01/06/2022
Waterstone's trip with Dr Haider
As all English teachers will attest, nothing improves students’ literacy skills more than engaging in regular reading. The power of regular reading cannot be underestimated and affects students in the round helping improve their performance in education more broadly. Unfortunately, many students find it hard to find reading material that inspires them and therefore do not read much beyond set texts at school. Some schools attempt to build a habit of reading into their pupils by giving students an opportunity to spend an hour a week in the library, in what are known to some as Reading Plus sessions and other such reading programmes. These initiatives are welcome but are often focussed on younger students in the school.
The trip is designed to breakdown the barriers between students and bookshops. Bookshops are unique commercial spaces; they are spaces in which one can dwell and spend much time absorbing the wealth pouring out of national and international publishing houses. Bookshops are attractive spaces where one can learn about the world, about the past, the present and think about futures yet unimagined. For those uninitiated though, bookshops can also be bewildering places. What is one to do if they don’t have a specific title in mind? How do you move through the space and find something valuable to potentially purchase? Must one always purchase something or can you walk into a bookshop, spend some time there and leave with ideas rather than parting with your money every time? The trip Dr Haider is planning will address these and many other questions and help students understand and feel comfortable spending time in a bookshop.
