Reading With Usha!

 


Usha: "Cheryl. You are fun."

Cheryl: "Usha. Yes, I am fun."

The Three Little Pigs 

Once upon a time, there were three bachelor piggies, Robert Jr, James Donald and Donald John, who were kicked out of their mummy and daddy's house and told to go fend for themselves. 

"Watch out for the big bad Wolff," mummy cried out.

"Beware of the Vova," hollered daddy.

"Did he say, vulva," whispered Robert Jr.

And they all squealed.

Usha: "Very fun."

Cheryl: "So fun."

Like, oh my God, please stop. I don't understand what is going on here. Are parents supposed to hand a child a tablet so they can watch story telling time with Usha Vance?

"Here, kid, Daddy's had a rough day. Listen to the bimbos."

How does this help a child learn to read? If a parent plans on reading a bedtime story to their children, what's the need for Usha!? I'm confused. Read to your own mini yous. There's no need for Usha. 

My parents did not read us bedtime stories. We were like children who were raised by wolves. We were little autonomous units, but there happened to be a lot of reading material around, so I read it. I read everything. I loved to read the personals in the back pages of the Chicago newspapers.

'Looking for Millie. Please, come home.'

'Has anyone seen Bob Landreth? Call PE6- 1249.'

'Joe loves Amy.'

'Looking for the secret to life?' Yes, please.

Did you know 54% of American adults cannot read beyond a sixth grade level? 45-50 million adults have never read, 'The Old Man and the Sea,' 'Jane Eyre,' 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,' or, 'Cat in the Hat.'

Our neighbor, Leigh, was a functioning illiterate. I didn't know she couldn't read until I was in my late teens and I saw her struggle with a letter she had received. Apparently her husband read the important stuff and managed the bills. When he died she relied on a neighbor who kept her secret. (Until now)

Reading is fundamental.

It's also freedom. 

People enjoy listening to podcasts and audiobooks. That's great, but for me, picking up a book and decoding a series of 26 letters to form billions of thoughts and ideas is pretty darn amazing. 

One of the most important things you can do as a parent is to sit with your child for ten minutes and read to them. Toss some interesting books around. Maybe they'll pick one up.

Okay, I'll loosen up on the gals and their story telling time. Who knows, maybe some kid, as they're scrolling on YouTube, will accidentally notice two boring old ladies talking in monotoned voices about pigs and think, "I really need to get off YouTube and go read a book!"

Comments

Berthold Gambrel said…
I'm gonna stick up for Usha and her goofy show, kinda.I sympathize with her, because in a way I am fighting a similar fight to make reading appealing. I think the idea behind her show is to make reading kids stories look "cool", so that it will hopefully motivate parents to do that themselves. I've heard that a lot of parents these days don't just because they find it boring.

Unfortunately, Usha's not that cool. I mean, she seems like probably the nicest person in that whole administration, but for her plan to glamorize reading stories to kids to work, she would need to have Jackie Kennedy levels of popularity, and she... doesn't.
May 8, 2026 at 5:28 AM
Maggie said…
Agreed. Getting kids to read, or anyone, is a worthy endeavor. Lavar Burton did it. Where is Lavar?
May 8, 2026 at 7:57 AM
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