One thing that school in Singapore did not teach me is how to read critically. Compared to my Australian classmates, I feel that I don’t know how to question a text enough and dissect the arguments. I feel very handicapped because of this!
\nRight now, in my Teaching & Learning Literacy class, my lecturer is teaching us how to teach our students to read critically. I wished my teachers in Singapore had done that with us. During class today, some people brought up the point that reading critically is culturally specific. That is, some cultures do not think reading critically is a desired quality. Perhaps so, but I feel that being able to read critically is an important skill to have. In my opinion, it’s important to question and be aware of other viewpoints apart from your own.
\nQuestions that one can ask when reading a text in future are:
\n1) Why is this topic being written about?
\n2) How is this topic being written about?
\n3) What other ways of writing about the topic are there?
\n4) Who is the text\ufffds model reader? i.e. Who is the text written for?
\nAn important point made in class is that teaching learners to think critically can be done at all levels. From low to high levels and young children can also be taught to read critically as well. It’s just that teaching methods differ. In any case, the questions above will be something I’ll bear in mind whenever I read in future.
\nAnyway, it’s late now and I’m in desperate need of sleep. Zzzzzzz…..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One thing that school in Singapore did not teach me is how to read critically. Compared to my Australian classmates, I feel that I don’t know how to question a text enough and dissect the arguments. I feel very handicapped … Continue reading