The importance of extracurricular reading

Books have always served as a second parent to me, offering an escape into its fantasies, revealing a world that distracts, instructs, and enthralls. In silent moments wrapped in the warmth of words, I have discovered love, kindness, and wisdom beyond the realm of daily existence. Without moving an inch, I have been swept away to faraway lands and mingled with creatures both real and imaginary. With the passage of time, the passion for books has only grown stronger and it enchants me to drink from its eclectic, sometimes even esoteric fount. Thus it is my deep desire that the simple pleasures of reading is made available to everyone.

Hence it saddens me deeply to note that the current system of education in India does not succeed in inculcating a healthy appetite for books in children. Of course, the advent of TV, video, and computer games has ensnared the attention of children but I still feel that if there is an honest effort at school to plant the seed of reading, monitor its progress, and emphasize its importance in the form of grades and other incentives, a lifesaving skill can be fostered. Parental nudging alone, from my own experience, does not bear fruit as children already weighed down by the extensive syllabus and its nuances tend to view all books with trepidation. Therefore, it is absolutely essential that schools find a competitive way to work it into the curriculum in the form of book reports or other innovative methods so that adequate time is available to our kids to pursue the joy of reading books of their own choice.