Because she is an avid reader, Hoai, and 8th grader, often goes to the school library to look for good books. She and a few other students, decided to volunteer to arrange books and clean the library to help the librarian whenever she has free time. Hoai is also one of the students who reads the most books in her class, reading an average of 10 books a month. She said that reading helps her to relax and reduce stress. But it wasn’t always this way.
Hoai has loved reading books since she was a young child, but the way she used to read books didn’t help her learn very well. She often read haphazardly or chose a book because it had a nice cover. Sometimes, after reading a book, she forgot it right away or didn’t understand much about the book’s content. She also said that sometimes she could not finish a book because she could not stay focused when reading.
When YWAM Mercy started to develop the library in her Secondary School, teachers were trained in methods for developing reading skills. The teachers brought what they learned to the classroom through additional lessons on reading skills alongside the main subjects they taught.
Since learning about reading skills, Hoai realized that she had previously not been reading effectively.
From the day I first learned about reading skills, I realized that I had read completely wrong before. Now I can be confident that after every book I read, I will remember the main content and also have a deep understanding of the book.
In addition to the improvement in reading quality, Hoai also found that since the school’s library was established, the number of books she reads every month also increased significantly. Whenever going to the library, Hoai reads the reviews from other students about good books, which makes Hoai search for more books to read. Hoai also shared that she and other students really like the library space. It is an open and very friendly space, which makes Hoai feel comfortable and relaxed when reading books here. When reading books with friends, they can exchange information or discuss what they are reading.
Hoai also writes a review after each good book she reads so that she can share with many other students in the school and help make the school’s reading culture to develop.