The Barack Obama American Corner has engaged pupils between five and 12 in a month-long summer reading programme called the Summer Reading Express at the Ovie House, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The occasion, the fourth in the series, was to encourage pupils to pick up and develop a healthy reading habit, the Coordinator, Lois Ekeleme, said.
At the close of the event, Acting Public Affairs Officer for the United States’ Consulate-General, Lagos, Kathy Bondy, read from the book: Engineering Elephants to the children.
Aunty Kathy, as she was fondly called by the pupils, said she chose the book due to the focus of the United States on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) education and the need to spread its awareness, across the world, especially to female children.
She advised parents to read to their children often to build up their reading culture.
“We think that, particularly, STEM education is very important, so we focus on science, technology, engineering and maths, particularly, for young girls and women. But we want everyone to be learning whatever subject they choose. So that is why, today, I read a story about engineering. It is always a great idea to read to your children. You can read to them a great story or a newspaper, or even small stories like the one I just read and do this in an engaged way. So if you can read to them before you go to sleep at night, or during your break during the day, it is a great way to spend time with your children and have a focus on family time,” she said.
For Ekeleme, guiding the children through their books had been an enjoyable task.
She said the children, who were engaged in activities, which cut across reading, writing and arts and craft, had recorded improvements in their reading abilities during the programme.
Lois said getting a child to read involved engaging the child in a personal, interactive manner.
She said: “A lot of children think that reading is boring but if you make reading fun, then the children are willing to participate and read; and if you use books that are age sensitive and that they can relate with culturally, then you see that the children are willing to read with you. Besides, you know the way we teach in school today, we just read comprehension and sometimes, that can be boring so when you read to them in tiny groups of six or seven, you would see that you are able to engage with them and vice versa. They would ask questions and you would understand each other better, which you would not achieve in class.”
She expressed dissatisfaction with the increasing disinterest of pupils in reading, calling for society to intervene.
One of the participants, a 10-year- old Sherifat Ibrahim of Kuramo Primary School, Victoria Island, said she looked forward to the reading programme, because of the interesting and inspiring stories they were told.
Another pupil, nine-year-old Happiness John from the same school, said she would love to be an engineer so that she could manufacture surf boards.
Happiness described Aunty Kathy as nice, saying: “She read to us in a way that we understood and taught us what engineering is all about as well as what to do to be an engineer.”
