According to statistics, only 46 percent of parents in America today take the time to read to their children. This means that less than half of the children in America today are exposed to literature.
This, of course, affects family literacy in a negative way. In order to improve this statistic on family literacy, goal setting is being encouraged as a way to boost the literacy of people all over the country.
So, what actually is being done to improve family literacy with goal setting?
In a nutshell, programs are implemented to teach families certain activities to improve literacy and next they’re encouraged to set specific goals in order to improve the reading and writing abilities of their children.
Here are a couple of the methods used in this quest for increasing family literacy with goal setting techniques?
- Book Reading
Families are asked to engage in book reading activities where they work their way up from simple books to complicated novels. They set book reading goals to help them keep track of their progress. This can be done as a family or as an individual activity. This method of improving family literacy with goal setting can be fun and effective. - Word Games
Another popular method is through the use of word games. Games like scrabble and boggle helps families nurture literacy and have fun at the same time. Word games can be used in family literacy by setting goals where they make use of the scores as measurements of each person’s progress.
What is the importance of improving family literacy with goal setting?
- Clear Image of the Target
To begin with, setting goals allows you to clearly see your target. The first step towards hitting a goal is knowing what it is and how to get there. Family literacy with goal setting allows people to understand their goal and visualize it. This will help them realize whether their goals are challenging enough and whether they’re truly attainable.
- Establish Steps Necessary to Attain the Goal
Setting up goals means determining what steps will be needed to reach that goal. As each family sets their literacy goal, they are offered help with establishing the steps they will need to attain that goal. In doing so, they learn how to search for the steps needed to take in order to achieve their literacy goal as well as other goals in their life.
- Opportunity to Improve Bonding
Working on family literacy gives the family a chance to bond. One reason parents give for not making the effort to read to their children is the fact that they feel it just takes too much time. The world today moves very fast and with many families where both parents work, parents do run out of time.
Televisions and computer games have taken the place of human beings in taking care of children. These family literacy programs gives parents a chance to reconnect with their kids, spend time together and bond in ways they never have before.
- Builds Family Commitment
A part of goal setting is commitment. When people commit themselves to a goal, they are willing to do everything in their power to achieve it. This develops a person’s character.
Commitment takes a lot of strength of spirit. By setting goals for improving family literacy, people can develop the strength of commitment required to overcome any obstacle.
- Builds Reading and Writing Abilities
Last but not least is the goal of the development of reading and writing abilities. The main purpose of improving family literacy is to nurture the ability to read and write. By developing this ability, people are open to a whole new world of opportunity. Thus, they find the means to develop their full potentials.
It’s not enough to just teach families these methods for improving family literacy unless goal setting is used to make sure the methods are implemented and followed through on. The future of family literacy is too important to leave to chance.