Operation creating readers: A Quest to Reclaim the Lost Art of Reading - Part II

he feed back to our first article on the above subject has been overwhelming. From questions on how to select relevant reading material to suggestions on how to motivate kids to read, the reactions came in torrents. In a bid to respond to these and also to broaden the coverage of this thesis we re-engage you in this dialogue.

The challenges to developing the habit of reading are increasing with the development of new media. Television continues to be a distraction for many kids and the proliferation of movies has worsened this problem. The cell phone has introduced yet another source of distraction. The majority of young people seem to be addicted to the phenomenon of text messaging. This situation of text addiction could not be better depicted than the message once flowing around town “do you promise to be ma textmate, in poor signal and low battery, till lack of credit do us part”; and now even lack of credit may not pose a limit to texting since some of the promotional packages include free texting. And please do not get us wrong, we are no luddites. We believe in the power of technology to advance the cause of humanity, but emphasis must be put on responsible use of these new gadgets especially with young people.

In spite of the many advantages of TV and other new technological devices, reading stands out far superior in its power to develop young people. As Marie Winn succinctly put it in her book The Plug-in Drug, “reading trains the mind in concentration skills, develops the powers of imagination and inner visualization, lends itself to a better comprehension of the material being communicated.” It is also true that “reading waters the flower of new ideas and these ideas are catalytic to change.” The foregoing could not have been better exemplified than what we gleaned from the impact of reading on the success of America’s leading CEOs as narrated in the New York Times article “C.E.O. Libraries Reveal Keys to Success”. The afore-mentioned premises and one feedback we got from a leading world expert on education triggered our memory about this Times article. This expert’s reaction to part I of our article hinted at “investment in early childhood development as key for successful learning outcomes and a productive human capital for wealth creation.” Hence, the following references to the Times piece on the reading habits of America’s leading C.E.Os.

In this well-researched article, the author, Harriet Rubin, traces the success of many of America’s legendary C.E.Os to reading. The highlight of this thesis sums thus: “Michael Moritz, the venture capitalist who built a personal $1.5 billion fortune discovering the likes of Google, YouTube, Yahoo and PayPal . . . may seem preternaturally in tune with new media. But it is the imprint of old media - books by the thousands sprawling through his Bay Area house – that occupies mind.” Mr. Moritz’s love of books could not have been better demonstrated than his resolve to guarantee every book that enters his home a permanent place. Speaking about his books, he says “I have never been able to part with even one; they have gradually accumulated like sediment.” In sum, new media does not have to kill our love for reading. The types of books read by these C.E.O.’s range from novels, to science to poetry including ancient titles like the Persian poet, Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat.

The Times article further traces the success of Phil Knight, founder of Nike, to his love of books, alluding to the fact that his insatiable desire for reading led him to attain the “mojo to see a future global entertainment company in something as modest as a sneaker.” Further analyzing the impact of reading on the successes of these C.E.Os, Harriet Rubin marvels at the fortune spent by these gurus in building their personal libraries. We do agree with her that in analyzing the success secrets of the C.E.O of Apple, Steve Jobs, “perhaps future historians will track down Mr. Job’s Blake library to trace the inspiration for Pixar and the grail-like appeal of the iPhone.”

And now to answer some of the questions we received about strategies to motivate young people to read, we start by re-emphasizing the importance of using the library as the quintessential resource to develop the habit of reading especially in our part of the world where most people cannot afford to buy books for their children due the daunting pressures of trying to provide the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing for their families. Take your children to the library and also try to develop a relationship with the librarian; they can be an invaluable guide as to which books may interest your children since they know which books are borrowed more often and which ones are on the bestseller lists. If you have children who are not interested in reading the material you give them, try to find out what interests them. A colleague (who happens to be a librarian) explained to us how she motivated her nephew to start reading by finding out his passion for football and buying him football magazines. With time the nephew himself started bringing her magazines to buy for him, and thereby developing the interest to read. Now do not be too judgmental (within the limits of age-appropriateness) about the subject even if you may not find the subject that interests your child useful, remember the words of Maya Angelou “any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.”

Another way to spur children’s interest in reading is to develop the habit of giving them reading material as gifts. Whatever fancy present you may have in mind for your dear child’s next birthday, an additional book in the package won’t hurt at all. It will give a great signal to them of the value you attach to reading. Also, do not worry too much about whether the child would be able to read and understand the whole book. Encountering new and difficult words are part of the learning process. The habit of reading cannot be developed overnight but with time persistence will lead to success in this most worthwhile of ventures.

By now, we can agree that the case for reading has been overwhelmingly made. In parting we would like to humbly extend a challenge to everyone – teachers, parents, government institutions, the private sector and others - to take ownership of Operation Creating Readers in their various capacities, as a productive investment in our “human capital for wealth creation” and sustainable development.

By Momodou Sabally and Jainaba Teeda Sarr

Jainaba Teeda Sarr is a banker and initiator of the “Creating Readers Project” and her husband Momodou Sabally is an Economist and author of two books: Jangi Jollof and Instant Success.

The authors can be reached at jaisabs@yahoo.com

Operation Creating Readers [by Modou L Sabally]

Operation Creating Readers: A Quest to Reclaim the Lost Art of Reading

“But what I would suggest is that our idea of reading is incomplete, impoverished, unless we are also taking the time to read aloud,” - Verlyn Klynkenborg, in her recent New York Times article on The Lost Art Of Reading Aloud.

