Reading for a lifetime of pleasure

There has been nothing new in our educational policy for a long time. When I heard that Minister of Education-designate Tseng Chih-lang (曾志朗) is set to launch a "reading movement for children (兒童閱讀運動)," I felt both pleased and worried.

It has been said that the major function of Taiwan's education system is to teach students to hate reading. To many people, reading is a jumping board to official ranks, which can be seen from Chinese proverbs: "After 10 years' hard study by a cold window noticed by none, his fame fills the land once honors are won (十年寒窗無人問一舉成名天下知)," and "Only those who endure the most gain the most (吃得苦中苦方為人上人)." As studying can be a painful experience, many students are very happy to get rid of books after graduation.

In the current education system reading is not a pleasant activity. It is meant purely as a means to acquiring a diploma. A "good student" is evaluated by his or her homework and test scores. As the evaluation is technique-oriented, our education system has created many excellent studying robots who hold doctorates but lack souls.

Promoting a "reading habit" has a symbolic significance. When students become interested in extracurricular reading it means breaking down the boundary between course work and self-directed learning. If reading becomes a daily habit enriching students' lives, it becomes a part of the so-called "life education."

American educator Robert Maynard Hutchins used reading to carry out his idea of educational reform. He used great books to help students learn to approach wisdom, acquire new knowledge, cultivate aesthetic sensibilities and build a vision for their futures. He stressed reading as a way of life. During his 22-year tenure as chancellor of the University of Chicago, Hutchins personally led his students to continuously pursue reading and that engraved his name in US educational history.

Japan has been promoting children's reading habits for a decade and the Japanese have made reading a part of their daily lives. When reading becomes a part of someone's life, it helps them discover a world filled with literature and poetry, new thoughts and perspectives, ideas and creativity and beauty and romance.

Education gives us a chance to make our dreams come true. The new minister who enjoys reading wants us to weave beautiful dreams, but we are not sure if the dreams will come true. If the "educational experts" develop a "basic reading capability test" to torture children, the joy of reading will be damaged and movements promoting reading will be the beginning of the end of a life spent reading.

The Council for Cultural Affairs (文建會) has named the year 2000 "a year for children's reading." Promoting reading habits for children needs new ideas and new measures. It should not be seen as homework or demand quick results. Let the children love reading; otherwise, the new minister's good intentions will become the children's new pressure.

Chiou Tian-juh is the chairman of the Study Circle Association (中華民國讀書發展協會理事長).