Even if you fell behind in writing and mathematics while attending primary school, it still might be possible to graduate from high school and even college, but if your reading skills were substandard at an early age, chances of ever being well educated would be slim. Of all the courses essential to a good education, reading leads the field. Despite advances in technology, nothing has replaced the need to be able to read and understand what you have just read.

In making a determination of a child's reading level, you need a realistic standard, and setting the standard too low will mask reading deficiencies resulting in a student not realizing his or her problem. Those who start out reading at an early age and have teachers who can push them to improve are lucky, because so many fall behind early and stay there. This is not to say remedial reading courses are not helpful, but playing catch-up when you are badly deficient is a long-term project, with many unwilling or unable to make the commitment.

What are the qualities of a bad reader? First, you are likely to have a limited vocabulary, often caused by a lack of reading, resulting in not understanding the words and having to take extra time to look them up in a dictionary. This slows down the process causing you to take more time to complete homework or an exam. If you need to spend extra time in just reading the material, you have less time to understand the writing and put it to use. Second, if you have difficulty in reading, you are less likely to want to read any more than what is required, because it is human nature to shun activities in which you do not excel. A parent who rarely observes a child reading at home should be worried.

Young children have a significant advantage if they observe their parents reading at home. If the home routine is mostly television, computers and iPhones, this would indicate to children reading is not all that important. Other types of parental behavior observed by their children, such as physical abuse, excessive drinking and angry arguments are often repeated by the children who believe that such is simply how adults live. What this all means is that parents' behavior has an important bearing on a child's overall development, and not limited to education. Even if the home environment is good, it is also necessary parents see that their children complete their homework and have a good attendance record at school. Indifference to a child's performance is evidence of poor parenting.

Democracy works best when voters understand the issues and are familiar with the candidate's record. They then can make an informed choice. The better a voter is educated, the better the chance that he or she will not be confused by a slick-talking campaigner, and the essential ingredient to a good education is proficiency in reading. However, improving this skill is time-consuming and requires hard work, and the desire to improve without the commitment won't work.

In my opinion the craze in comic book movies and trashy novels is evidence the country's reading level is on a decline, and you would hope there would be a bi-partisan outcry to take action. However, if you believe the Republicans want minorities well educated, making them more difficult to fool around election time, you are dreaming. An example of their attitude about education is their opposition to Operation Head Start, a federally funded program designed to provide quality education for young children. I assume they don't believe the country has the money to fund this program, yet continue to urge lower taxes for the wealthy.

BASS TRUMBO IS A RESIDENT OF FAYETTEVILLE, AN ATTORNEY AND A FORMER COLLEGE INSTRUCTOR IN BUSINESS LAW.