Charting a new way

Updated on: Wednesday, March 09, 2011

These days when any piece of information is available at the click of a button, going through pages of a book is almost considered outdated. The loudness and readiness of internet, television and so many such gadgets have unfortunately overshadowed our good old books. As a conscious effort towards reviving reading habit among students, Lakshmi School has introduced an innovative concept called the ‘Library Week'.

Under the project, at least five books are prescribed for each class annually, which the students are expected to read during their library periods, English classes and free time. Initial two months of every academic year, students are allowed to take the books home.

“The books, either short story collections or novels, assigned according to the age group” explains, Ms. Geeta Babu, heading the Library Committee. The concept is a collective effort of the committee comprising teacher Ms. Bindu Jeyaprakash and librarian Mr.G.Suresh.

Done for the first time in the school, the project turned out to be a huge success. As an experiment, students from Classes IV to VII were involved. Reading the given books was made compulsory for the entire class. After the stipulated time, interesting contests based on the books were held at various levels. At the prelims, students competed with their peers from the same section and in the next round,competitions were conducted for the entire standard.

“The student is given the choice of picking up any book or story to compete. They can enact an episode or write a review on the book, recite a poem, make a poster or give a twist to the story” adds, Ms. Geeta Babu.

As part of the Library Week programme, the committee generated funds and donated books to underprivileged students of neighbouring schools. Teachers' specimen copies were sold and a total of Rs. 9,000 was raised. Lakshmi School students and teachers visited five schools in Veerapanchan and donated 175 Tamil story books to poor students.

The valedictory of Library Week was held on Monday, where students laid their talents bare and bagged prizes. According to teachers, “the concept ensures the participation of every student and inculcates inclination towards reading”.

The process of the project was mapped by CII and is likely to be introduced in few other schools as well. CII Institute of Quality, Hyderabad will also look into three other quality aspects of the school which are labs, co-curricular activities and sports.

Charting a new way

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