In Bratislava, Slovakia there is a beautiful bookstore. Books line the walls, and comfortable chairs invite you to settle in and get lost in a book. This reverence for readers is not usually reflected in classrooms, where students tend to read out of textbooks. Last April, at the World Literacy Conference in Oxford, England, I met two educators who are transforming that. They started a group called Land of Readers.
This is how they describe their organization:
Land of Readers is a NGO, whose primary function is to highlight the importance of reading for pleasure. We support adults who work with children and youth, mainly with teachers and schools´ staff. We promote current research in literacy and spread good practice that can be found in schools in Slovakia and abroad. We do this by establishing classroom libraries and providing workshops and materials for teachers.
We also connect different parties that work with reading and literacy in Slovakia. We have strong ties with the biggest bookstore network in Slovakia, and we cooperate with people in the academia, libraries, educators and reading enthusiasts.
Daniela and Viktoria, the directors of Land of Readers, explained to me that many students think reading is boring or actively dislike reading.The initial focus of their organization was on changing students’ attitudes about reading, and their initial action was deceptively simple. They gave each classroom 20 books and waited to see what would happen. Students started reading, exchanging books, and visiting other classrooms to borrow different books. I was delighted to learn about their approach, and they were delighted to learn about reading identity, which is a new idea for the schools in which they work. They bought Trusting Readers and decided to research the reading identity of students across Slovakia.
For the past year, we have collaborated on monthly online meetings. Daniela shared the responses from the Discovery Conferences she did with students, and we discussed how those insights can support Land of Readers in planning their next steps. Now, a year later, I am going to Bratislava to admire their work. I will get to visit schools, talk to students about reading identity, listen to educators and, of course, spend time at the bookstore.
For the next week, I will be sharing what I am learning. What happens when you focus on giving students books to read for the love of reading? Stay tuned for more blogs and photographs on instagram @trustingreaders
Trusting Readers 