The earlier the kids are introduced to reading books, the sooner they will start accumulating knowledge. It is this thought process that forms the core of the book distribution program christened the New Worlds Reading Initiative that has been initiated in Florida and is pegged to be the largest of its kind ever attempted in the entire United States.
As per the program, more than 81,000 participating students are being provided a hard copy book every month completely free of cost, news4jax reported. The aim is to let the students pick up reading skills and to inculcate the habit of reading every day. The event was presided by the Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis who handed over the book titled Swimmy to students at the Riversink Elementary School in Wakulla County.
The book is all about a school of fish and their struggle to survive and thrive in the face of threats from larger fishes including the tuna fish. No wonder, the book is replete with colorful illustrations to appeal to the young minds while stressing on some fundamental aspects like taking on the greater challenges in life with ingenuity and teamwork.
Such a plan was first mooted by Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls with the governor later signing it into law in June 2021. A total of $177 million has been earmarked for the program with another $50 million to be made available every year once the initial corpus runs out. As per the plan, families with kids in kindergarten through the fifth grade are eligible for a free book. This way, nine books will be sent to the student’s home in an academic year.
Also of course all of it won’t be a success without the active participation of the parents. For this, the parents too are being made aware of the importance of the kids taking up reading from a very young age. The parents are being provided the learning plan which includes supporting materials as well as text messages. Plus, the parents are also encouraged to read out the books to their wards so that they get drawn to the stories and get to know the message it aims to convey.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.