My advocacy: Sharing our love for reading by sharing books

IN 2009, I gathered all of my books consisting of novels, condensed books of Reader's Digest, and some self-help books and gave it to the school in the fond hopes that they will find their way to the reader who cannot afford to buy books or who cannot decide yet what books to read. Actually, I have a twin intention. The other one was the hope that I can free my shelves too. And the recipient is my alma mater: Dona Hortencia Salas Benedicto National High School (DHSBNHS) in La Carlota City, through the outgoing student government at the time.

I thought that was the last of it as I already cleaned up my bookshelves already. Until early in 2012, I decided to part ways with my old Reader's Digest and National Geographic issues. They were dear to me. Some of the earliest in the list of my reader's digest issues were second-hand when a family friend shared it to us after they were soaked in typhoon water.

I painstakingly gathered and dried each page, and bound them back together. Those were the days when I was still in elementary.


The author of this article receives her Certificate of Appreciation from Denny Castaneda, principal of DHSBNHS, and Socorro Lucenio, head teacher of English Department of said school, during the launching of the Reading Park at the school campus. (Contributed photo)
Meanwhile, the National Geographic issues fed my imagination for travelling and now that I had already seen the Great Wall and Terracotta Armies of China and the Angkor City of Cambodia, I wanted to pass on the food for my imagination and dreams of travelling one day.

Reading time nowadays has many competitions, from texting to Facebooking. Students prefer to be rewarded with load rather than books. Hence, the initiative like the Reading Park of my alma mater is a wise move. It is an initiative where I find that sharing my love for reading is realized by sharing my books and other reading materials.

The Reading Park

The Reading Park of DHSBNHS kicked off last week of November as one of the Book Week Activities of the school in observance of the National Reading Month. The park was conceived by the English teachers of the school after realizing that the K-12 program of the government reduced the five-days-a-week English class to four times a week.

So why a Reading Park when there is a library in the campus? The concept of making reading enjoyable and pressure-free is the main feature of the Reading Park. Here, the students will be allowed to loan books, magazines and other reading materials and read them under the tree or the waiting shed while waiting for their next class.

"You will be allowed to speak in your mother tongue here," emphasized Socorro Lucenio, head of the English Department, to student-attendees during the kick-off. She further explained that although the Speak English Club sponsors the activity, it does not follow that those who will borrow the donated books and magazines will be required to speak in English.

Aside from the pressure-free environment, the students will be allowed to make noise in the reading park, unlike in the silence-please setting of a traditional library. A teacher will be assigned in the park to assist the students in their discussions and in addressing their questions regarding the books and materials they are reading.

From the initial numbers of books and magazines donated, the teachers and students of the school hope for more to come. For more information on this project, please contact Ms. Socorro Lucenio at 0908709341. (Gerlie M. Uy)


Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on December 05, 2012.

Lifestyle

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/lifestyle/2012/12/05/sharing-our-love-reading-sharing-books-256750