By Jimena Sánchez Zamora – Student of the English Club of ULACIT
“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift”. As American author, Kate DiCamillo, mentioned, reading nowadays is presented as a burden rather than a game where the imagination attracts all senses to participate. Instill reading as part of our live should starts since infants. In that way, the child will begin to enjoy it at an early age. By all means, this pleasure, as readers call it, should be inculcated in the classroom, but, simultaneously, at home where their major models to pursue are.
Avoiding establishing reading as a task or duty will help children to improve the development of their own personality, to be more empathetic, independent, and with strong opinions. Indira Ramírez mentions in her blog when a child, for some reason, does not want to continue reading, just leave him or leave her. Thereby, this playful activity will not frustrate them, and they will want to resume at another time.
When talking about developing a child, there are so many fields where a teacher can work and stand out, notwithstanding, is the "The Daily Five" structure which will teach students about reading when they are in class (The Daily Café, n.d.). Some of the tasks that a child needs to learn for creating a habit include to read for themselves, read to someone else, work on writing, and listen to reading. This management structure will make them understand why they want to read a book, what are they interested in, if they are comprehending what they are reading, and to learn new vocabulary. In other words, in a classroom, it is up to the teacher to catch up their imagination and fully engage students in reading and, why not, writing.
As parents, emulsifying the love for reading in children is one of the greatest gifts they can give, but how is it possible at home? Well, for a child their major model to pursue are mom and dad. If you, as a parent, are a reader, you have the half of the chore done. In other words, by osmosis the child would learn to love books, and make reading a delightful habit. Another way to boost their attention is having a small library at home with different literary genres in line with their age, it may help them to choose their favorite ones, and will also help them to discover what they like.
In short, making reading a part of our lives is complex today, but, undoubtedly, teaching or instilling this habit from childhood will help them in excess, not only intellectually, but also emotionally and socially. Since role models are so important, that is why the habit should start from home and be continued in the classroom. “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader”. -Margaret Fuller.
