Our future readers

Students need to read books. Entire books. Our society is distracted, unfocused and in a hurry. A curriculum that rushes through content perpetuates the anxiety of our time. Reading a book (slowly and leisurely) is a countercultural act - Brian Tolentino, Founder of TolentinoTeaching (Resources for English Teachers).

I remember the designated reading time we had in my primary school. You could choose a book, any book, to read. The silence that filled the classroom during those 30 minutes were my favourite. I would often chose a book that I picked up at the Scholastic Book Fair, usually a title by Jacqueline Wilson or sometimes any of the Rainbow Magic Series by Daisy Meadows.

Looking back now, I can't believe that a class of over twenty 8 to 9 year old children was able to keep silent for 30 minutes straight. It was like magic! It didn't really matter what you read as long as you read something. It wasn't really about the book at all. These 30 minutes were really an exercise of attention, concentration and imagination. Some of the other children in my class would read comics, others would read magazines. I remember one kid, one of my friends actually, read a thesaurus. Intriguing!

It is said that reading has many benefits including enhancing your memory, expanding your vocabulary, increasing empathy, reducing stress and the list goes on. There are many advantages to reading as an adult, but even more when this practice is developed during childhood. As a child, I didn't realise it, but reading played a major role in the development of my cognition, creativity and attention.

The Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida wrote an Article about this a few years back. I've shared the link below if you'd like to check it out. The article made very salient points like "Reading isn’t a natural brain activity — it’s a learned one." By creating a designated time for reading during school hours, we had no choice as children but to use the time to read something, anything. This probably would not have happened naturally after school or during the summer holidays, unless that time was intentionally replicated in the home. At a young age, a child's mind is filled with so many ideas and thoughts that it becomes very difficult to grab their attention, let alone keep it. By setting out a specific amount of time to read, a child's mind is learning how to focus on one thing for a long time, removing distractions and inducing a calmness into their thoughts and bodies. A stillness that even I am envious of today as a busy working adult.

There are usually two main types of reading patterns we see in school which were touched upon in this article: interactive reading and independent reading. The type of reading I mentioned earlier in this post was independent reading, where a child reads by themselves, sometimes with silence or light background music, for a set amount of time. The other method of reading - interactive reading - is the more common type. It's sometimes called 'Circle time'. A book is chosen, either by the teacher or the students collectively, and this is read to the entire class, usually by the teacher. This type of reading is known to be beneficial for bonding, building social skills and language processing. It brings the class together and creates a time to connect with the teacher and other students. This method is also used in homes very often, usually at bedtime, to also facilitate that bond between parents, children and siblings.

Either way, the practice of reading is needed! I believe both methods should be facilitated in schools so that all students are exposed to their many benefits from an early age. As soon as a child can comprehend letters, words and sentences, I believe they should start reading. It can even start with picture books that have 1 word per page. A mixture of interactive reading sessions and independent reading time during school hours will have long term benefits for our children. It may be tough initially to introduce children to such a still environment, but with repetitive practice, even the children will be able to facilitate the sessions successfully by themselves.

Once this habit is built up in our children, it will become easier as adults to carry on with reading more complex literature. Or perhaps, they can still enjoy a comic or 2 as they grow up. It can be tough to begin such a habit as an adult but once a child becomes a reader, that positive pattern is difficult to break.

Reading Changes a Child’s Brain: Here’s How by The Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida