How to create a nation of readers

How to create a nation of readers

By John Philips

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The recent plagiarism scandal at Gadjah Mada
University reminded me of a conversation I had recently with a
Japanese graduate student.

She said her Indonesian classmates routinely have English
reading assignments translated into Indonesian at great expense,
rather than trying to read the assignments themselves. Most of
her classmates are university lecturers.

This is so despite the fact that they were given far fewer
reading assignments than most graduate classes in the West,
according to the Japanese student, who is attending one of the
most prestigious universities in Indonesia.

It struck me immediately that the problem of "non-readers" in
Indonesia was far more serious than I had thought.

After all, these "students" were among the best students in
the country, many were educators themselves, and they would only
be able to keep up with developments by reading in English. Now I
am wondering how much they read even in Indonesian and what
effect this state of affairs might have on the future development
of Indonesia.

The good news is that Indonesian educators are aware of the
problem and are working on solutions. Some answers are emerging,
including a number that were suggested at a recent seminar on
promoting reading among children.

Participants in that seminar identified the problem as being
rooted both in our schools and in our homes. In other words, we
educators are not doing a good enough job encouraging and
rewarding the development of reading skills, and we parents are
not doing a good enough job creating an appropriate home reading
environment which would lead children to look the activity of
reading, not as a punishment or a chore, but as a pleasurable and
rewarding activity.

What is most surprising about this problem in Indonesia is
that the education system has not taken an active role in
promoting reading.

My daughter attends a good-quality Indonesian school and yet
she rarely receives any reading assignments. Even those she does
have are limited in scope, as the questions which accompany the
text require little thinking. And I have never heard of any
"event" in her class or in school which focused all of the
students on the importance of reading and its significance in the
education process.

In short, on the basis of what I have seen, I would conclude
that the curricula and the educational environment simply do not
include much reading skills development. At the same time, I have
never approached my daughter's school to offer my assistance as
an educator and as a parent.

I believe that for schools to have successful reading programs
they need to make reading a "priority" subject and they need to
have the active support and participation of parents.

First, schools need to make reading as important a subject as
any other, if not more so. Reading, like math, is a basic skill
that is the key to opening up the learning of many other things.
So, there is simply no excuse for a curriculum not to have
significant time set aside for the teaching and practicing of
reading skills.

Schools should set aside at least one period a day for the
students to read quietly at their desks while the teacher
circulates or meets with small groups of students to provide
instruction and to assist students who are having trouble.

Second, once a week at a specified time all activity should
stop in the school and every person, including the
administrators, should take out a book and read.

Third, schools should schedule bimonthly "reading days" in
which parents, government officials, and others, including
university students, are invited to come and lead children in
reading activities.

Fourth, schools should seek the active participation of
parents and university students to assist schools in daily
reading activities and in building up libraries in every school.

Schools do not need to stop at their school gates: they could
become leaders in developing a "reading community". In fact,
community organizations and businesses should be approached to
support the development of local reader-friendly libraries in
which books, magazines and newspapers would be made available to
the general public, so that everyone, not just children, become
active readers.

Schools could become focal points for the development of
literacy training for adults by providing classroom space and
instruction for literacy training volunteers.

Universities can insure that their students read more
efficiently by regulating the curriculum to include more quality
reading assignments and, perhaps, by increasing the number of
such assignments.

In addition, universities should develop subject matter
reading and writing tests that require critical reading and
thinking skills. Reading must become a worthwhile and rewarding
activity that no one can afford to do without.

By far the most important element in Indonesia's promotion of
a reading society is the home. Parents are always the first and
foremost educators of children.

First, children learn from simply watching parents: They learn
what is important or valuable, how to behave and what is
pleasurable, all from watching their parents.

So the first thing that needs to happen in Indonesian homes is
that parents must read regularly, so that reading is seen as a
pleasurable activity.

The house needs to be filled with reading materials to the
greatest extent possible. As was suggested in the seminar, it
does not really matter very much what those materials are, so
long as they appeal to the children and are not harmful.

The home, like the school and the larger community, must be a
reader-friendly environment in which reading is accepted as a
"normal" everyday activity that everyone can engage in.

The writer is an education consultant based in Yogyakarta.