25978: Raber (reply) Re: 25970: Vedrine (article): Haitians And The Mith About Blacks Dont Read (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: PM Raber <raber88@zoominternet.net>

Some comments about Haitian children and reading.  As you point out, the 
example of the parents is not there.  As for immigrant children into the United 
States, they face the TV problem.  Many are latch key children who come home 
after school and are expected to stay inside until their parents come home at 
the end of a work day.  Once and if homework is done, they glue themselves to 
the TV.  Of course, too much TV is endemic to the entire US and especially to 
the those of lower socio-economic levels.  Add to that the Nintendos and 
playstations and reading is the last thing on many children's minds.

As for Haitian children in Haiti, books are expensive.  However this is not the 
only hurdle. Once I found a catholic nun who was receiving containers of used 
books from Quebec.  She was selling them all at 5 gourdes each.   They were all 
sorts of children's books from Quebec libraries.  I purchased 1500 books for 
this school that was starting a library.   The majority were children's chapter 
books, comic books and picture books.  The principal complained that I had 
gotten all those useless books. He would prefer all dictionaries and reference 
books for the high school.  I had gotten those as well but his idea was that 
libraries were for high school students.  He refused to have the elementary 
children come more than once a week for a half hour to look at books. He 
refused to have teachers check out books to keep in their classrooms for the 
kids to read.  I had also purchased books for the children of the people who 
worked with me.  When I asked the parents how they were enjoying the books, I 
was told that the books were under lock and key as the children would rip the 
books!     The entire culture needs to be convinced that the love of reading 
starts in the preschool and early elementary years.  That TV/computer/gameboys 
need to be on no more than an hour a day (if at all) during the school days and 
not more than a couple of hours a day on the weekends. In the US,  It may be a 
good idea to disappear the TV during the summer months and sign the kids up for 
one of the many library reading programs. Parents need to understand that it's 
OK for children's books to eventually wear out.  This is why libraries replace 
books over  time.  The best books are those held together with tape and 
stapples.

I grew up in a Haitian family that encouraged reading. I knew of many wealthy 
families where the families travelled abroad every summer but you never saw a 
book in their house.   I was allowed to purchase one book a week and every 
Saturday morning, the local bookstore allowed me to spend 3 hours reading in 
the store until I bought my book at closing time.   There were a number of 
children from families who could not afford books who used to borrow my books 
to read.  The love of reading exist in   many chidren  naturally but just like 
eating vegetables, it has to be taught to many.    At school, the nuns let us 
rent books for a few cents a week.  Many took advantage of this but others 
spent their allowance on candy instead.   Each classroom had a number of age 
appropriate books starting in the 4th grade.  Eventually many of my own books 
went to another Catholic school where the kids came from families with small 
financial means.   The nuns there also encoured the kids to read.   One only 
has to walk the sidewalks in Port-au-Prince to see that the love of reading is 
there.  There are thousands of used books for sale and many young people 
browsing..   Just 15 years ago, you had travelling salesmen peddling all sort 
of used books and magazines door to door in Haiti.  Now with the security 
problems this is not very common.