A General’s Take on Why You Should Encourage Your Kids to Read
Does it matter when kids learn to read? Not necessarily, according to research. Does it matter what they read? Maybe — but not much (although fiction is always a great choice). The important thing for students of all ages (and yes, adults too) is that they read.
Whether you consider the scientific evidence on how reading predicts success, or the anecdotal evidence of how wildly-successful people are often prolific readers, there’s a clear trend: active readers stand a better chance of achieving their goals than their non-reading peers.
When extolling the benefits of consuming the written word, there’s one advocate of reading I like to quote the most. Unlike many others, he offers a detailed description of why he reads, and how it benefits him in everyday life:
Former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, a retired Marine Corps General widely acknowledged for his battlefield prowess, has openly stated that his expertise in the context of war stems directly from lessons he has learned from reading about history.
Mattis, a lifelong reader, has managed to amass a personal library of over 7,000 books, and says that reading is the best way to “stay teachable.”
As vague a concept as it may seem at the surface, “staying teachable” is a quality that’s impossible to underestimate in the modern world. This is because the quality of our educational strategies, on average, pales in comparison to the sheer amount of information available to the average person. In other words, treating an education as a lifelong privilege, rather than a 12- or 16-year sentence, is more important than ever — but it’s a skill that must be actively honed. And according to Mattis, reading is the way to do it.
“Thanks to my reading,” Mattis says, “I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation; never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed before. It doesn’t give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.”
This is the very essence of reading. It exposes us to experiences we would otherwise have no notion of; it grants us perspective on topics we would otherwise never have considered. It makes us empathetic, wise beyond the limited capacity of our own life background, and grounded. Far beyond its academic merits (which are plenty), reading grants us the unique benefit of being able to see through the eyes of another — a gift that serves us no matter what path in life we take.
