Family first, then schools. Should we inculcate a love for reading in children by focusing on their families?
A year ago, the government launched a program that tries to hit two birds with one stone: encourage reading and provide resources to financially challenged undergraduates.
Involving the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the “Tara, Basa!” program was launched in August 2023 to enable college undergraduates to tutor struggling readers in grade 1.
For helping first graders to read, a participating undergraduate earns P570 per day for a period of 20 days.
Parents and guardians receive P235 for the same period for assisting their children in first grade who are struggling to read.
In the “Nanay-Tatay” sessions of the “Tara, Basa!” program, the undergraduates, who are trained by the DSWD, channel modules on better parenting that are aimed at making the non-readers’ parents or guardians know the rights of children, their duties in character formation, and other aspects of the family-community-society shared responsibility in raising a child.
“Tara, Basa!” targets three vulnerable groups: first graders who have difficulty reading, their parents and guardians who may also be challenged as mentors for reading, and undergraduates who need supplementary funds to finish their studies.
Since its piloting at the National Capital Region (NCR) in August 2023, the “Tara, Basa!” program has been reported as “beneficial” and will be replicated in other parts of the country.
According to a Feb. 28, 2024 post on the official Cebu Normal University (CNU) website, the CNU-College of Teacher Education (CTE) entered into a partnership with the DSWD Social Technology Bureau (STB) to pilot the “Tara, Basa!” program in the state university.
What are the learnings from the piloting of the “Tara, Basa!” program at the NCR and the CNU? The DepEd and the DSWD must share initial findings on best practices for other families and communities to benefit.
For instance, how do the youth tutors and development facilitators address non-reading and reading struggles in families, given a lack of books or reading materials in homes or even school libraries?
An equally prominent obstacle is presented by the digital media, such as smart phones and laptops, that produce videos and other posts that do not just distract the youths from reading but also alter their way of seeking and absorbing content from media.
These questions touch on the effectiveness of strategies to encourage reading in these digital times.
Even beyond the “Tara, Basa!” beneficiaries, the ways that new media have altered reading, comprehension, and learning embrace not just the primary and grade school pupils but even undergraduate and graduate studies.
The sustainability of “Tara, Basa!” strategies also raises concerns. Every youth tutor or development facilitator earns P11,400 for 20 days. Parents or guardians who join the “Tara, Basa!” program earn P4,700 for 20 days.
The money is an effective inducement for a financially struggling undergraduate, parent or guardian.
How effective are these incentive-based interventions from undergraduates, parents and guardians in encouraging reading or helping first graders address their challenges in reading?
In terms of cost-efficiency, would the funds not be better spent in improving libraries and learning resource centers in public schools and communities?
New media literacy trainings for students, parents, guardians, and teachers can orient them to the proper ways of finding free and quality learning resources on the Internet for learning, pastime or recreational reading, academic learning, and infinite needs that can be met by honing the interest in and capability to read.
What works and does not work to help youths bridge the gap in readership? A review of the lessons from the “Tara, Basa!” piloting is urgent, especially as the nation enters another academic year.