Curriculum Not To Blame For Poor Reading Habits
Courtesy of Kennedy Buhere
A
host of writers on this column have repeatedly vilified the Kenya
Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) for the poor reading habits
of educated Kenyans.
The
latest such writers were Abungu Tawo and Tom Olanga who argued that the
institute has not included any of the great English playwright, William
Shakespeare for study in the integrated English syllabus for over a
decade now( Daily Nation, April 27, 2013.)
Students
have joined the general criticism of the curriculum going by the
remarks by Mohammed Hussein Hassan, a student at Daraja Mbili High
School in Kilifi County in an article entitled Blame the curriculum for poor book habits (Daily Nation May, 11, 2013.
The
Kenya Institute of curriculum Development has very little to do with
the poor reading/book habits among educated Kenyans. The institute does
not micro-manage the teaching and learning of language arts in Primary
and Secondary education.
The
institute has outlined general guidelines that provide the foundation
for an effective teaching and learning experience in English as a
subject. The ultimate aim of the teaching of English is to enable the
learner achieve fluency in the speaking and writing in that English. The
English language teacher must, for this reason aim at developing in the
learner flexibility and dexterity in the handling of and response to
the written and spoken English.
There are two main methods of imparting this fluency in the learner: through extensive and intensive reading of.
Language experts in fact point out that extensive reading should be at the core of the English Language syllabus. The
key features of this method are reading of large quantities of material
or long texts; for global or general understanding; with the intention
of obtaining pleasure from the text.
This
reading is highly is individualized, with students choosing the book
they want to read and that the books are not discussed in class.
The
Kenya Institute of Education, as it then was, developed two books by
highly experienced teachers of English to guide the teaching of English, entitled a Guide to Teaching English by H.A. Curtis & J. M. Park, published and Teaching English in Kenya Secondary Schools,
both published by Jomo Kenyatta Foundation have systematically outlined
the kind of teaching and learning experience necessary for learners to
develop mastery not only of the English language as a medium of
communication, but also one that enabled him/her develop in character
and emotionally.
The
two books strongly recommend that teachers of English develop a well
thought out reading programme for students in forms one and two—books
that are rich in language, thought and imagination.
Students derive many benefits from this. It helps
to build learners' vocabulary, introducing them to words and language
chunks that may not be included in short texts, and giving them a sense
of common word partnerships.
It
also develops their understanding of grammar by allowing them to see
all sorts of grammatical structures in use. A language is acquired by
exposure, and it is factors such as the level of difficulty, quantity
and variety of texts that influence the learning outcomes. Because
learners choose the text to read by themselves, this increases their
motivation and confidence, and creates a more positive attitude towards
reading and language learning.
But
what has been the scenario in our schools? The students are plunged
into intensive reading of the literature texts they will sit for in the
National Examination without having been exposed to a wide range of
readings. While intensive reading is important, learners
never become fluent and confident readers if this is the extent of
their reading practice.
Knowledgeable
and skilled teachers of English actually follow these guidelines. They
expose students to as many books as possible while in Forms one and two.
They also strongly advice school administrations against continuous
teaching during normal class hours and outside class hours as this deny
the students the opportunity for the independent reading that extensive
reading requires. Some of the most profitable extensive reading is done
during holidays. One of the most revolting features about holiday
tuition and teaching outside normal hours is that it denies the learner
the chance to roam among books for pleasure and not for examinations.
The
wide latitude the curriculum gives to the English Language teacher and
the relatively more contact hours the school timetable gives him/her
means that, the teacher has capacity to expose the learners to some of
the finest fictional works in English. Students can complete High School
having read the finest novels, the finest plays, and the finest poems
in the English language over and above the literary texts they study for
Literature Papers for the Kenya Certificated for Secondary Educations
examinations.
In
point of fact, some of the most accomplished people in the academia and
the world of affairs—in business, politics and government—nurtured
their intellect and all that we admire in them through extensive reading
that flexible teaching hours allowed them.
Teaching
to the examinations most schools and parents are obsessed about, has
killed reading for pleasure. We go terribly wrong when we blame the
curriculum developers or policy makers for this.
The
Ministry of Education has developed policy guidelines to education that
have the ability to provide first rate education to our students;
Education that is of high quality. But the commercialism that has
permeated public and private school systems is killing the potential to turn this nation into learning and thinking nation. Drilling, cramming
can never develop the 21st Century skills the Ministry of
Education is poised to offer to learners following the adoption of the
new policy on education and training it has developed.
We should blame ourselves and not the curriculum and not the students for the apathy we all have, as a nation, towards reading.
The
current generation of learners is not difficult to teach. It is the
poor teaching and learning environments that we have created that make
them appear difficult to teach. We can transform our learners into
highly motivated learners even with the TV, the Computer and the
Internet around them if we teachers who are themselves ardent readers of
books and not textbooks only.