But in a country where even the art of reading silently is almost obsolete, we felt the need to commence a dialogue with parents and children about the need to revive the habit of reading in our families. We had earlier sparred over the tough question (in our recent T.V appearance on The Gentleman show) of how to get young people, especially those who have given up on educational pursuit, to read. We are not promising any definite answers but hope to provoke a national dialogue here that would provide some novel ideas and strategies towards a fresh approach to self improvement, particularly in our youth, using reading as a vital tool.

First, assuming the role of a team of lawyers, we ask ourselves: what's the case for reading? In our bid to answer this in-exhaustive question, we have agreed that reading is the single most important component in the process of modern education. Historically, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, oral tradition was used as the predominant mode of transmitting and receiving information. It goes without saying that this method is almost extinct and not sustainable in these times. All the information crucial to our advancement as individuals and as a nation is manifested in some form of text be it on paper, on the computer or in cyber space. Therefore, there is no way around reading in our quest for knowledge today.

When we take a look at history, which in itself can only be done thoroughly by reading, we can see that beneath every great civilization, nation or religion of the world lies a rich literary foundation. Examples include the works of Plato and Aristotle of Ancient Greek civilization. These writings were widely read and remain so to this day as references that helped shape some of the world’s earliest political systems. Another example would be the works of the founding fathers of America, from the correspondences of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams to the Federalist Papers, the world’s leading nation continues to preserve its civilization through the constant study and contemplation of these tomes.

Yet another example of a well-read, literary society even closer to home can today be seen in the well preserved remnants of the great Egyptian civilization. This history speaks of great scholars who studied and theorized over different aspects of their society. They then put their works in writings which their citizens used as guidelines by which they lived successful lives and thrived as a nation. As we now know from the great literature on Ancient Egypt, theirs was a civilization unrivaled in its glory.

Now let’s take a step forward into the present and examine reading from a sociological angle. Fostering a culture of reading in children can be life-altering in every sense of the word. Reading enriches the imagination, particularly of children, develops their personalities, values, aspirations and much more. This is because the reader is exposed to a vast wealth of experiences and environments from which they can choose the ideals they identify with and those they don’t. “Our greatest natural resource,” says the legendary Walt Disney, “is the minds of our children, and there is no better way to develop and enrich this quintessential resource than through reading.”

A most inspiring anecdote speaks to us in the story of Justice Sotomayor, President Obama’s newly appointed Supreme Court Judge; According to CNN, “as a child, she aspired to be like Nancy Drew, the detective in the popular children’s mystery series. But at the age of 8, she was diagnosed with diabetes and told she would not be able to pursue that line of work.” Sotomayor said it was another fictional character, Perry Mason, a Lawyer with similar traits that she had been fascinated with reading Nancy Drew, that inspired her to be a lawyer. In a 2000 interview, she said, “Once I focused on becoming a lawyer, I never deviated from that goal”.

And in this age of trials and tribulations, the art of reading, well-developed and nurtured over time is a worthy investment for a happy life. “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from all the miseries of life” says Somerset Maugham. Think of it, there is no problem that you can encounter in this world that has not been met and tackled by someone else, and these stories are written and preserved in tomes around the world. Surely it was no accident that the very first verse revealed in the Holy Quran was “read”. “A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others” says former US President Abraham Lincoln, who rose from poverty to become one of the greatest sons of his country by reading. No wonder he tells us that “the things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who’ll get me a book I ain’t read.”

Now that we have explored some of the invaluable benefits of reading, let us look at the various ways we can help develop a culture of reading in our children as well as ourselves.

The fact is that the easiest way to get our children to read is to start it early, even before they start school by reading to them aloud. As a sage once said, “children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” Or better still, experts have concluded that it is possible to read to your kids even before they are born by reading to them during pregnancy, they do hear you - and in a skeptical society, you might as well do that behind closed doors lest you be taken to the Campama psychiatric unit (laughs). Moreover, given the fact that the culture of story telling is dying, parents can start by reading books of folk tales to their children, and in the process they would be killing two birds with one stone: preserving our culture while inculcating the habit of reading at the same time. Read to your child as often as you can “just 20 minutes a day is a great start” recommends the website www.teenreads.com.

You can be your child’s role model too by not only reading as a parent but actually reading in your children’s presence; after all your children do look up to you. It is good to take your children to the library too and introduce them to the available material, for a start there is no need to be too picky about what your child should read since different persons have different tastes and as bestselling author Maya Angelou said “any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.” Series books are popular with kids and this brings to mind our childhood memories of the series “Peter and Jane”. In recent times, the hot series “Harry Potter” has ignited the desire for reading in many kids, so introduce your kids to series books to get them engaged in a sustained way. You may also share your favourite childhood story books with your children because they just might like them as well and this would further strengthen your bonds with them. And then, be open to novel ways to boost your kids’ motivation for reading because no strategy can be exhaustive. As the Wolof say “moos bu neka ak tojinni boppi janaham” (Every cat has its own way of breaking a mouse’s head).

The foregoing are just a few ideas to whet your appetite in our desire to provoke a dialogue on a quest to reclaim the lost art of reading. “If you can read this, thank a teacher”!

Momodou Sabally and Jainaba Teeda Sarr

Jainaba Teeda Sarr is a banker and initiator of the “Creating Readers Project” and Momodou Sabally is an Economist an author of two books: Jangi Jollof and Instant Success.