View From the Legislature

Every February is celebrated as “I Love to Read Month” in Manitoba. Schools, libraries and other institutions plan special events to mark this month. February seems appropriate for I Love to Read Month since the cold weather makes it a particularly good time to spend time indoors reading a book.

Although, in fact, reading is beneficial and rewarding at anytime of the year. And it provides a tremendous opportunity to take in knowledge and to find relaxation. This is particularly true today when so much reading takes place off of electronics and through short social media posts.

My love of reading began in Junior High. I enjoyed reading fiction books such as Lord of the Rings and non-fiction books about professional athletes and sports teams. While that reading was purely for enjoyment, it helped me develop literacy skills through to High School graduation and into university. That interest in reading has been helpful in my time in elected life as the volume of reading is significant.

We know that in Manitoba we need to improve our literacy outcomes. Reading skills are a fundamental building block for lifelong learning. Compared to other provinces we need to improve the literacy scores of our students to ensure that this fundamental skill is in place to be built upon. This is part of the reason our government has formed a commission to look at our K-12 education system and to recommend changes to ensure that it is strengthened.

During I love to read month this year I will again be delivering books to elementary libraries in the Hanover School Division. This is something that I enjoy doing every year but particularly this year as the provincial Education Minister.

For parents and grandparents, there is also an opportunity to participate in this special month by reading to your early school aged children or grandchildren. It is not only an opportunity to instill a love a reading, but a great opportunity of quite connection.

Thank you to the librarians and schools who have taken time to plan special events this month. I hope you have a great “I Love to Read Month.”