I REMEMBER growing up in a household that had time for everything: to play with other kids in the neighborhood, to do household chores. But we were never to be caught by our parents just lingering around the house, doing nothing. We would be chided with these words: “Get a book and read!” My father had a degree in economics and studied law, and my mother was a school principal.
In his article “Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers,” Joe Pinsker says “a lot rides on how parents present the activity of reading to their kids. But the chief factor seems to be the household one is born into, and the culture of reading that parents create within it.”
It is public knowledge that reading comprehension among Filipino students has been deteriorating. A chunk of the data on this subject has been made known by the Department of Education: 87 percent of Grade 11 students are not independent readers or do not read at the grade level they should be in. Just last year, data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education, or Edcom 2, showed that nearly 2 million Filipino students still struggle with the reading-comprehension requirements of their respective grade levels.
An unending list of contributing factors can be cited for the lamentable state of reading comprehension among our students today: poor teaching techniques, the learning loss worsening every school year, and a poor household and communal atmosphere that fails to encourage and instill the habit of reading. Sadly, most parents, guardians, and even teachers show little interest in reading. They find more satisfaction in spending their idle moments glued to their smartphones, watching reels and whatever trivial content captures their attention.
Reading comprehension cannot improve unless one has the interest to pick up a book and read, and there can be no interest in reading unless there is an environment that nurtures, motivates and sustains it.
Yet, our society remains bereft of an environment that fosters the motivation to read. This will surely bring unpleasant consequences in the long run. As Pinsker further says: “But behind that simple process is a question of motivation — of why some people grow up to derive great pleasure from reading, while others don’t. That ‘why’ is consequential — leisure reading has been linked to a range of good academic and professional outcomes — as well as difficult to fully explain.” Thus, it becomes unimaginable how poorly prepared these young people would be for a satisfying career after college, to say nothing of their personal growth.
Kudos to local government units doing their best to allocate their budgets effectively rather than pocketing them by putting up public libraries to encourage the public to read.
I hope altruists would dream and build places similar to the one that recently went viral on social media. I am referring to South Korea’s City of Books, or Paju Book City, formally known as the Paju Publishing Culture, Information, and National Industrial Park. An online article described it as “an intentional and euphoric celebration of books and the bookmaking process.” I suppose this so-called book city was established not merely as a tourist destination, but as an essential element in building a reading culture for the citizenry. Having more books to read means more people will gain solid knowledge to help build their personal lives and, ultimately, contribute to building society.
‘New age of reading’
Despite data proving a worldwide reading slump — a global decline in the interest to read — British bookseller James Daunt offers a brighter perspective, suggesting that there is a “new age of reading” and that the reading of books is actually on the rise. “Bookselling reaches unexpected heights,” Daunt says. This is in stark contrast to the common observation that the world has already entered a postliterate dark age. Hopefully, Daunt’s encouraging words are not merely a promotional gimmick, given his role as the chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, an international book-selling giant.
Another interesting story went viral in the last few days involving a French bookstore owner. A photo showed him calmly sitting outside his shop while violent protests unfolded around him. Surrounded by smoke and debris, the man appeared unbothered as he enjoyed his coffee. His storefront remained intact, displaying a simple “WELCOME/OPEN” sign.
Amid the looting by violent demonstrators targeting nearby shops, his bookstore remained untouched. Such an unbelievable scenario leads one to ask this question and reflect: Are books no longer considered valuable possessions? Perhaps, books no longer offer immediate gratification to the youth; maybe there is no longer anything intriguing about the knowledge contained in a book unless it is monetized or made profitable. Have people completely lost the desire to possess and read books, regardless of the value they might bring?
There is already a proliferation of online visual content and short video reels designed to deliver the core concepts of big ideas, famous figures, and historical events in less than two minutes. Why read books, then? While one can acquire general knowledge this way, it often lacks depth, contributing to a lack of critical thinking and a diminished drive to seek out the truth.
“No read, no write,” as the saying goes, does not describe a person completely deprived of an education. Instead, it means that if you do not read, do not expect to write. The best writers are voracious readers. This applies not only to creative writers but also to all other disciplines where people possess ideas worth sharing.
Read so you can write stories, narratives, explanations of scientific findings, articulate deeper historical insights, analyze complex quantitative data, and solve problems.
To read is not merely to be informed but to create and express the inexhaustible mystery of being human. This requires deep, contemplative and leisurely reading, not just functional reading. As motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said: “Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.”
Fr. Jesus “Jay” Miranda Jr., OP, is an organization and leadership studies resource person. He teaches at the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School and the Department of Educational Leadership and Management of the Bro. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC, College of Education of De La Salle University, Manila.
jaymiranda.op@ust.edu.ph
jmmiranda@letranbataan.edu.ph
