SUIS QingPu | LRC Reading Month-Event： “Why should we read?” Answer Sharing

LRC Reading Month-Event： “Why should we read?” Answer Sharing

Mid-March, when the LRC was collecting questions from students that they were most curious about for the upcoming reading month, one question in particular stood out: “Why should we read?” This question, posed by a 5B student, attracted the attention of our librarians.

We felt that this question worth thinking about and discussing during the reading month, so we launched a survey to seek feedback from students and our principals. After one-week had passed, we received a total of 295 student responses and 5 specially-invited responses from the Principals Office. The following are high-frequency words extracted from the survey.Do any of them resonate with you?

Part One

“Why should we read?”Answer Sharing

A. Students’Answers

1. First of all, I think we read to enhance our knowledge. For example, I have been reading Han Wu the Great recently, which taught me some stories from the era of the Han Wu Emperor. Secondly, I believe that reading increases my stamina, because there are three books in the Han Wu the Great series, each of which is very thick. It takes me time to read. During the reading process, I feel I can gradually do one thing for a long time without being distracted by other things. (G5)

2.Maxim Gorky once said that books are the ladder of human progress. Reading makes me feel happy. Reading comic books helps me to immerse myself in interesting pictures. When reading fairy tales, my mood fluctuates with the changes in the stories; when reading classic literary works, I seem to enter the world presented in the book; when reading biographies of famous people, I learn how to grow into a better person.

I have read Historical Records before and through this book I learned a lot of things that happened in ancient times. Sima Qian devoted his whole life to writing Historical Records. His purpose was to let future generations know all the things that happened in ancient times. This book let me know the truth during that stage in history and aroused my strong interest in history. I also learned various methods and strategies of how to deal with different situations from this book. I guess this is yet another benefit of reading. (G3)

3. Reading can soothe the soul. Reading has brought me many benefits. It broadens my horizons, comforts my heart, lets me know how big the world is, encourages me when I encounter difficulties, and reminds me not to be too proud when I achieve results. It also lets me know that the world is so beautiful. I love reading and I want to make it a life-long habit. (G4)

4.Reading lets me enter a different world from real life, where there are many wonderful stories about other people. Seeing other people’s stories, sometimes I feel sad, sometimes I feel excited, and sometimes I reason with the protagonist of the story. Like many people, I am just an ordinary person, but books can add a lot of colour to my ordinary life, and also lets me learn a lot of knowledge. I love the protagonists in stories, and through their perspective, I can see all beings. (G6)

5.In my spare time, reading books makes me feel relaxed. When I read a popular science book, I broaden my horizons. I can learn knowledge that textbooks do not have. I will experience the workmanship of nature and the wonders of all things. When I read a novel, I can feel the protagonist’s struggle with fate and unwillingness to give up. I can taste the various states of the world; I can see angels and demons; I can see the suffering of the people at the bottom. Different books broaden my horizons, enrich my emotions, and even change my perspectives on things. I read books not only because of the ups and downs of the plot, but also because I want to understand the world, understand history, and enrich my cognition. (G6)

6.I’m so into reading. I have seen many different worlds in books – some seem to be near us, while some seem to be far away. Books record and carry the combination of history and culture, and share the thinking of generations about the world. I remember a sentence – “There is something that can cross the boundary of time and space and become eternal.” Books lead us to many places, where reality and imagination coexist. (G6)

7.I read to enrich my life. Reading frees us from nothingness and takes us out of the cave of prejudice. (G7)

8.This is a complicated question. At one point, books gave me so much that I was stunned for a while. I would say that books are my spiritual mentors. They shape my learning and my memory. They build my speech and accomplishments. Books to me are like water is to life. Books contain my spirit with depth and breadth, and give me happiness and food for thought.I don’t usually notice it, but when I stop reading for a while, I feel the pain of having no book to read. Reading shapes a person’s behaviour and spirit, and enriches a man’s speech and soul. It is the sum of all wisdom and humanity from the past. (G8)

9.Reading can open the boundaries of independent learning, allowing us to stand on the shoulders of giants to see the world and learn new knowledge without relying on the school campus and parents. Reading also allows us to develop good qualities and become responsible individuals through human development. Reading can also enrich our vocabulary and language so that we can improve our writing and become more learned.（G6）

