Since ancient times, reading has been one of the most important means of human learning to acquire knowledge, self-development skills and deepen experiences. Reading has always been a tool for human refinement and development. It is still appreciated and given due care by individuals, organizations and governments. The close connection between the progress of peoples and their interest in reading has been affirmed, as it is a tool for understanding reality and planning to control and develop it, and even establish the rules of a new reality that suits the conditions of society and its renewed needs and various demands. Development cannot be achieved without reading and opening up to books and pursuing them. Books are the epitome of human experience and creativity. (1)
Unfortunately, this is not the case for our Arab societies, which are still lagging behind in this regard. Our societies publish only a very small number of books and magazines, while clearly neglecting human culture and fine arts. As for the Arab citizen’s share of reading, it does not exceed 6 minutes per year, as compared to 36 hours in Europe, due to the absence of government policies to address the phenomenon.
Benefits of reading:
- Gaining language balance;
- Supporting school learning;
- Improving the ability to understand others; and
- Enhancing creativity.
Obstacles of book circulation:
Human development reports present a bad image of the situation of book and reading in the Arab countries and warn of their decline based on the difficult circumstances our nation is going through. The reasons for this case are numerous and we would shed light on some of them as follows:
- The educational system does not encourage cultural reading: poor and rural children only read school books and the family looks at the book from a utilitarian perspective. Is it necessary for school? Did the teacher request it? If the answer is No, then there is no need to worry about providing it. Oral culture is prevalent among these children. It has a strong presence in all social, artistic, cultural and religious aspects of life. The oral transmission of information is dominant, which would entrench in their minds a negative image of the cultural book and keep them away from reading the written text.
How can someone who has grown up neglecting the written culture and devaluing the book contribute to the promotion, usage and reading of books? The phenomenon of reluctance to read is linked to early childhood, from the first years of childhood even before going to school and it is not possible in any way to create a generation of readers unless we develop effective plans to encourage young people to read in primary education institutions and initial levels of primary education, so that reading can be an individual hobby and a source of sensory and mental pleasure. We can even keep them away from sources of oral knowledge, such as television and entertainment culture such as video games.
- Library publishing: the demand for culture in our countries often takes an occasional form. In Ramadan, the religious book is promoted, and in exams, the book parallel to the textbook is promoted. In the summer, the recreational and artistic book is promoted. Publishing takes the same into account in most cases and there is no plan for publishers to support reading and instill the demand for it in children and young people in particular. In addition, the prices of books do not consider the purchasing capabilities of low-income citizens, especially children and young people. Literary books that young people tend to like, such as novels and story collections, remain beyond their purchasing power.
- Reading spaces: reading spaces are missing. Primary and secondary educational institutions, which include millions of children, are not reached by the cultural book. At such institutions, there are no suitable reading spaces, with the exception of cold and dry halls that are not lively, entertaining or attractive, which cannot resist the fierce competition of modern and entertainment media. The management of school libraries is often assigned to a non-specialist employee or a tired old man who has been exhausted by years of work. He treats children dryly and alienates them from entering reading space.
Ways to urge students to read:
In addition to these experiences and initiatives that aim at spreading the habit of reading in the social body and encourage people to love the book, educators have devised many ways to accustom young people to reading, believing in the importance of the childhood period in acquiring this good habit. Some of such ways includes the following:
- The answer is in the book: The student may ask a question about a topic, in astronomy, medicine, history, literature or others and the teacher may be kind enough to provide an answer to the student, or better than that, to suggest to him the book in which he finds the answer. This includes exploiting his self-motivation, which would help him acquire the skill of self-learning, and perhaps convert it later into a lifestyle.
- Positive reinforcement of reading behavior: By supporting the reading behavioral responses shown by youngsters through thanking them and verbally commending them, or the credits that can be given by physical gifts, school medals or prizes and rewards, regardless of their value, as they are a source of pride for young people and are important in promoting reading behavior for them.
- Holding book fairs: The school space should be a field for promoting the cultural book and introducing it to the students. Organizing book fairs is an exciting and pleasant work, especially when students participate in its management and promotion. Parents and cultural and artistic events can be invited to these fairs, as this would raise enthusiasm of children and young people to read. It is also desirable that fairs offer promotional offers at appropriate prices to encourage the acquisition of books.
- Reading break: In order to avoid forcing students to read, which creates boredom and aversion to it, some educators suggest allocating a break between classes and dedicating it as a time for free reading. Students choose what they like from the books whose reading is a source of pleasure and relaxation for them to relieve them from the hardship of the lesson. This reading mostly captures the students’ attention and interest.
- Reading games: It is recommended to include reading games within the free reading lessons, such as a guessing game, by asking questions about the cover and drawings of the book, in order to prompt the reader to imagine the topic of the book. In addition, individual or group reading race should be executed to urge the students to compete for reading as many books as possible and submit reports on the books that have been read, along with providing other entertaining games that are intended to encourage people to read.