader, and most of my spare time is spent reading. (although at the moment Im struggling to find a decent book to read, but thats a completely different matter) I was (and still am) the type of person who was perfectly happy spending recess and lunch reading a book, oh the merciless teasing that I recieved for doing so. I take a rather childish pleasure in knowing that I am in many ways smarter than those idiots. My spelling is not the best but it not awful. I also know that my vocabulary is better than many other kids my age, and I know that is largely because of the amount I read. When reading you encounter words that you dont know, and when that happens I will often ask my mum what a word mean or if Im on my own in my room I may even (shock, gasp) pick up a dictionary and look the word up for myself.
I know that you can have good spelling and a good vocabulary without spending even waking moment reading but it does certainly help.

(sorry for the slight rant, its an issue Im actually quite passionate about)

[Payrune]

Yeah, I see this all the time. I actually feel sorry for those people, but I think for the most part it's a lack of imagination/interest. Here in front of them are thousands of words in a book, but they're either too lazy or can't visualize what's written well enough. They also can't seem to get into the story or whatever else is being talked about in the text. And because of all this, they rebel...it's sad and pathetic.

[Tristian Blake]

My teen years are a little past me, but I know what you mean. I read a lot in high school, even though I played more sport back then than I ate hot meals at home. I'm glad I did, because in many cases reading got me through difficult times, and I'm always grateful for that.