Promoting Reading to Build a Problem Solving Culture

Reading is an important habit one has to develop in order to enhance literacy, have a broad mind or knowledge on certain topics of interest, and to improve one’s writing and interpretation skills. It is also important because it improves our ability to engage in social discussions on various topics. Why We Should Promote Reading was the theme of the October 2021 Global Lab Community Call led by Stan Dugah.

Video recording of the discussion

Stan is a writer and has many articles to his credit. He is also an avid reader and an advocate of reading to enhance one’s problem solving skills in our society. Stan began his presentation by telling a story of how he visited a library in his hometown very often to pick up books to read as a child, recalling that one of the rist books he read was titled GORILLA. He then asked why reading is important, and went ahead to explain thart it is how we discover new things. Books, magazines and even the Internet are great learning tools which require the ability to read and understand what is read. A person who knows how to read can educate themselves in any area of life they are interested in. We live in an age where we are exposed to so much information, but reading is the main way to take advantage of it.

Today a lot of people struggle to start reading on a topic from books. Some others find it hard to finish a single book or chapter due to distraction and loss of interest. This has been a main issue which can leadd to low interest in discussions, engaging in other social activities that require people’s views on trending and important issues around us.

This is a big issue for us because people will lack understanding of the things that go on in our society .
Stan Dugah

Evelyn**,** a participant asked what can be done to improve and promote comprehension in children, schools, and among individuals? Stan answered by saying one way to promote and enhance reading and comprehension among schools and individuals is to be an example and by also encouraging and practicing reading in schools. Another way we can encourage children to read is to start preparing them to read from childhood by buying them books, taking them to the library and also sharing stories with them. As they get older, you can share more complex books; books with pictures, counting, animal and farmyard stories and little plots. Books can have paper pages because toddlers can do more with their fingers and turn pages without tearing them. As you share stories together, you can anticipate what’s going to happen and talk about it. In line with the above, reading develops the creative side of people.

When reading to children, stop every once in a while and ask them what they think is going to happen next. Get them thinking about the story. When it is finished, ask if they could think of a better ending or anything that would have improved it. If they really liked the story, encourage them to illustrate it with their own drawings or to make up a different story with the same characters.
Stan Dugah

Stan also made it emphatically clear how we can leverage the available technologies we have to promote the habit of reading among individuals. He stated an example where all his articles are published mostly on social media which had a lot of people trooping in to his page just to read what he has published. He also stated that there was an instance where someone who had no interest in reading suddenly developed a reading habit because of the articles he published on his social media pages***.***

This clearly proves that the internet can be a great tool or platform we can use to promote reading
Stan Dugah

Angela and Eugene who were also participants of the Community Call affirmed Stan’s presentation with contributions which answered many questions while the discussion was ongoing.

There is an old saying, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Ideas written down have changed the destiny of men and nations for better or worse. The flow of ideas cannot be stopped. We need to read and research to build on the good ideas and expose the bad ideas before they bring destruction. Only by reading can we be armed in this never-ending, life-and-death struggle.
Eugene

To conclude the presentation, Stan made us understand that many educators trumpet the idea of reading-writing relationships, emphasizing how close reading and writing are. As a teacher I was a big believer in this despite the lack of a writing and reading curriculum, writing standards, or even any professional development on the topic. I strongly believe that we can make a vast change by making reading and writing a habit among individuals.

Stan can be reached through +233 50 561 5705 for copies of his books or any writing assignments. Check out our Community Call playlist for videos of our previous discussions. Our next Community Call will be on Getting Started with Analytics on 19 November 2021. You’re welcome to join our Facebook group for event details.

Join 1,200+ members.