Importance of Reading
Reading may be defined as a complex process of cognitive use of senses like touch and sight on symbols used in representing information to decrypt the encrypted information by the symbols to have meaningful data from the symbols.
Reading is a vital part of learning since it helps in classroom communication enhancing the process of knowledge acquirement in the classroom. Through reading, a learner is able to enhance understanding of already written information in books aiding greatly in the learning process.
The process of reading can be broadly divided into four categories. The first category is scanning and skimming. These two reading techniques are closely related since they involve perusing the book in a very short time to obtain the general content of the book or article (skimming) and perusing the book looking for a specific content (Scanning).
The other technique is general reading technique. In this technique, the learner takes a book related to a certain topic and reads it to have general knowledge. This helps in knowledge building on the already existing knowledge.
The last technique is comprehensive reading. It involves reading a book or article keenly so as to acquire each and every detail covered in the text. This form of reading is mostly done during long term revision for the examination.
Three types of knowledge are usually acquired during classroom learning. The types of knowledge acquired are: informational knowledge, practical knowledge and comprehensive knowledge. All these knowledge types are acquired during classroom teaching.
Informational knowledge can be acquired almost wholly during the class hours. The learners are able to gain the knowledge from the teacher without having to rehearse or any prior knowledge. The learner usually has knowledge which is approximately equal to the knowledge of the teacher. Therefore, the teacher and the learner must have the same informational background on the topic of discussion. The learner must read the background information prior the class discussion to enhance the learning process. This makes the learner to read so as to pass on top of teacher guided class discussion.
Practical knowledge requires a learner to have the practical ability to deal with the question in hand. In response to this, the learner must read prior and after the classroom discussion with the teacher to ensure that the learner has the necessary information on the data requiring practical knowledge application.
The last type of class room acquired knowledge is the comprehension knowledge. It requires a learner to give an insight to the class read work. The insight on the content of the covered work may be illuminated by the instructor giving the learner a chance to understand it better.
To develop the insight generation ability, a learner must have the necessary skills acquired mostly by reading a wide spectrum of books. This makes the whole process of learning much reliant on the learners’ ability to read. A deep understanding of the topic sentence requires a wide knowledge on the topic under discussion. (Van Doren, C. L and Alder, J. M., 1972)
The main role as a student to the instructor is to pay attention and do the required assignment. This makes the instructor impressed and motivated. It also makes the work of the instructor in elaborating on some points much simpler since the students have the main content thus only an explanation is important. This in turn eases the process of learning.
The main role of a teacher is to coordinate and organize the process of learning. In a class, the teacher takers the role of a radiant information source that he/she passes to the learners all at once.
Looking at how the role of teaching varies across the cultures, some cultures take teaching as the sole source of intelligence. This makes teaching to be viewed as the best investment a person can make in a child.
In other cultures, mostly in American society, the role of teaching is taken to be only for examinational purposes and not gaining knowledge to help the young learner cope with life issues like management of stress and other factors in life.
The last role of teaching across most cultures is the enlightment of the learners on the history of the learners and their country. This has served good for the learners who use the class acquired knowledge to solve some of the contemporary issues.
On top of the class work read or covered by the teacher, the learner may require to rehearse and revise the covered topic. This makes the whole process of reading to be used since the information in the book is encrypted in the book using symbols.
During class time, the process of learning usually involves four processes for it to be effective. One of the most important processes is reading. In the process of reading, the learners are able to acquire knowledge.
In conclusion, since the teacher gives the learner only a fraction of the knowledge that the learner must have to pass an examination, the learner must read (comprehensive reading for general exam revision and skimming and scanning when carrying out quick revision) for him/her to acquire the necessary knowledge required to tackle related problems.
References
Van Doren, C. L and Alder, J. M. 1972. How to Read a book. California: Simon and Schuster Publishers.