10.Reading can make people realize that “We are like mayflies in the vast world, as small as a corn in the sea.” I have heard of a paradox. It was said that we read because of our ignorance, but we realize our ignorance only because of reading. Perhaps this is what Socrates meant when he said, “To admit one’s ignorance is to open the door to wisdom.”In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong learned a few tricks from a teacher. As a result, he thought he was the best in the world and made a lot of trouble in the Heavenly Palace. Consequently, he was pinned under the Wuzhi Mountain, after which he followed the Tang Monks to learn the scriptures. We learned that Sun Wukong was not so arrogant after obtaining the scriptures. Was his new-found humility caused by the scriptures? If so, what exactly were the scriptures? I think it was the various experiences on the way to West Heaven which made him realize his own insignificance and ignorance. Therefore, it is only when you read that you realize how small you are, because you have only seen the tip of the iceberg in the long river of human knowledge. At such a point, your sense of superiority disappears and you will not be so arrogant. (G8)

11.Books are different from film and television works. When reading, we imagine the scenes and expressions of the main characters, developing our own understanding; we can give anything in the book our own unique vitality. Reading also makes us feel very relaxed when we are fully engaged in the text. We follow the protagonists in the book to experience one thing after another, allowing us to swim in the unconstrained world. Maybe in the book we can fly, go to Mars, and do all the things we can’t do in reality – this is undoubtedly a good way to make us feel satisfied. When we study, we can also learn correct values, and a mature outlook on life and the world, so that we can enrich our experiences and understand some truths. (G11)

B.Principals’ Answers

Principal Maxine Lu

People’s direct experience, such as the places they have been, the people they know, the sceneries they have seen, and the things they have done are very limited. Through reading, we have traveled through five millenniums of history and all around the world, greatly expanding our horizons and enriching our lives. Through reading, those characters and stories that travel through time and space and resonate with our hearts come to us, a great joy in our lives.

Principal Sunny Huang

Why should we read? I would to share this quote with you: “Books enlighten my mind and wisdom, while helping me to stand up in a bog in which, if it were not for books, I would have sunk and drowned in stupidity and indecency.”Books are unlike the information we get from the internet based on AI or big data. The opinions they hold won’t change because of our preferences and even prejudices. Books will not let us be imperceptibly imprisoned in information cocoons. In contrast, they will generously allow us to enter freely into the world of knowledge, whether it is the areas that are known or the ‘blind spots’. Some books bring us emotional value, while others allow us to break through the encirclement of time and space, to have conversations with ancient and modern sages at the lowest cost, and to have better self-growth.

Principal Adam Neufield

Reading brings the world to our doorstep. From our chair or sofa, we can sit and experience history, adventure, science, influential people, the animal and plant world, music, art, all kinds of emotions, other worlds, and so much more. It helps us to connect with the world around us, helps us understand each other more, and helps us to discover connections between things that we never imagined were connected. Reading both deepens and broadens our vocabulary, which then helps us to express our opinions and ideas more precisely. Finally, I believe that it also improves our thinking and our different intelligences (i.e. social, emotional, academic, etc.)

Vice-Principal Leo Ge

Reading helps us improve our cognition and judgement of things by learning about the excellent direct experiences of others, and is the best way for us to acquire knowledge and experience. Reading enables us to think more deeply and look at things in a more comprehensive way.

Vice-Principal Flora Zhang

There are endless answers to why people read. To me, there is only one answer — I like reading. In the spring, the soul can reach where our bodies can’t.

Part Two What Principals say to encourage reading

Principal Maxine Lu

Be willing to read while thinking diligently, and internalize knowledge in your heart.

Principal Sunny Huang

If we are happy, try reading, and during the process we will feel peaceful.If we are sad, try reading, and during the process we will understand that things are hard and that we should not be stubborn.

If we are calm, try reading, and during the process we will see both a gentle and a splendid world through the words.

Principal Adam Neufield

You don’t need to read for hours and hours every day. However, try to set aside time each day to do some reading. While you should read about things you enjoy reading about, try sometimes to read about things that outside your interests – this will help to make you more ‘well-rounded’. Finally, take some time to read the news – it is good to keep up with what’s happening in the world.

Vice-Principal Leo Ge

Reading is easy, but thinking is difficult! We hope our students can think hard and learn well on the basis of developing good reading habits!

Vice-Principal Flora Zhang

Let’s meet in books!

We thank every student who answered this question in a serious manner, and the principals who shared their hearts and minds through their responses. We also hope that the student who raised this question can be inspired by the answers. We end the LRC reading month with this sharing, which has been most meaningful. Although the reading month has come to an end, we hope that reading is an activity that will last forever. We look forward to seeing more and more students reading in the LRC in the future!

May 28, 2022 School News