In the recent past, while in primary school, our noble teachers of English introduced us to the wonder of the written word. This, was, somewhat, through the avid reading of storybooks. Our devoted teachers prevailed upon us to read at least one storybook per week. Then, pen a simple piece, a synopsis. At that nascent state, we thought it was punishment meted on us. Albeit, the academic practised focused on honing our verbal-linguistic intelligence.
Again, in secondary school, we met highly-skilled teachers of English who urged us to visit the bookstore — borrow books — and read them with avidity. That is how we prepared to wrestle with great KCSE set texts in Forms Three and Four. During our time, we read: the River Between by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen and Shreds of Tenderness by John Ruganda.
Somehow, some of us who developed the heroic culture of savouring class readers and KCSE set texts, honed skills like writing, which enhances peak performance in English as a core-career subject. We also passed with flying colours in other subjects, because we read widely. With that rapid rate of reading, we hardly thought about cheating in exams, as ill-prepared learners are tempted to do. We were simply able to ascertain, students who evince excellence, read the class readers, KCSE set texts, well-written notes, sacred scriptures and self-help books. Somehow, from years of yore, to these days, it is how students poise and position themselves for stunning success in school — and life after school. For the late Charlie Jones, a personal development coach, caught it and taught, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet, and the books you read.”
In addition, business guru called Brian Tracy once observed that whenever he interviewed a prospective employee, the first quality question he would pose was: What is the last book you read? I am guessing that the answer had a lot to do with how long the rest of the interview would last. It would also determine the candidate’s chance(s) of being hired. In a colossal sense, high school scholars should understand that developing a rich reading culture entices bountiful benefits. Reading enhances content mastery and memory. No wonder, students who rise to stardom as veritable academic giants brood on books. It is also instructive to note: Reading adds glamour to students’ grammar. A lot of contact with the written word sorts out grammatical goofs related to subject-verb agreement, spelling, sentence-structure, punctuation, tense and direct translation.
Moreover, exposure to good books builds students’ word bank. The ability to become a better writer or orator abuts on good grammar, relevant content and wonderful word choice. Reading avidly is the sweet secret to ingenuity and creativity. Developing a close camaraderie with good books makes someone highly imaginative and innovative. It is also important to note: Books are great sources of inspiration, information, education, edification and edutainment. Books help us to manage and mitigate stress. The Chinese say: A book is as a garden carried in the pocket. Judah Ibn-Tibbon also postulated, “Make thy books thy companions. Let thy cases and shelves be thy pleasure grounds and gardens.”
Moreover, conviction and conscience convinces me that this piece on reading culture will be utterly incomplete: If I lock out good and bad reading habits. Reading starts with skimming and scanning. In skimming, the reader goes through text briefly before deciding whether to read the whole of it or not. Scanning is the technique a reader uses to locate specific bits of information in the text.
The 3SQ3R and PQ4R Methods are important in reading. In 3SQ3R Method, S – Survey: Scan the text and identify its structure Q — Question: Ask yourself about each section R — Read: Read the whole text quickly. R — Recall: Look back at your questions. R — Review: Read important sections again slowly. In PQ4R Method P — Preview: Look at the title, author, table of contents, illustrations, diagrams. Q — Question: If the text is suitable, set questions you will be able to answer after reading the text. R — Reading: Concentrate so that you get the full meaning of what you read. R — Reflection: Relate what you are reading to experiences and knowledge. R — Recitation: Test yourself to find out whether you have mastered what you have read. R — Reviewing: Put together all the main points. It is a revision. 75% of what we have learnt is forgotten within 24 hours.
In Best Academic Practices, Janet E. Gardener writes something sensible in her heroic book titled Reading and Writing about Literature: Reading becomes useful when the reader focuses on good reading habits like: One, re-reading, which is repetition; the mother of all memories. Nassim Nicholus Taleb put it aptly, “A good book gets better at the second reading, a great book at the third reading. No book is quite the same when you read it again.” Two, there is textual marking, where the reader underlines key words, phrases and statements while enjoying great texts. Three, there is textual annotation, where the reader annotates the text and jots down important points on the margins. Four, is note making, which entails reading with a notebook in close-range, where one can make short notes. Five, is the wise use of reference material such as a dictionary. Six, is intensive reading, where the reader should dive deep into reading, giving it all the meticulous attention. Seven, is extensive reading, which happens for pleasure purposes.
Finally, in the book titled Spot on Comprehension Skills by Professor Austin Bukenya, Professor Egara Kabaji, Behan Ashilaka and Professor Angeline Kioko, learners are warned: to shun four bad reading habits. Foremost, there is sub-vocalisation, which is the tendency of pronouncing words while reading. Secondly, we focus on regression, which doubles or triples reading time because it impedes the speed of reading when the reader reads as s/he dithers like a chameleon. Thirdly, there is finger or pointer-reading — the habit of running a finger or a pointer — such as a pen or a pencil over the text being read. The fourth one is head-movement, which happens when readers gyrate their heads left to right as they read. This dwarfs the reading pace.
By Victor Ochieng’
vochieng.90@gmail.com
The writer is an editor, author and peripatetic public speaker.
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