Forum Index › Forums › ISLAMIC PRACTICES FORUMS › Society and Individuals › Education › Why Your Children Do Not Read
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Tue 17 Shaban 1445AH 27-2-2024AD at 8:16 am #91068
A must read‼️
ᏔᎻᎽ ᎽϴႮᎡ ᏟᎻᏆᏞᎠᎡᎬΝ ᎠϴΝ’Ͳ ᎡᎬᎪᎠIt’s mid-term break already in Lagos State. We’ll be discussing lots of issues that concerns our children’s academic performances this period. So, get ready for a fascinating, enlightening, educative adventure of knowledge.
There has always been this notion that Africans don’t read. In fact, to aggravate this monumental insult, it has also been posited that if you want to keep information (knowledge) from Africans, you should hide it in a book!What an effontry and a pity at the same time.
But, let’s be honest with ourselves, is the above true or not? When was the last time you read a book?
If a life saving or wealth generating information has been hidden in a book in the last three months, would you have got it? Whatever your answer is, matters. It just might be the reason why your children don’t read too.
Reading is one of the best mental exercises which does not just boost academic performance, but engender long term mental alertness.
Also, apart from the many and obvious clichés about reading such as: “A reader is a leader”, “The more you read the more you lead”…
…or “You start dying when you stop reading”; “reading completes our ‘individual humanity’ in a way that it can’t be explained”.
When you read you keep yourself opened to reality. You become universal in disposition and that stands you out.
The big question now is, with all the advantages ascribed to reading, why are our children not reading?
REASONS CHILDREN DON’T READ
1. A DISCOURAGING HOME ARRANGEMENTS: When you entre the house of most typical Nigerians, you observe a gigantic flat screen TV, sometimes bought with the mindset of oppressing neighbours.Stylish, good colour separation techniques and VERY LOUD too. You would also observe a ‘shake the roof sound system’ with other good things of life too.
You hardly would see a study / reading corner! In some cases, you won’t even see a single book kept in the open. What does that say to your children? I will tell you. It clearly says, ‘READING IS NOT ENCOURAGED or ALLOWED HERE, YOU CAN ALWAYS RELAX AND WATCH TELEVISION!
Did you just try to convince yourself that children read in their rooms? And do you actually believe that?
Let’s even pretend that they do, how conducive is the reading space? So you still believe that your child’s bed is a good reading sport?
In this century? You need to wake up!
2. A POOR REWARD SYSTEM: It’s a known fact that, some of you reading this article right now, in this very space could only attain the educational qualifications you have because of scholarship(s) or sponsorship from schools or individuals at some point.
Some people would have remained stark Illiterate but for such opportunity. But, what do we see today? Scholarship is ‘officially classified as part of the nation’s past glories, just like every other good things ordinary Nigerians lack.
School owners, including those who became so due to scholarship have become more interested in profits making to the extent of extorting parents in some cases, without thinking of giving back. Some who claimed to give scholarship only used it as a marketing strategy to get more students. They will place the cut off mark so high that at the end, no student is able to have that score. What a shame! How then do you want students to read?
The same school will do everything possible to ensure that students passed their exams and are promoted to the next class just to impress parents to keep their children there. This leave no distinction between the hard working students and the ‘policy favoured students’ who then see no need to work hard.
How about our homes? What value do we place on education? Parents respect and adore children who bring back money and materials (even without knowing or questioning the source), more than those who bring excellent results.
Post-covid19 education review posited that about 1.2million or so children dropped from school. One of the major reasons for that was because students started petty business which churn in money in huge profits. So, what then was the need to go back to school when staying out of school means more money for the struggling family?
If this is applauded as it were, why will the children in school want to read?
As if this is not enough, our higher institutions are always happy to present a plaque and ₦20,000 to First Class Graduates or to graduats who won all the departmental awards (as was the case with the Unilorin female graduate who won all the departmental awards in her school).
These same institutions would rather lobby to employ a third class graduate who is ‘connected’ than a first class graduate with requisite skills and qualifications.
If excellence is no longer celebrated, why would students read?
3. LACK OF LIBRARIES IN OUR SCHOOLS: Most schools don’t have functional libraries, while some don’t have at all. For those that have, there is a common trend now. Once there is need for expansion due to population explosion, the library and ICT room is quickly converted to a classroom and the books taken to the HM’s / principle’s office.
Once this happens in some schools, that is the end of a library and an ICT room in the school. How then will students read?
Even those with a well-stacked libraries, do your timetables reflect library and reading periods?
Oh, you are thinking about it? Ok, so now that you are done thinking, did you include library reading time in your timetable or the library is just there for government officials inspection?
How about you that conveniently positioned your beautiful library next to the ‘noise proof’ generator house?
Is that your own way of encouraging reading? Think about it again.
4. STRESS AND FATIGUE ON CHILDREN: I hope you are not expecting me to be the one to tell you that children equally go through stress as you do? Well, I just did! Stress and Fatigue is also responsible for poor reading. Most often than not, and badly so, parents choices of schools are based on their convenience rather than the child’s academic and health’s need.
This means that (using Lagos for example), a parent who lives on the mainland and works on the island will rather choose a school on the island which is closer to his/her office to allow for pickup and drop off, rather than a school on the mainland. When this happens, and to beat traffic, the child is made to leave home as early as 4am or 5am and return at 7pm or 8pm in some cases.
For a child who needs minimum of 8 hours sleep for a proper mental and psychogical growth and development, waking up and going to bed at those times will deprived him/her of at least 3 hours of sleep every night. Please ask a doctor for the health implications.
Without talking further, you should know by now that there is no way such a child would read, especially at home; not even on weekends. He or she would be stressed out and Fatigue!
RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP YOUR CHILD READ
1. Create a study / reading corner at home: Get a simple table and chairs. If you can’t have them reading every day, fix a compulsory reading day and time.For a better result, be part of this routine and you will be glad you did.
Children reading or studying on their beds should be discouraged.2. Reword Excellence: When I was in primary school, my uncle will give whoever came first between I and my cousin Margaret a full roasted chicken. He will make sure that the other person doesn’t eat part of it for any reason. This single simple act kept us studying hard so we can eat the chicken.
Try to reward your children. When you do, don’t wait till the end of the term only, do it in between the term as well. It truly helps.
3. Build Class libraries: If you lack space for a big library, improvise with a class library. They work wonders and are easy to set up. To do this, collaborate with your students and teachers.
Imagine you have 15 students in a class, if each of them donate at least a book in a term, you will have at least 45 books at the end of a session, in each class. This single act will not only build a library, it will also teach children the importance of books and of giving.
4. Let your child’s needs come first when school-hunting: Choose a school that makes it easier on the child to go and return without wasting quality time on the road or lose sleep.
So, the next time you criticize your child for not reading as you often do, make sure you are not guilty of same thing.
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