Reading habit should be taught at home: Experts

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)