Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Background
Fairytales are more than true not because they tell us that dragons exist,
but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.1
The value of reading fiction is well-established. Studies have shown that
reading fiction stimulates the brain and affects how we live our lives as it has
been known to teach people to empathize, and to learn tolerance towards
different groups of people.2 Fiction also teaches children to imagine not just
unrealistic stories of dragons and fairies, but also of alternative lives and
future lives that they could aspire to.
Unfortunately, not all children have access to fiction books. Ordinarily,
funding for books, if any at all is available, goes to reference books and
textbooks. Donations of books usually comprise of storybooks for children,
and would rarely sufficiently represent other genres of fiction. In the
Philippines, children do not have access to public libraries where they can find
fiction books, much less develop and nurture interest in them.
Thus, this project is envisioned in order to give certain groups of marginalized
children access to fiction and enable them to imagine a better.
II.
Objectives
1 Paraphrased by Neil Gaiman from G.K. Chesterton : Fairy tales, then, are not
responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do
not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already,
because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of
bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of
bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination.
What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon. Exactly what
the fairy tale does is this: it accustoms him for a series of clear pictures to the idea
that these limitless terrors had a limit, that these shapeless enemies have enemies
in the knights of God, that there is something in the universe more mystical than
darkness, and stronger than strong fear.
2 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-yourbrain-on-fiction.html?pagewanted=all
III.
Project Details
a. Library Books
1. Selection Books shall be curated based on suggestions of
writers, teachers and other professionals. The following
considerations shall be taken in selecting the books:
2. Acquisition
2. Institutional Support
c. Reading Lessons
1. Frequency Reading lessons shall be conducted once a month,
for the different age groups (i.e., toddler and young adult).
2. Assignments Only optional writing assignments shall be given.
3. Volunteers Reading lessons shall be conducted by trained
volunteers. An allowance for transportation and materials shall be
made available upon request by the volunteers.
d. Read-Along Sessions
1. Frequency Read-Along sessions shall be conducted once a
month for the different age groups.
2. Readers Readers shall represent artists and other professionals
who can inspire children to read.
3. Book Books to be used for read-along sessions may be selected
from the library or may be donated by the reader.
e. Training
1. Training for volunteers - A training session shall be conducted to
train volunteers without any teaching background on how to
conduct the reading lessons. The training shall include a module
on how to prepare a lesson plan.
2. Training for members of the community older members of the
community shall also be trained on how to conduct reading
lessons in order to sustain the project beyond the project
duration.
f. Social Media
1. Donations
2. Calendar
3. Project replication
g. Time-Line
1. Project Duration 6 months from the launch of the library.
2. Timeline