I remember when my sister and I were kids, our Papa would always read us a story before he’d tuck us into bed. Most nights, he would read us the book of Genesis and Exodus. Some nights it would be about Cinderella, Snow White or Aurora. And when he gets adventurous, he would tell us the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or the Count of Montecristo.
It was important for him not only to spend time with us, but also to share us stories that would help us broaden our knowledge, develop our creativity, and encourage us to search for the truth. I remember him telling us that not all children are given the opportunity to enjoy reading and hearing stories.
And I will always be thankful for that. I value literacy and I salute every person and every institution who values it the same way.
The Cebu City Public Library or the Rizal Memorial Library and Museum celebrated the World Read Aloud Day yesterday, March 4, 2015, at the library’s AVR, with pupils from Pulangbato Daycare Center and visually-impaired students from the Cebu Braille Center Incorporated (CBCI) of the Cebu Normal University.
I enjoyed watching the kids from Pulangbato wonder in amazement as one of the teachers read aloud an interesting story about animals to them.
I also enjoyed watching the students from CBCI listening intently to every word spoken during the event.
I remember these kids very well. I volunteered in CNU a couple of years ago to help visually-impaired students with their exams. I was assigned to a 3rd-year college student who majored in Political Science. What I did was, I had to read the examination questions to him and he’d write his answers on a bond paper using Braille. I didn’t realize how important my role was at that time until now. Had I not volunteered to read his exam questions that day, he wouldn’t have answered his final exams properly. And you should know he got really high grades that semester.
I say we should do things like this more often. I encourage parents to read aloud stories to your children. Find time. With our technology today, there will always be a way to do it.
And not only parents, but I also encourage everyone to read aloud stories to others. Not just on the first Wednesday of March every year, but every time there’s an opportunity.
Visit the Cebu City Public Library Facebook page for more photos of the event.
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