To read is to discover.
November is the time when students and teachers celebrate National Reading Month. Teachers give students stories to read while students, as much as they can, decipher what those written symbols mean. But amidst this event, one cannot dispense the fact that not all Filipino young individuals love reading.
As teachers, we have to remind our students about the importance of reading. Reading prepares the minds of our students. Reading cultivates critical thinking which a skill that they need in life. Critical thinking means a thoughtful cognitive process which means that students objectively study the information given. It is vital especially nowadays that social media became a virtual bin of misinformation and alternative facts. We need to remind them that reading prepares them in a world that needs scrutiny and careful judgment.
Also, as ever, reading provides wisdom. There were no computers or Google back then, but a lot of individuals have created innovations and inventions. Reading books is a primary source of intelligence and creativity.
And as teachers, we have to make reading interesting. Some students have this impression that reading is boring. Some have experienced it themselves. I think reading is never boring. It will never be boring as long as we integrate questions, activities, and reflection in reading. It will never be boring as long as we show to our students the importance of this cognitive exercise. And it will never be boring as long as we show to our students that we ourselves love reading.
Also, setting up mini-libraries inside the classroom would be a good reinforcement of the importance of reading. With books as part of the learning environment, learners’ curiosity towards books might be reawakened. In this age of modern technology, physical books are becoming rare and rare and it is our noble duty, as educators, to let students experience reading.
We just need to be patient as we can be because reading is a cognitive task and it requires years before a learner can fully attain comprehension and critical thinking skills. Reading should be emphasized in our curriculum and in everyday lessons.
November is the National Reading Month but reading should not start and end from there. Reading brings people to different worlds. Reading makes people imagine and dream. Reading helps our youth to think, to dare, and to explore.
Indeed, to read is to grow.
By: Anna Liza F. Layno | Teacher III | JEAG MHS
