Make reading a joy not a chore, Hong Kong parents and teachers urged
Charity Bring Me a Book, which has just turned 10 years old, is fighting to change a mentality that is fixated with high school grades
A charity has urged parents and teachers to change their mentality and encourage children to read books for pleasure rather than just to achieve higher grades.
Jacqueline Sun, a board member of Bring Me a Book, said: “I think Hong Kong parents realise the importance of reading, but there’s this gap in the culture that we still have to fix.
“Children should not read just to achieve certain results. Reading should be for leisure and pleasure, for the love of learning.”
Bring Me a Book, which marked its 10th anniversary this month, has installed 355 libraries mostly in underresourced areas, serving 150,000 children, and trained over 20,000 parents and teachers over the past decade.
The organisation, which is an affiliate of the Bring Me a Book Foundation in the United States, donates Chinese and English-language books to community centres, kindergartens and schools, while also organising talks, workshops and reading clubs.
Board member Tansy Lau said that one of their main challenges was to convince parents and educators that children should be given time to read story books.