LITERACY AND THE BUSH LEGACY ©

I am baffled by the Bush budget, by the Bush family legacy, by Barbara, by Laura, and by the manner in which each of these mesh.

I remember a time when Barbara Bush was First Lady. She was outspoken in her strong support of programs that promote literacy. She was quite concerned for the youth of this country; she feared that many young people were growing up in homes where reading and writing were not habits. Mrs. Bush was troubled by the realization that parents were not reading to, or with, their offspring. She concluded that if children did not have literate parents, they were less likely to become literate themselves. She staunchly suggested that America needed to become academically competent, that this must be a priority, a priority within our homes, and a priority for our Nation. Former First Lady Barbara Bush was consumed in her concern, so much so that she decided to publicly promote policies that encouraged families to learn together. Ultimately, she founded The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Thus, the Bush legacy for literacy began.

Laura followed Barbara. Laura Bush is a teacher, a librarian, and a woman committed to the idea of advancing knowledge. She says of herself, that her “whole life has been devoted to the advocacy of children.” Laura looks at reading and writing in manners that seem more expansive than those of her mother-in-law. For Mrs. Laura Bush the focus on literacy extends beyond the family; our current First Lady speaks of the need to teach reading and writing in our schools.

This Thursday evening, February 10, 2005, Jim Lehrer of The News Hour interviewed Mrs. Bush. He and the First Lady discussed her most pressing concern, improving the lives of boys. Throughout the dialogue, she mentioned that much of what is true for boys is also applicable to girls. In sharing her thoughts, Laura Bush stated that today, many parents are not fully literate. Many parents cannot read or write and therefore they are not able to model these for their children. She offered that many of our young Americans live with single parents, working parents, non-English speaking immigrant parents, parents that cannot or do not actively have the time or ability to teach their young erudition. Mrs. Bush asserted that schools and communities are often a child’s only resource, hence, role models and mentors are, or must be, found outside the home. It is for this reason Laura looks beyond the family in her desire to facilitate literacy. Thus, the legacy continues and grows.

President George W. Bush may be following Laura or as he said at a recent event, they may actually be walking hand-in-hand. In the text of a speech made by the President and reported in The Washington Post, Mr. Bush stated that he and his wife share “the same passion . . . and that is to put systems in place to encourage every child to learn to read.” He went on to say, “You cannot achieve in America if you cannot read. And yet too many of our children cannot read.” Mr. Bush, along with his wife, and mother, chooses to carry the torch of literacy, and the legacy marches on.

"Native ability without education is like a tree without fruit."
Aristippus [Founder of Cyrenaic School of Philosophy 430 B. C.]

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