The Importance Of Reading In The Video 'Why Reading Matters' By Rita Carter

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Reading is more than just words on a page. The roots of socializing and understanding the world around us can be derived from reading. While reading is considered an isolating activity, the effects can intensify social skills. Social skills may be heightened in comprehension of not only textual content but in reading people and their social cues. Hence, it also can enhance a person’s ability to empathize.
Some believe that reading only strengthens one’s comprehension of the story however, the ability to understand people and interpret their social cues can be derived by this as well. When I was little a smile was just a smile. As I grew older, I grew wiser I realized that there are many types of smiles sarcastic, heartbroken, feigned and many …show more content…

The bully that never goes a day without putting others down could be reflecting what his parents do to him behind closed doors. Reading about different perspectives and emotion a character goes through helps one perceive and analyze others around them. Reading makes one dig deeper than just the surface. In the video “Why Reading Matters”, science writer Rita Carter combines multiple different experiences and case studies to show how reading unlocks remarkable powers. She interviews young adult fiction author Tom Palmer. When he was in school he never wanted to pick up a book and read. It wasn’t until his mother sparked his interest, with books he felt he could relate to. Carter says “Tom had discovered the single most powerful effect of reading the way a book opens a door into other worlds and other minds” she states this because of Tom’s statement of “(reading) it did make less of a selfish person... but I do believe fiction has helped see things from other people’s points of views” (why reading matters). Therefore, this insight shows …show more content…

Unlocking the sides to people we do not usually see through reading it opens a door to tolerating their actions more. In order to empathize one does not have to agree with someone. Reading assists us in realizing that there are two sides to every story even though one might agree more with one side they are aware and respect the other. In the article “Education for Profit, Education for Freedom”, Martha C. Nussbaum argues that education is becoming too focused on science and technology when it should be focusing on education for human development. She writes, “Education (for human development) will promote the enrichment of the student’s own senses, imagination, thought, and practical reason for example, and it will also promote a vision of humanity according to which all human beings are entitled to that kind of development on a basis of equality” (Nussbaum). Even though she is not specifically talking about reading one can infer that reading is a way that an education for human development could be taught. Shying away from science and technology reading promotes the enrichment of imagination, feelings, thought, and a vision of humanity which applies to the argument that reading can help one empathize. In like fashion, the article “Why Literature Matters”, written by Tim Gillespie argues that literature is pertinent to a solid education

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