In schools and educational centers children learn to read, write, mathematical operations and a series of knowledge of all kinds of subjects. Undoubtedly, each area of knowledge is important. But reading has a special relevance because it affects any subject. Whether in mathematics, history or the natural sciences, reading must be used as a means to acquire an adequate understanding of the contents.
Reading is an intellectual skill that most children achieve after a period of training. Over time, reading becomes more complex; incorporating a broader and more specialized vocabulary.
It could be said that the majority of the population knows how to read, but not everyone understands what they read. To do so, it is necessary to carry out a critical reading. This consists of a deep understanding of the text or document that is being read. to get it is
requires a high degree of maturity and training.
The critical reader is one who dialogues with the text. He knows how to interpret all the information in a fluid way. Critical reading also implies that the reader debates with the words. There is a critical attitude in his activity and he does not limit himself to putting words together. This critical attitude requires a lot of previous reading. Analytical capacity is key when carrying out a critical reading.
A text can have a complex structure. Its content sometimes has a double meaning. There are puns, Latin expressions or expressions from other languages, popular registers, quotes and, in short, the words in a text have multiple approaches. Consequently, if we want to be skilled in reading, it is necessary to have a critical character, capable of questioning the content. It must not be forgotten that the writer has a purpose in his message (inform, comment, debate, analyze…) and the reader has to capture what the real intention is. It could be the case that a non-critical reading leads the reader to conclusions opposite to those of the text.
When a critical reading is not carried out, there is an evident impoverishment of reading. For this reason, there is talk of the phenomenon of functional illiteracy, that is, people who know how to read but who are not able to correctly assimilate the meaning of the texts.
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