By Juan Manuel Corrrea | President
Empowering Children with Reading Skills!"
IN THE FUNDACION COMUNITARIA DON DIEGO RURAL EDUCATIONAL CENTER.
General situation in Mexico.
Mexico is one of the countries that reads the least in the world. It ranks 107 out of 108 countries. The low reading average is proportionally linked to the low level of development. Canada and France, the countries that are in first place for reading per year per inhabitant, with 17 books, have a very high GDP of $52,000 and $44,000.00 dollars per capita, respectively, compared to Mexico, where 1.6 books are read per year per person, and has a GDP of $10,400. Per capita.
The lack of reading comprehension is, according to UNESCO, a kind of disability, which affects personal and national development.
There is a learning crisis in Mexico, and it is getting worse. A study by the World Bank and Unicef indicates that in Latin America four out of five children in sixth grade cannot understand a simple text. And this is just one indication of the dire situation of reading level in the general population.
The literacy reading population in Mexico has decreased in the last five years, dropping from 80.6% to 60.5%. (Inegi data). The average number of books read by this population per year is 3.8 books. Corresponding to 1.6 books per person taking the total population. And, worst of all, only 20% of readers have an acceptable reading comprehension, according to Unesco.
This low level of reading in Mexico is a risk for future well-being, and increases inequalities in the long term.
In addition, during the covid, the absence of face-to-face classes caused an educational delay of ten years.
In the Community of Don Diego, the level of reading comprehension of sixth grade students is as low as the average given by Unicef for Latin America, despite the fact that this community is not at an extreme level of poverty. Of the adult population in Don Diego, the general statistics of the Inegi, of people over 18 years of age, we know that the percentage of the reading population has sadly dropped. A third of the population that knows how to read, had not opened a book in three months (Inegi Statistics in April 2022).
31% of people who do not read, according to the same survey, complain about not having received enough stimulation during childhood. 83% stated that their parents did not take them to a library or book, 80% stated that their parents do not read, and 68% never saw their parents read.
Our direct observations in the Don Diego community indicate similar results, and we also know that in this rural community, public schools have not had libraries, and the population did not have a library until five years ago, when our Foundation opened the first one.
The Mission of the Don Diego A.C. Community Foundation is to promote the integral and sustainable development of the community, its first strategy is Education, and as part of this, with special relevance, the promotion of reading.
We are aware that reading comprehension is a crucial life skill that allows you to interact with the world effectively. Strengthens personal development, since reading allows you to acquire knowledge, teaches discernment, and think critically.
STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLAN OF THE FOUNDATION.
We have built a rural library, since 2017 when we started with 800 books.. Now it has 3,600 books, and we have 25 new computers with internet access for consultation and also pre-loaded with reading material for offline use as well.
We have been with a continuous reading promotion program for five years, with weekly classes, in several groups with the objective of guiding boys and girls between 6 and 15 years old in the three levels of reading comprehension: literal, inferential, and critical. .
Our reading promoter teachers guide r reading promoter teachers guide with patience and perseverance, reading books of various levels to these boys and girls, who mostly do not have books at home, and whose parents, in many cases are illiterate, and in almost all cases, they are not readers
he results reported by our teachers show a great change in the children who attend these classes, both in improving their learning skills and in their self-esteem.
A challenge that is not unique to this community is to motivate them to read content books, even light comics, so that they do not limit their reading to brief digital messages. They motivate them to read books, especially on paper, but also in digital media, seeking to make this a habit.
CHALLENGES FOR THE NEAR FUTURE IN OUR FOUNDATION, AT DON DIEGO.
A. Attract more children and youth to attend. Our classes at the Don Diego Educational Center are complementary to school classes; they are not mandatory.
B. Increase the number of reading promoters, in a continuous and structured program.
C. Support and train teachers from official schools.
D. Structure our programs to improve understanding, with specific and measurable goals that can be replicated in thepublic school.
E. Improve the book lending program, and bring them closer to schools and neighboring villages, with a future mobile library.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
