The value of reading

J'ai fait ces jours-ci une petite recherche d'argumentation en faveur de la lecture. Sur les sites français j'ai trouvé beaucoup de "comment motiver" votre enfant à la lecture, et peu pour attester les bienfaits de la lecture . Dans les sites anglais, j'ai trouvé au contraire beaucoup d'études montrant l'utilité de la lecture et ses apports intellectuels.

Voici une page qui me plaît :

The Value of Reading
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body" -Sir Richard Steele.
by Larry Greider

Sadly, more and more people today are giving up the printed word in favor of being entertained and informed by the talking head and crystal clear imagery of the ever-larger TV set that sits as a throne in the center of their living space.
A recent news story noted that more and more infants are being subjected to TV programming, perhaps as a babysitter. More than two hours of TV time per day are now a part of infant development, generating physiological and mental problems that are of growing concern among experts.

At the very least, young people will learn how to process information in a much different way than those of other generations. Reading encourages thinking, reflecting and the cultivation of truth, but image-driven cultures tend toward subjectivism, superstition, hedonism and propaganda. >>> La lecture renforce/encourage la pensée, la réflexion et le culte du vrai (le sentiment de ce qui est réel) , alors que les cultures conduites par l'image conduisent au subjectivisme, à la superstition, à l'hédonisme et aux propagandes.

Dr. Jane Healy cautions, "Too much television—particularly at ages critical for language development and manipulative play—can impinge negatively on young minds in several different ways including the following:"Higher levels of television viewing correlate with lowered academic performance, especially reading scores. This may be because television substitutes for reading practice, partially because the compellingly visual nature of the stimulus blocks development of left-hemisphere language circuitry.

A young brain manipulated by jazzy visual effects cannot divide attention to listen carefully to language. Moreover, the 'two-minute mind' easily becomes impatient with any material requiring depth of processing" >>> Un jeune cerveau manipulé par les clinquants effets visuels ne peut pas consacrer son attention à écouter attentivement la parole/le langage. Par dessus tout, "le cerveau de 2 minutes" (cerveau qui passe rapidement sur tout ... ) devient facilement impatient devant toute situation demandant un investissement profond (AAP [American Academy of Pediatrics] News, May 1998, www.aap.org/advocacy/chm98nws.htm).