“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” – Walt Disney

In today’s time, reading books is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have taken over as a source of information. People are becoming more interested in who is saying this and the point they are making. It is as if we are living in a sea of opinions. Others have resorted to literary appreciation through movies, dramas and series. There is nothing wrong with embracing the technology we have today but we must never forget the old ways such as reading books in their paperback versions and writing our thoughts about it on a piece of paper.

Today’s generation no longer consider establishing a habit but are more focused on the latest trends and not being left-out. How can we guide them to going back with the old ways? Where do we start? What books do we suggest? The best way to deal with it is to let them do a challenge. There are so many challenges out there like a 30-day no sugar challenge, dance challenge, black and white challenge, ipon challenge or other fads on the internet that people are interested in. Why not create one?

We can start by getting them to do:

1. A #Read10BooksChallenge and when they are done with one book, they can post on social media their thoughts on the book they read. These can be passed on to several persons and can ripple to a huge number of teenagers. Some would not finish the challenge but at least we get them to read a single book. A lot of people would suggest The Little Prince as a starter. This is a generic book required in almost all English and Literature classes. The list can be modified based on their preferences and they can include fiction books such as Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Divergent series books and more.
2. Establish the habit of reading by including book reading as part of the curriculum not only in higher education but as early as elementary. There are books that would be perfect for the children such as Diary of A Wimpy Kid and Filipino books such as Pagtulog Na Nene, Masayang Magtanim! and more. We can also start with short stories for kindergarten and eventually increase the challenge to one full book.
3. Reading books should not just be a requirement in school but to be made as part of childhood development. We can always seek the help of parents to inculcate in the mind of their children the importance of reading a book, how it can transform lives and nurture the soul. In America many children are inclined to read books because it has become a part of their daily lives. Parents read books to their children before they go to bed. We can always copy this practice and even elevate it to something better like a group reading session at home. 

There’s so much we can do to help the future generation grow as great individuals. They can become versatile and adaptable to the changes of time but not forgetting the basics of life such as reading a good book.

By: ALVE ANNE CHRISTY B. BENDIJO
      Administrative Assistant II