The use of text language "was actually driving the development of phonological awareness and reading skill in children", said Dr Wood.

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In fact, the minimum reading skill level required of new factory workers has risen from the 10th grade reading level to the equivalent of two years of college or more.

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Changizi begins by laying out the reasons why reading is not an instinctual skill, but a learned ability.

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Typing, though, with all of its significant inefficiencies, is rapidly becoming a skill as basic as reading and arithmetic.

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For example, school programs that reward students with money, prizes, or privileges for academic accomplishments or effort are more effective if they reward students for mastering a certain skill, such as reading a book or solving a problem.

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If I were a designer of any repute or had a spec of design skill, I would make an illustration that depicted a brand sitting in a chair in a bedroom reading a story to a consumer, who lied anxiously under the covers waiting to be regaled about stories of adventure, escapades and perhaps a coupon or two.

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