Continuous Learning in the New Year: Building a Sustainable Love of Reading
We ended the year with a focus on skill building through extracurricular activities. As we focus our attention on 2025 and a new year ahead, let’s stay engaged and excited about continuous and lifelong learning opportunities.
A recent New York Times publication highlights the importance of agency and autonomy in a child’s learning and goal setting process. In fact, while around 75% of younger elementary aged students say they love school, this number drops significantly by their high school years to about 25%. This decrease can be attributed to the limited choice a child has in voicing their own goals and aspirations. So as we begin this year, parents should place emphasis on involving their children in the goal setting process.
As we set achievable goals and aspire to be the best versions of ourselves this year, let a love of learning, reading, and gaining knowledge be the driving forces for us as individuals, for our children, and for our families.
Being a lifelong learner is a principle that is stressed by Mawlana Hazar Imam and within our community.
In 2006, Mawlana Hazar Imam said, “In this world, the most important thing a student can learn is the capacity for continuous learning.”
Continuous learning is directly related to reading, which is a foundational skill and vehicle for learning that will help us to meet our potential in the years to come. Not only can we be immersed in fictional worlds, but we can find connections to our own lives through emotional contexts as well as through historical and realistic means. Being a part of a knowledge society means that we have to look for multiple critical thinking opportunities, which can be found through reading, be it a fictional text or something that is non-fiction. Accessing various books can help you, your child, and your whole family, broaden your thinking and allow for in-depth discussions, and moreover, the practice of daily reading can show great impact in your family unit for a lifetime.
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