Reading: A good habit that should be passed on

Blogger's Note: I hope this article will encourage us adults to read and teach our young children to read also. Read on... 8-)

Show kids you read, parents told
First posted 04:06am (Mla time) Oct 25, 2005 By DJ YapInquirer News Service
http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=54433

BE NOT ashamed if you read only Tagalog romance novels or glossy motoring magazines.
Read where children can see you, and show them how you enjoy each page, each line and each word because reading is a legacy that should be passed on from one generation to the next, according to Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, president of the Ateneo de Manila University.

It’s not the material that people read that counts, but the act of and the love for reading itself, Nebres said at the launch of “Programang Kaakbay,” a four-day reading education conference for public school teachers, which ended yesterday.

Organized by the nonprofit Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation (SAS), the conference gathered 100 grade school teachers in Metro Manila to train them on how to promote the habit of reading.

“To be able to achieve a culture of reading, the community has to come together,” Nebres said as he welcomed the delegates to the conference Friday on the Ateneo campus.

“We must push parents to read more. And they must be seen while reading. They should give books to their children as gifts,” he said. “Children imitate us (adults). They follow what we do.”
Modular library program

A government program to build more libraries across the country could further boost reading among Filipinos.

After stepping up the construction of school buildings in the past three years, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is now focusing on building libraries equipped with personal computers in barrio schools.

The President yesterday unveiled a P358-million GMA Modular Library program, which will triple the number of barangay libraries from 500 to 1,500 within the next two years.

Ms Arroyo noted that with the budget for public education still insufficient to cope with the rising student population, a critical component of the learning process has been overlooked -- the library.

Although it has been 56 years since a municipal library law was enacted mandating the establishment of 1,000 libraries, only 500 have been set up -- 40 in 81 provinces, 89 in 100 cities, and 350 in 43,000 barangays.

The program is a joint undertaking between the British Mabey Group, one of the biggest bridge contractors of the government, and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
20-foot steel containers

Mabey Group will design and manufacture the projected 1,000 modular libraries using 20-foot steel containers at an estimated cost of P200,914 each, plus P130,000 worth of books and equipment.

It will shoulder the cost of the initial 100 units while the DPWH will bankroll the balance of 900 units.

The government is also planning to seek the assistance of Philippine National Oil Co. in installing solar panels to supply power to the libraries, especially in far-flung areas.

The modular library program is patterned after the government’s successful partnership with the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, which has spearheaded the construction of thousands of barangay schools nationwide at half the cost of the government’s budget -- 7-by-14-meter, two-classroom buildings costing P350,000 each.

Good story
Whether one first learns to read in Filipino, English or another language is not important, Nebres said. The joy of reading will continue to flourish even if someone learns a second or third language, he said.

It also pays to teach language lessons using stories, he said. Children will always relate to a good story, and it is through stories that they best learn values like nationalism, he said.

A country that has cultivated a culture of reading has a priceless resource, Nebres said.
SAS president Margarita Delgado said the foundation was working to wage a reading movement within the education sector to make the Philippines a “nation of readers.”

Established in 2001 and funded by Petron Foundation, SAS has actively promoted reading awareness in 454 schools among more than 91,000 Grade 4 pupils and 1,755 teachers, according to organizers.

A book for each child
The foundation has also distributed some 104,900 storybooks all over the country.
“Putting a book in every child’s hands” has been the goal of SAS, but “books are only as good as the hands that lead a child to read,” Delgado said.

Teachers have a great responsibility to encourage the reading habit among their pupils, she said.

Delgado expressed hope that the conference, which featured education experts and inspirational speakers, would be of great use to the teachers when they return to their schools.

Speakers at the conference included news anchor Tina Monzon-Palma, Ateneo theater director Onofre Pagsanghan, stage actor Bodgie Pascua, and children’s book authors Ramon Sunico and Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz. With a report from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.

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