Nurturing Reading as a Life Skill at Shiv Nadar School
(The author, Manu Singh, is an Educator for Primary Years, at Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad)
The young learner today grows up in a much different environment than their parents and teachers grew up in. They are exposed to a wider world with limitless possibilities. The successful and constructive use of this exposure depends largely on their skills. Our ever-changing, dynamic world expects a lot from our learners and in such a world, reading is now more important than it ever was. We strongly promote reading as a life skill.
Let’s decode this idea of reading as a life skill. Life Skills can be defined as behaviours that help humans to effectively deal with the demands of life. Think of any concept, idea or language, and I can guarantee that you will find seven books expounding on theory and practice both, with a cursory search itself. Books lead to both – gaining knowledge and to more ways of creating knowledge.
Books are no longer relegated to the physical space of the library, as they are on our screens, kindle devices and in our iPads. They exist as audiobooks and podcasts. Why has there been such a revolution for expanding the avenues and ease of reading? It is because reading gradually became a necessary tool for success.
It is a mental exercise that enhances language, emotional intelligence, tolerance as well as perception. It is an absolute life and competency-based skill for leaders of the world. It is influential, creates dialogue, furthers research and most importantly, enables us to imagine a world different from our immediate reality.
Today’s world demands a mix of logic and imagination. Books have always been an avenue for that. They demand focus and a form of discipline that tests both your comprehension and your ability to accommodate different thoughts and actions. We recognise the power of books in all our structures, regardless of operation, function or age. From students to teachers to administrators, reading is encouraged and cultivated with focused action. You may often find leaders in the organisation beginning their meetings with book recommendations and suggestions. It is an intellectual and operational equaliser and makes our spaces more democratic.
This ideology permeates our teaching-learning spaces as well. The Primary School pedagogy is aimed at creating independent learners who are able to comprehend different texts and expand their exposure. Moreover, good readers often make great speakers as reading enables articulation.
We are supported by an international reading tool called RAZ Plus which provides wide and most importantly, personalised exposure to our students. It is a comprehensive blended learning platform that includes personalized resources necessary to improve students' reading skills. It enables self-paced growth in reading skills, and students are encouraged with achievement badges. There are thousands of books to choose from, and reading resources are available in a variety of formats.
Our focussed approach inside the classroom and commitment to providing resources to students for independent access translates to an engaged reading habit. At Shiv Nadar School we Read to Learn, we Read to Enjoy and we Read to Dream.
Nov 26, 2021 by Shiv Nadar School