The right to read—Reemphasized

Abstract

When I accepted the invitation last Spring to address this, the Twenty-First Annual Meeting of the Orton Society, I expected to be coming here as United States Commissioner of Education reporting in my official capacity on the progress of the Right to Read effort. But something happened on the way to the Shoreham! Let me assure you, however, that being now a former Commissioner of Education has in no way diminished my interest in the Right to Read effort, nor weakened my determination to do everything in my power to help achieve its goals. You will understand, I am sure, that I come to you as a generalist among specialists and have no qualifications as an expert in the field of reading. My decision to make reading the primary focus of my efforts in Washington stemmed not from any particular understanding of the problem of reading failures, but rather from experiences throughout my years of educational administration which had deeply impressed upon me the disastrous effects of this shortcoming of our educational system. It was my belief that a nation-wide emphasis upon reading would accomplish two objectives: first, it would ensure that one of the primary functions of the education system would be more universally carried out; and second, it would strengthen the entire system by helping to restore confidence in its effectiveness.