Written by BFIS Staff
In this era of digital media, reading books is becoming more and more of a lost art. However, the importance of reading remains just as strong as ever. David Cevoli (BFIS Middle and High School Librarian) presents readers with ten compelling reasons why reading books is still fundamental.
Have you heard of ChatGPT? Of course, you have. That’s because since it launched in December 2022, it has garnered a huge amount of attention in both the public and private spheres, and everyone seems to have an opinion about whether it’s a positive or negative thing for humankind.
One thing is indisputable: ChatGPT is definitely the herald of many impending transformations in the world, and this is perhaps the most notable and immediate in the field of education.
In fact, at BFIS we have created a committee to study and discuss developments related to both the impact of artificial intelligence on schools and how we should best manage its seemingly inevitable integration into our lives and the lives of our students.
The school will be sending out some more information about this soon, but in the meanwhile, it seems like an opportune moment to highlight the fact that the ability to read and write well, to critically interpret the written ideas of others, and to articulate your own most nuanced thoughts, has never been more important for living an independent, meaningful and successful life.
And this is not going to change, even though computers can now spit out a wide variety of reformulated text in response to almost any prompt you can think of. With that in mind, here are ten reasons why developing the habit of reading for pleasure is still tremendously beneficial for young, developing minds.
Reading:
- Improves vocabulary and language skills – Interaction with large amounts of text is probably the number one factor that contributes to your own ability to express yourself.
- Enhances critical thinking and comprehension skills – By reading and analyzing text, students can improve their critical thinking and comprehension skills, which will benefit them in all areas of their lives.
- Increases imagination and creativity – Coming into direct contact with the ideas of other intelligent thinkers can spark students’ imagination and creativity, and this is increasingly important for success in all fields of work.
- Provides exposure to new ideas and thus a wider understanding of the world.
- Improves students’ focus and concentration, helping them better manage distractions, focus on their studies, and generally feel more at peace and satisfied in their own minds.
- Develops empathy – Experiencing the lives of others via thoughtful textual expression can help students develop empathy by exposing them to diverse perspectives.
- Encourages independent learning – Reading books can help students develop independent learning skills and a love of learning that will serve them well throughout their lives.
- Supports emotional and social development – It helps students understand and navigate complex emotional and social situations, promoting emotional intelligence and healthy relationships.
- Enhances writing skills – Reading all forms of text can improve students’ writing skills by exposing them to a variety of writing styles and techniques.
- Supports academic success – Research in the world of education clearly demonstrates that students who regularly read for pleasure do better on assessments and attain higher levels of education.
Considering all of these motives for reading, I strongly encourage all of our students and parents to stop by the BFIS libraries to browse and borrow from our highly curated collection of over 15,000 classic and contemporary texts for all ages.
Additionally, all students have access to Sora, our online reading platform with thousands of additional digital books, as well as audiobooks.
By David Cevoli
BFIS Middle and High School Librarian
BFIS Extended Essay Coordinator
