Reading habit should be taught at home: Experts

JAKARTA (JP): One expert suggests Asterix and Donald Duck, while another suggests Doraemon. The message to parents is the same: Give your children any comic strip to get them started reading and, hopefully, they will acquire the habit of reading as they grow up.

Experts at a seminar on the development of the habit of reading among children, held on Saturday, said that home, rather than school, is where it all should begin. Consequently, parents hold the key, they said.

"Parents should set an example to their children, for them to love reading," said Riris K. Toha Sarumpaet, a lecturer of the University of Indonesia's English department.

The seminar, sponsored by the Indonesian Publishers Association and book publisher PT Graha Kerindo Utama, was held amid growing concern about the appallingly poor reading habits of Indonesian adults and children. That concern was reflected, earlier in the year, in government's declaration of Reading Month, in May, and Visit the Library Month, in September.

Sarumpaet lamented the fact that many parents, and even teachers, think that reading is a waste of time. "They'd rather encourage children to engage in more physical activities," she said, adding that reading can also be a form of entertainment.

Mrs. Atie Wardiman Djojonegoro, the wife of the minister of education and culture, said parents should make sure that children see reading as a form of enjoyment, rather than as a kind of torture or punishment.

Sarumpaet said comic strips are the best way to stimulate children to start reading. "Don't give them a story that is very close to their daily life: They'll get bored," she said.

Education expert J. Drost S.J. also suggested the use of comic strips, but added that, for some unexplained reason, "parents loathe them."

Drost, the principal of Gonzaga Catholic High School in Jakarta, said that, contrary to what many people believe, comic strips are very educational and, at the same time, fun to read.

"Humorous stories in comic strips stimulate the inner parts of a human being's heart, such as intelligence, feelings and love," he said.

He cited Asterix and Donald Duck as being among the best comic strips for children.

Parents should not worry if their children love reading comic strips, Mrs. Wardiman said. "Children usually love stories from another world, which is quite different with real life."

She cited Doraemon, a Japanese comic strip about a technological buff cat, as an example. "Doraemon is an alien cat which we'll never meet in our life," she said. "Children love reading about him because they can expand their imagination."

Drost said imaginative stories build children's ability to fantasize about a different world. "Children will throw their book away if it only tells about ideal children, who are always succeeding," he said.

"A story-line like that can bore them to tears," he added.

However, Drost cautioned that comic strips should not be given to pre-school children. "They should be provided with books which contain more pictures and enough text to be read by parents," he said.

By repeating funny stories and explaining pictures in the book, children can be stimulated to try to read. "This process will encourage them to read, and parents may not realize that their children are able to read before beginning elementary school."

Sarumpaet also encouraged parents to buy books of local folk stories for their children. "They can learn about other cultures that may not have come across before," she said.

For example, Javanese children might be interested in reading an Acehnese folk story.

Sarumpaet said she would not count on schools to stimulate children to pick up the reading habit, because they do not allocate any special time for teachers to read stories to their pupils.

"Personally, I find schools very scary, because the curriculum is so tough," she said.

Drost also said that schools are not conducive to children's becoming avid readers. (05)