Reading

Why is it reading, in all forms, is out-and-out a hell to a lot of children in Asia? I wish I had the best answer, but I can make a guess for sure. Motivation starts at home or at school at least for kids who do not have good parents. When adults do not even lift a book and tell their children how important this is, young ones would see it the same way. If teachers aren’t readers themselves, their learners undeniably are reflections of what they are. It happens. I grew up in a home where nobody read books–we never even owned a book. But at my aunt’s house which was fifteen kilometers away from us had tons of them. So I used to walk far just to indulge myself a craving for books. I did it like million times when our school’s library was closed for summer and weekends. Of course, I got the motivation to read from teachers at school and from my church.

One could tell a million reasons perhaps depending on a circumstance. And reading as a disinterested activity in individual’s life makes me wonder until this very day. This specific issue goes to older persons as well–they are no exceptions. But I discovered one more surprising reason as I edited my boss and his team’s project proposal yesterday. They address the same problem–the agony of reading–kids and people don’t really read. Their specific research shows that kids who are in fifth to seventh grades can’t even read. So how do we expect them to pick a book and read it? I bet this justification is applicable to adults who are not literate. This is just a rare case. Who is to blame for this negligence? Teachers and school administration without a doubt.