Building a culture of reading

Reading is an essential skill to learning that should be developed at a very young age. As the person ages, reading builds knowledge to develop creativity, decision-making, social awareness, and a sense of community. It forms the building blocks of a future generation of well-informed and productive citizens.

In the month of November when the country observes National Reading Month, the Department of Education (DepEd) has prepared various activities which will expose students to a culture of reading.  The celebration especially aims to foster love for reading and understanding of literacy as pivotal in cultivating critical thinking.

For a month, students around the country will be exposed to interesting activities: listening to stories told by reading ambassadors; reading to classmates and relating stories about favorite books during the “Read-A-Thon” and “Drop-Everything-and-Read” 15-minute sessions in their classes; and opportunities to read and share books with classmates through the book trade fairs and share-a-book boxes around the schools.

The activities designed to revive students’ interest in reading are outlined in a memorandum declaring November as National Reading Month signed by former Education Secretary Armin Luistro in 2011.

Topping the month-long celebration will be the Araw ng Pagbasa on Nov. 27, which was declared as a regular working holiday by Republic Act No. 10556 signed in 2012 to support “endeavors that promote reading and literacy, motivate awareness and uphold our Filipino heritage and culture.”

The Araw ng Pagbasa Act also “recognizes the importance of promoting reading as a shared activity among the youth, families, educators and the private sector, thereby emphasizing personal interaction and facilitating the exchange of ideas throughout the country.”

This year, the activities extend to more than just exposing children to the joy of reading stories but also to helping those who are lagging behind.  Last year, a report on the low reading and comprehension abilities of Filipino students had focused initiatives to solve this problem. One solution is mentorship.

This is where the public and private sectors have stepped up to help bridge the learning gap.  DepEd has encouraged teachers to conduct remedial classes and reading assistance programs for students who are non-readers. Meanwhile, the private sector has responded with remedial reading programs where volunteers tutor students who are lagging behind in their reading skills, an initiative that started after restrictions of the pandemic were lifted.

At the school level, a DepEd activity has introduced mentorship among students. This is the “Big Brother/Big Sister” or “Kaklase Ko, Sagot Ko,” a shared reading activity where older students or independent readers mentor pupils at the “frustration reading level” or non-reading level.

Clearly, DepEd’s activities have been well-planned to cover all the opportunities to learn.

Each of us can help build interest in reading. Those who have found successful careers through reading can share their stories to encourage more people to imbibe the culture of reading. Those who just love to read and learn can share their time to guide the young to the books to read.

One can start at the barangay, church or a school in one’s community.  Hearing success stories from the successful is an effective way to invite people to read.

To paraphrase a popular saying: “The more you read, the more things you know.”

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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph