the unbooked

NPR had a story last week about how Wal-Mart was going to start offering money wire transfers, like Western Union, but at a significantly reduced fee. The story said that services like this were aimed at the "unbanked" - those who don't have a regular bank. I'd never thought about the "unbanked", and I wonder if it's really such a problem.

What about some of the other "un"s we need to be concerned about? Such as the uneducated, the uninsured, the unfed, the unrepresented, the unmedicated, the untreated, or the unhoused. But especially the "unbooked" - those people, especially kids, for whom books are strangers. Research suggests that if a kid isn't reading on grade level by the third grade, they won't be able to catch up and will begin falling behind. Literacy touches all areas of their school lives: reading and taking notes in history, doing research, reading and understanding math word problems, and deciphering and learning the sciences. Being "unbooked" puts them at risk for disadvantages later in their lives - the inability to read and interpret contracts or lease agreements, to study and make informed election decisions, to understanding medical instructions and health information, and to take care of civic responsibilities.

I'm interested in reaching kids in an effort to make books accessible and to encourage a love of early reading. That would mean someone in their early lives will have to read to them and share books with them, but sometimes parents have the idea that education starts when children start school. It would also mean that less time would be spent on watching television and more time would be spent doing early academic work - like reading and drawing. "School stuff" should be happening at home. Reading should feel natural.  Learning should be the norm. If we can take care of the "unbooked" I'm confident that all those other "un"s will be consequentially solved as well.