Nakakabasa na Ako! finally off-and-running to change our literacy landscape

Literacy-stunted, literacy-challenged no more!  Filipino children who have languished under this demeaning appellation now stand a better chance, as their teachers mold them, wielding the new edition of Nakakabasa na Ako! (I Can Finally Read!).

This guidebook for Filipino teachers to mentor children who are unable to read, pulling them out of the ignominy that threatened them with a bleak future, was launched  March 11, 2023, announced Miguel Z. Patolot, the book’s publisher.

Authored by Teacher Julie Weygan Aparato, the book captures and embodies a dedicated educator’s method in reaching out to Filipino street children, as well as to children in public schools, whose reading skills have chronically deteriorated.

Quoting Teacher Julie, “This book serves as a guide in establishing a literacy program at the community level targeting disadvantaged children, 7 years and older, who are unable or are struggling to read.”

Much of the book’s content mirrors the author’s actual encounters in leading a community-based literacy program.  This program—from the get-go—has been ironically carried out along the fringes of Quezon City’s leading educational institutions, amidst the joint splendor of the affluent and the squalor of the poverty-stricken.

This low-key approach has elevated at-risk children to a literacy level that would spur them towards distinction in their academic performance as Teacher Julie tracked their reading performance from poor to excellent as showcased during the launch.

Recreating and presenting to eager children a comfortable and fun-filled classroom experience has proved to be the key towards achieving daunting objectives, as Teacher Julie related, “Classroom-based day-to-day experiences comprise the ultimate resource and guide to deliver an effective and practical reading system for literacy-deprived children.”

“I believe the best teachers are those who never lose hope and pursue what they see as challenges to the learner,” Dr. Cristina Lim Yuson, Founder/Director, Early Learning Center (1974-2003)  wrote in the book’s Foreword.

“A seasoned mentor who uses the play method might also accomplish more than the regular rote learning. Identifying the kids, assessing their levels of literacy, involving the parents and doing repeated home visits—these are humbling tasks only a committed member would do . . . If regular teachers just follow these steps, I am sure our school kids would learn to read and enjoy reading for a lifetime,” she stressed.

(2)

“Nakakabasa na Ako! (I Can Finally Read!) shows poor readers do not always remain poor, or worse, become poorer—thanks to the able leadership and collective effort of people who do what they can, despite and against the odds, whether there is a pandemic or not,” reflects Portia Padilla, PhD, head of the Faculty, Reading Education, University of the Philippines, and Program Chair, Language and Literacy Education, UP Open University,  in her book review.

“Both personal and practical, this book invites us not only to read and learn, but more importantly, to act together for the benefit of our children.” Dr. Padilla said.

Key contents of Nakakabasa na Ako! (I Can Finally Read!) include: Organizing the Literacy Class, Informal Assessment Tools, the Curriculum, Approaches and Activities; Reading and Recommended Techniques, Developing Reading Fluency; Migration to e-Learning, among others.

To place orders for the book, kindly contact the publisher, Miguel Z. Patolot, at miguelpatolot76@gmail.com, and mobile number +63.2. 917.822.9294.