I know that kids these days are crazy about e-books, and that is why audio-visual story platforms are creating a great impact in the online market. Little do these kids know that the essence of hard copies is mesmerizing. The smell coming from the pages of the books, the bookmarks, etc., are vintage aesthetics. To reintroduce the habit of reading books in children, educational and administrative professionals who all belong to the administrative leadership and management department of every school in Chennai, have started the concept of book clubs in the schools.
The school leaders have learned in their Diploma in Educational Administration and Management course that book clubs rejuvenate the bridge of communication among readers. This concept is extraordinarily classic as it sends us back to the '70s or '80s when people used to gather in a coffee shop or anywhere, read a book together, and then have a post discussion. Joining a book club was considered to be an elite symbol back in those days. If we blur the symbolism aspect, student book club ideas are quite interesting and connecting.
Now the objectives of a book club are quite simple and straightforward. This digital era has converted everything into PowerPoint presentations, communications are nothing but Zoom meetings, and traditional learning has been replaced by PDFs (e-learning). It's kind of true what the environmentalists say that using papers is causing deforestation but then again, using gadgets 24*7 is harming the health of human beings.
Thus to keep things balanced, schools leaders in Chennai have come up with the idea of book clubs for students. The following points will give you a positive vibe regarding why book clubs are important in schools.
1. The reading fluency of students increases to a great extent.
2. The more students read books better will be their writing skills.
3. Reading has its own charm. It impacts a lot in improving vocabulary.
4. If someone once starts falling for reading books, their researching skill will be building up quite strongly.
In order to start a book club you being a school leader or any educational professional must have to decide what kind of book club is it going to be. It is absolutely your call if you want to create a thematic book club or a generalized one. A thematic book club, to be honest, might become monotonous because changing themes after a certain span might become tedious and all students might not be a fan of one single genre.
A generalized theme, on the other hand, is a subtle one but you must have a wide range of book collections from different genres. Of course, I'm not asking you to build a famous book store but the quantity should be proportionate to the number of students of the school. Books can be from any genre but it is highly recommended not to keep things that are too horror or vulgar, i.e., of any genre that might trigger a hyper adrenaline rush in students.
Since it is going to be inside the school premises, I would suggest you choose a room that is not too big in size. School administrators must install a cc camera inside the room where the book club will function from. I know it might raise a question on trust issues on the students but it is always better to prevent any risk rather than mitigate it. A small group of 5-6 people should be allowed to enter the room at a time because too many people will eventually lead to a chaotic situation.
Every member of the book club should have a specific ID card or access card. Entry without that ID card should be strictly prohibited and records must be kept of who is entering the book club and leaving at what time. Book clubs should be made free of cost for the students because they're already paying a lot in terms of tuition fees, library fees, and stuff. The sitting arrangement in a book club should be made comfortable so that students do not get an academic vibe inside the room. There can be rugs on the floor with cushions so that students can become cozy and read. Installing comfortable tables and chairs will also do justice.
Administrators may not agree with the fact that the entry of food inside the room should be permitted. I tell you why. Food is something that keeps up strong and our organs continuously work because of the food intake. Now if a student is feeling hungry while he is in the food club either he has to quit reading or he will have to control his hunger, and trust me, neither of these is good. There can be rules like the cleanliness of the book club will be the responsibility of the students. Thus, they will be careful enough to create any mess.
The bottom line is that the concept of book clubs that have been the result of a brainstorming session of the educational administrative professionals with the help of Diploma in Educational Administration and Management course is going to create a monumental effect on students for real. Students should understand that reading books is important, refreshing, and books are their best friends! This digital era has made everything accessible in offline mode once they download the e-books but have students ever thought what would happen if their storage run out of space and the wifi stops working at the same time?
Think again and choose wisely!
Written By : Kalyani Balakrishnan
