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Q: Dear Dr. Fournier:

My fifth grade son hates to read. It is that simple. This is extremely frustrating because he has a great memory and loves to learn by watching TV. He doesn’t miss a program about animals, and he knows more about history than me. On top of that, he enjoys telling people about all of the fascinating things he has seen on television. I encourage his learning however I can, but I know reading is really important to his education and future. What can I do?

A: One of the major problems we have in schools today is a false perception of reading. Many students view reading as a chore, something that is required for school, but without benefits in other areas of life. For a generation growing up with YouTube and iPods, reading may seem antiquated and unnecessary. However, these students fail to realize that reading is a fundamental communication skill.

Recently, I assessed two students having difficulty in school. One was able to sound out every word in a passage, but he could not give a summary when he was finished. He said he had problems with comprehension. The other student lacked the phonetic skills to read the entire passage, so he made up the other words as he went along. Because of their difficulties, both students said “reading was stupid.” When I asked them to define reading, the first student said “words on a page,” and the second student said “words you say.”

Are these responses surprising? No. I have received similar responses hundreds of times. As long as a child has this definition of reading, then they are right: reading is stupid.

But once students understand the power of the written word, and how it can transform their lives, then reading is no longer just “words on a page.” As a child, I remember what reading meant to me — it was an escape! The further I could go into a book, the more my imagination ran wild with life experiences I never could have created in my mind. Reading gave me places to be, people to meet, and stories to create beyond my dreams.

What to do?

Teachers and parents need to emphasize the true definition of reading. Reading is a conversation between two people that conveys a picture from the mind of the author to the reader. Each word, phrase or sentence is an envelope that delivers us individual pieces of the picture. We use this information to create our own movie — every reader gets to be his or her own movie director. Try this exercise. Read some words from a book or a magazine, and as you say them, imagine the picture they deliver. Do you “see” the game, the house, the person, the circus — whatever it is you are reading about? Did you see the color of the players’ outfits and the crowd behind them? Was the house made of brick, wood, or both? The words probably weren’t this specific, yet this is what you could add to the movie you create with your imagination.

When students begin to picture this in their minds, they become more cognizant of words and their meaning. With practice, they will read better phonetically while improving comprehension. We need to listen to our children. When a child says “reading is stupid,” they are telling us that no one has taken the time to make it relevant to their lives. Don’t waste your time telling a child how important something will be in the future. Make it important to them now. One day, they will be the ones communicating their own visions, experiences and discoveries.

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Write Dr. Yvonne Fournier, Fournier Learning Strategies Inc., 5900 Poplar, Memphis, Tenn. 38119. E-mail her at drfournier@hfhw.net