Reading skills

Tweet

We all know that reading books enhances our cognitive skills and broadens our knowledge and wisdom. There are lots of books to read, and I am now focusing my attention in reading not only my books in school, but also Ken Wilber's psycho-philosophical book entitled "A brief history of everything". This book is all about the evolution of consciousness and how people use their minds in interpreting things. There are two types of reading: reading quietly, and reading loudly. In reading quietly, we don't have to use some mouth movements, just our eyes. There are several tips in reading quietly. First, read in a moderate distance of book from the eyes of a reader, not too near, not too far. Second, we must understand literally the words we read from a book, before we understand a simple sentences, to paragraph. If we don't know the meaning of the words, we must consult a dictionary. But how could we understand a simple word and relate it to the topic we read from a book? We have to interpret that word, using the image we create from our mind. By using interpretation, we can partially or fully understand all the details of the book. We can also relate those details in our daily lives or in other books we have read before. In reading loudly, there are also some tips to follow. Again, read in a moderate distance of a book from our eyes. Second, our voice must be in moderation - not too slow, not too fast, not too loud, not too soft. Third, we also must understand literally - from words, to sentences, to paragraphs. There are five dimensions in reading. The first dimension is the literal understanding of what we are reading. Understanding literally all the details in a book is what we called reading comprehension, and here, we have to use our cognitive capacity to interpret and imagine all the words/ideas written in a book. The second dimension is the fully understanding the thoughts of the author. An author exactly has a purpose and in writing a book. Our interpretation of the ideas written in a book must be congruent with the author's interpretations. The third dimension is analyzing the importance of thoughts/ideas written in a book. Books are written with a moral values that will uplift our personalities. Of course, we don't have to pretend that we have fully understood the entire book. As we read word by word, sentence by sentence and paragraph by paragraph, our understanding will go into a gradual process. The fourth dimension is the union of the thoughts written in a book and our experiences to create a new thoughts and ideas. As we read, we cannot remove the fact that we relate the ideas in a book with our experiences, and with that, we create a new thoughts and ideas. For example, you are reading a book about marriage, and there are some ideas in a book that can relate with your status in life, let's say, you and your partner are preparing to be married, and you have read some tips in that book about living in a happy married life, and when the time come you are now married, you can now apply what you have read in that book. And the fifth dimension of reading is identifying your own thoughts according to the selection you have read. When you read a selection, some critical readers create their own thoughts according to the selection they read, especially, if that selection has something to do with their experiences and lives. Reading is so much fun, so I advice all the parents with a toddler child to encourage him/her in reading books while they're young, for they will start learning and appreciate the value of knowledge through books.