Grolier Encyclopedia volume 15 page 399 states that, “the ability to read enables a person to satisfy both personal and functional needs and to participate fully in a contemporary society. The ability to read therefore is an essential goals as well as a basic tool of education.
True! But the question is how well do we read?
According to my research there are two sets of readers, the privilege readers and the unprivileged readers. Auspiciously I belong to the privilege readers.
Why? You may ask, it is because I belong to the family of readers at an early age I saw my parents reading, heard them to read to me bed time stories thought me rhymes and simple poems. They bought me simple booklets like Little Red Riding Hood, Humpty Dumpy, the Three Little Pigs and many more.
My background had a strong influence on my reading achievements, the schools where I had studied at, had a significance influence on my reading achievements too, I was so lucky and I thanked my parents, schoolmates, teachers, and to our Almighty God for all of these.
But the second set of readers, who are they?
They are our less fortunate brothers, sisters, neighbors and friends. Who in one way or another have lives far different from ours? They are those who have very busy parents, who have no time to teach them, no time to read stories, and have no time to follow their achievements in schools. They are either product of broken families or families who belong to the below the belt salaried once, or orphans! They are those who neglected the unfortunate once.
How can they achieve their goals in life? How can they uplift their status? How can they communicate with others? Furthermore, how would their lives be in the future to come?
The Department of Education, some Local Government Units, and other Non- Government Organizations have starting helping schools; it gives educational supports, free textbooks, television sets and educational tapes. It has been doing it’s best to cope with the present problem.
How about in remotest area? In places without textbooks, no libraries, and much more no electricity!
My suggestion to that is to send qualified reading specialist to all government schools, retrain English teachers, build remedial reading centers, and send more free visual aids and equipped teachers with all the necessities in order for them to make reading enjoyable.
Lastly retrain teachers how to measure reading accomplishments of students. Give credits to school who have done well and encourage the school that have less performance.
Let’s work hand in hand for a better place to live in, for a better
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