𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙'𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 | Nnane Ntube

"𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏."

     ~Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO in Paris. 

We cannot talk about quality education without looking at the central role of book literacy.  

In the final years of my elementary school days, my mother jokingly told me that the only way to leave her house and stand on my feet as a lady is to love books.  

Well, I didn't quite understand the metaphor of loving books. I took it for its literal meaning, just loving books.  

What I couldn't understand was the means to see the books, touch them before loving them. The only book I had back then was my English Language textbook. I loved it so dearly, but I never actually thought of intentionally reading it for the purpose of understanding. What my mother meant by loving books was for me to take my studies seriously through deep learning. I actually fell in love with books without seriously studying to understand and learn. This is the difference—what my mother actually wanted to see in me, yet my little mind did not understand.  

We cannot really talk about active learning without active reading and understanding.  

Books, especially storybooks, should be at the centre of conversations when talking about child development and growth. Unfortunately, in some public schools in Cameroon, very little effort is made towards providing pupils with quality storybooks of their interest. Worse is that about 98% of elementary public schools in Cameroon do not have a well-equipped library, if they have one at all. Such schools make it very difficult to talk about equal opportunities in the pursuit of quality education. I remember visiting 7 private and government-owned public schools around Bafia and Yaoundé last year to verify the types of books they have in their libraries and the level of the pupils' engagement with the books. For the private schools, there was hope, though I believed that if the schools invested more in books that relate to the pupils' environment, culture, lifestyle, history, economic life, etc., and are language-friendly, the engagement of pupils will escalate. For the government-owned schools, there was nothing like a library. 

Every child deserves to be introduced to good storybooks at an early age. Books introduce children to a world full of colours, wonders, possibilities, and positivity.  

We cannot undermine the transformative power of books in shaping a generation of intellectually, socially, and emotionally fit individuals. 

In today's world, where everybody wants to connect, network, collaborate, communicate, and be listened to, it is very easy to distinguish those who have been transformed through books from those who are yet to be transformed: the quality of the interaction, the level of understanding, deep listening skills, and good mastery of analytical and critical thinking skills. 

That is why I was elated when I received an invitation from Reading Classrooms for a two-week part-time job with pupils in selected public schools in 7 towns in Cameroon: Dschang, Douala, Obala, Yaoundé, Bertoua, Garoua, and Maroua.

The purpose was to enhance the creative writing skills of pupils using storybooks. It should be noted that prior to the writing workshops in these schools, Reading Classrooms have had volunteers drill the pupils in reading activities, introduce them to storybooks by local authors, organise a reading competition, and select the winners to attend the writing workshops led by authors.  

Between November 18 and 30, 2024, my fellow author and I led writing workshops in the above-mentioned towns; I led writing workshops with 143 pupils from 16 schools.  

For this year, the focus was on climate change. I introduced the pupils to both local and foreign storybooks written in English that tackle climate change from local and global perspectives. This activity boosts the pupils' positivity and intentionality in reading for deep learning; it enhances their sense of belonging and opens them to new ways of interacting with nature and the environment. The pupils demonstrated problem-solving skills by writing their own stories, detailing the climate-related problem identified in their communities and the actions they will implement to solve the problem. 

Through the reading and writing workshops, I noticed how actively the pupils engaged while demonstrating deep listening, critical thinking, problem-solving, and communicative skills. I saw the enchanting spark in their eyes as they yearned for more of such sessions.  

Now, imagine if these pupils had such experience every week. Will their communities be the same? 

Can we now talk about the unequal access to books in schools in Cameroon? Can we safely look at the attitude of school administrators towards equipping libraries, encouraging reading activities in their schools, and guaranteeing the quality of what their pupils/students read?  

Books are the vertebral column of every child's development. Access to books equals access to quality education. 

I invite everyone to support Reading Classrooms in this noble venture by volunteering or donating.

© Nnane Ntube

Educator | Literacy Advocate | YALI RLC Alumna | Access Alumna | Open Dreams Program Facilitator