Why+Read?

 A number of parents have asked us, “Why read? What are the benefits, really?” Well, I’m glad they asked!  Over recent years there have been numerous research studies into the benefits of reading for young people. In a nutshell, the conclusions are as follows:  Students that read extensively and widely can write better than their peers.  These students have a larger vocabulary than their peers. They understand the meaning of a wide range of words, and know how to use this vocabulary in appropriate written and oral situations. This empirical evidence is backed up anecdotally by the Mentone Grammar English teachers, who acknowledge that they can identify which students are ‘good’ readers by the way they write.  Students that read extensively and widely have better life-skills.  Books provide a ‘safe’ opportunity for students to ‘experience’ upheaval, change, joy, love, death, relationships, alternative realities, imagination, ideas, values, morals, history and many other life-events. Sometimes students will be upset or emotional about the concepts that they read in their books, but this experience provides a basis for coping with a real-life event.  Students that read extensively and widely are more empathetic. Many books for young people involve the reader ‘stepping into the shoes’ of the protagonist. There are stories of refugees, of holocaust survivors, of young people in the middle of family break-ups, and young people discovering first love. Authors work hard to make these stories authentic, accessible and age-appropriate, and as a result, readers get the opportunity to walk in another shoes, if only for a while.