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It's important for today's parents, teachers and students to work as a cohesive team to take this initiative forward
Sharjah, UAE, November 22nd, 2016: The importance of reading and writing habits in kids has reached a critical juncture across the globe and the region. The reading and writing habits that students had in the 1990s or the pre-digital era that took over the world, has completely changed the equation in the 21st century. As per statistics from the Arab Thought Foundation, the annual average reading rate for an Arab child is 6 minutes compared to a 12,000-minute average for children in the West.
“Reading habits are well-planned and deliberate pattern of study coupled with a high level of consistency for students to understand and perform better in academics. Reading and writing habits actually determine the academic achievements of students to a great extent. Both reading and academic achievements are dependent on each other. Students often come from different environments and backgrounds with different levels of academic achievement. Therefore, they are bound to differ in the pattern of reading habits. While some students have better reading habits, others tend to exhibit poor reading habits. Therefore, teachers, parents and students need to take the adequate steps to bring back the reading habits in to the framework once again,” said Poonam Heryani, Head of Academics at ASPAM Indian International School.
Year 2016 has been earmarked as the ‘year of reading' in the UAE to promote the reading culture in the country amongst students and residents. The aim is mooted to consolidate UAE's position as a global capital for knowledge and culture.
“We believe that a child should spend a minimum of 20 minutes reading their favourite topic or book. They must be encouraged by parents, teachers and peers to imbibe and sustain this routine to gain knowledge from all sources. We are thankful to the UAE government for charting out reading initiatives which will help the students to grow into a better society by being well read and well informed,” added Poonam.
“We try to take every opportunity to ensure that we send the ‘importance of reading' message to our students. We recently developed a theme around our annual concert day function to drive this message home to both the students and their parents. Our progressive education methodology employs an integrated, challenging, and age-appropriate curriculum based on research and experience. Our aim is to develop the critical thinking skills and habits in students. Reading among other activities has been strategically promoted to bolster the cognitive development of our students,” added Poonam.
Some tips for students in UAE who would like to improve their reading skills:
Set aside time for gadget free independent reading
Frequently visit your school library and borrow books
Do brief book reviews
Never miss a book fair and listen to the authors and their experiences
Share your books with friends
Be part of your local book clubs
Host book reading events at home
Encourage your parents to read
Start with short stories if you don't want to go for the thick books
Learn at least one new word a day by reading and by end of the year you would have added 365 to your list
“Our approach to academic development of children is to start from an acknowledgement that every child is different. Each child has different learning styles, interests, cultural and educational backgrounds therefore individual development of each child is not necessarily a simple linear progression. As a result, what's required is a level of personalization that ensures that the learning meets each child ‘where they are. Improving their reading skills therefore is an important way to guide them in to a knowledgeable world and expose them to something that is relevant to their future success,” added Poonam.
ASPAM Indian International School is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi, India. The Board and the curriculum framework provide a platform for diversity of intelligence in children and provide multiple avenues to focus on the student's potential. The curriculum is designed backward considering the preparedness required for the secondary level examination thereby delivered forward from kindergarten onwards.
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