Last June 16, 2015, English Teachers, Master Teachers of the English Department, and some Head Teachers and Coordinators, gathered at the Division Conference Hall for the Orientation of Project i-READ (I Read, Enjoy and Discover).
The K-12 EBEC Curriculum, as discussed during the orientation, is designed for the average readers, which are basically on an instructional level. However, we cannot deny that there are also other levels of readers we need to attend the needs to. There are already several remediation programs that cater to the needs of non-readers and struggling readers, but none has been made for advanced readers. And so, the birth of i-READ.
Being a self-proclaimed bookworm and Teacher of English, it is my pleasure to introduce to kids how wonderful Reading can be. So I was pretty excited about this program. After the orientation, I prepared the materials and documents for the said project along with the creation of the Book Club we call "The Young Readers Society" at our school, HHIS. We had the election of officers and, after that, planned the launching of the Project.
Highway Hills Integrated School has a big population compared to other public schools in Mandaluyong, so the officers of the club and I decided to do two sessions of the i-READ Project launching. One for grades 7 and 9 and one for grades 8 and 10 students.
Mr. Leo Causon, the English Coordinator in HHIS Elementary Department, agreed to talk about the importance and benefits of reading to Grade 7 and 9 students. While I, as the Adviser of the YRS, introduced the Project to the Grade 8 and 10 students.
I brought some of my books down to the venue so they could look at some of them and see if they wanted to borrow them. After seeing them on the table, some had already chosen which book they would borrow. These are my personal books. I was happy that the kids enjoyed them; however, some books were given back to me in the poorest condition, and some didn't even bother giving them back to me. So after the Reading Room was officially taken from us, I decided to bring books back at home.
I still let some of the kids whom I trusted would take care of my books and bring it back to me borrow from time to time. It's always fun converting kids to love reading, one kid at a time.
They are now all back home in their new home lol
The officers of YRS also prepared some games for the readers to enjoy and socialize with the other readers from different grade levels.
After the launch, of course, I heard positive and negative feedback from the students. These are, after all, grade-conscious students with lots of extracurricular activities and contests from the Pilot section. Well, I think at this age, there are only a few students who would really gladly join a project like this. Kids nowadays aren't brought up by their parents to love reading. They hated reading just a few pages long short stories in class; how much more a novel?
I, myself, when I was still a high school student, didn't bother much about reading. I like English, yes, and I have good grades too. I only started liking reading once I was in college. One of my friends told me about the story of the book she was reading, and I got curious, so I borrowed it from her, read it, and surprisingly loved it.
I think making students enjoy reading is a very long process. I believe that we shouldn't force it on them. That's why this project is really something I want to really work hard to put in motion.
Why? Because kids who joined and read books can share the stories they've read, and through sharing, maybe we can add a few names to the list of students who eventually will love reading as well.
It might take time, but it will surely be worth it.
