the goan I network
Panaji
With books and literature failing to lure children away from their increasing addiction to smart phones and video games, there’s a ray of hope even if faint.
An organisation working to spread the love for reading among Goa’s youth is offering a specially designed Library Educator’s Course (LEC) which it hopes will equip school teachers, librarians and educators with what it takes to lure the young towards books.
For the third successive year, Bookworm Trust has called for applications and is canvassing among school teachers to enroll for the seven-month course it will conduct from April to October 2019.
With the government mulling a ban on PUBG and other “harmful” video games, Bookworm Trust is hoping its course for teachers will hopefully and eventually pave the way to keep kids engaged with books.
Interestingly although the course, the only one of its kind in India, is being conducted in Goa, there was not a single applicant from Goa last year. The seats, however, were full with trainees from Afghanistan, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP and other Indian states.
This year too, no one from Goa has signed up yet though people from outside have already begun enrolling, said an official from Bookworm, adding, “But there could still be takers as applications will be open till February 25.”
According to Bookworm’s founder trustee and co-designer of the course Sujata Noronha, there is unfortunately an assumption among most Goans that once a college degree is obtained, learning stops.
“A new field like library education demands a lot in terms of engaging in ideas as an adult learner. But adult education in Goa is almost absent,” Noronha told The Goan, adding that people fail to realise that there are always new avenues to learn from and that these opportunities should be grabbed.
Also, a library education is not a statutory requirement for school librarians.
“In order to be a librarian in a school, the requirement is a library science degree which says you know how to classify books and order them. It has almost nothing to do with reading, opening up the library to children, or understanding children’s literature,” explained Noronha.
If library education were a statutory requirement, there would be more people interested in a course like this, she added.
The LEC is open to all educators and intended for teachers, school librarians, development sector professionals, literacy educators and language experts. The course aims to enable people to see the library as a democratic, creative and innovative space, rather than just a physical space.
Participants will be taught how to build effective library sessions with children, and involves both theory and practice.
