Warning to parents from the expert: Read the same books as your children

Supporting the Ministry of National Education Parent Academy Project, Asst. Prof. Dr. Pelin Ekşi, Head of the Department of Turkish Language and Literature from Istanbul Gelisim University, gave advice to teachers and parents about making students gain reading habits with an online event.

“THE BOOKCASE SHOULD ALSO HAVE SPACE FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS”

Emphasizing the values that reading habit adds to the individual and the society through the individual, Dr. Ekşi said that parent-school cooperation is important for children to gain reading habit and said: “In order for individuals to gain the love of reading, the family should exhibit an exemplary model. A library should be kept at home and a place should be reserved for children's books.”

“CONTRIBUTE TO THE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN”

Stating that family reading activities should be organized, Dr. Ekşi said: “Families should read the same books with their children, talk about them and create a conversation environment. If people in books are associated with events, people and events encountered in daily life, children will also learn to connect books with life. Again, by talking about new words and expressions learned from books, it can contribute to the language development of children.”

“TEACHERS MUST READ BOOKS”

Dr. Ekşi continued her speech as follows:

“Parents and teachers should support children to read books of interest. Children should not only be forced to read fictional genres such as novels and stories, but they should also be able to read informative books in line with their abilities and interests. Teachers should also read books. The teacher who comes to the classroom with a book is inspiring. Teachers can talk to their students about the books they have read and love and encourage them to read.”

“THE CHILD WHO READ WILL BE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN THE TESTS”

Referring to the fact that reading a book is not stealing from the test solving time, Dr Ekşi said: “It is not right to warn our children who read books to “solve the test or study” and so to portray reading as a useless activity. The child who reads will also be more successful in the tests. Because as he reads, his comprehension and reading speed will increase.”

“MOVIE SERIES CHARACTERS MUST BE SHOWN WHILE READING THE BOOK”

Drawing attention to the need to include characters who read books in television series, Dr Ekşi said: “It will be a useful model to show the characters of popular TV series while reading a book. Another important point is that schools raise students' awareness about technological literacy.”