The School Council came with a problem that the younger children were creating a lot of indiscipline especially in between classes. Students were found moving out of their classes, running in the corridors, quarrelling with each other, hurting themselves and their friends.

The School Council was asked to give suggestions regarding how the problem could be solved. After a lot of brainstorming, they suggested solving the problem in a constructive manner by adding a fun element for the little ones.

The ideas that came during the discussions were:1.Quizzes2.Poem Recitation3.Games4.Book Reading

However, the idea that aroused interest among all the children was the idea of Book Reading.

The Council suggested having a small library in the class itself which would borrow its books from the main school library. These books could be of any type from story books to puzzle books to books on games which are of interest to these children.

This would enable the students to enhance their vocabulary and would prevent them from getting involved in indiscipline and to top it all, it would inculcate reading habits.

The task began with the finding of appropriate books from the library, and sorting them according to classes.

One major task left was approval of the idea from the management.

When the idea was shared with the teachers, they were more than overjoyed, simply because they realized that their children had understood the real meaning of education.

“Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action; it is about creating learning processes.”

- Peter Senge

There was still one major hurdle. Students, generally, do not read. How should you make even the naughtiest child in the class to sit and read and that too when no teacher was in the class?

The council then formulated the following strategy:1.The activity should be initially introduced only for classes I to V2.For each classroom, the council designated one appointee and he/she was instructed to reach the classroom immediately after the bell for the period to get over, rings.3.The teacher in the class, before leaving, would instruct the students to take out their story books and would announce that the reading time has started.4.When the teacher for the next class would enter, she would ask the students to close their story books and keep them aside until the next period starts.

The activity started with extensive promotional campaigns by announcing in each class room.The class teachers were given story books from the library for their class.Students were informed about the activity every day after the morning prayer and in the junior assembly conducted weekly.

In the end, one major decision was taken. Each day the best readers would be appreciated with toffees and chocolates. The best reader for the week will be given a STAR BADGE.

Good readers were given Extra Reading Material in the form of new story books from the library.

With the launch of the campaign on the scheduled date, the results were not encouraging initially. The students were exited but not really reading.

However, by the second day, there was lot of change observed. Students now really wanted to read. They used to call the student representative in the class for any help and for any word they were not able to understand.

The campaign gained momentum eventually and started showing its impact.

Now, the school corridors were void of students running here and there or fighting with each other. Classes were now more disciplined.

“How awesome it is to enter a class where children are engrossed in reading a book of their choice. I loved the idea and the students were benefitted by it.”

Ms. Ritu Choudhary(Class Teacher – II-C)

“The Reading Campaign, an effort to make “books the best friends” was an extremely fruitful effort. The little ones buried deep into books, were a sight to cherish. They fell in love with their new worlds and the effort got paid. I am sure that they will keep this newly found hobby for their lives.”

Ms. Geeta Choudhary(Coordinator)

“To bring about change democratically by the involvement of students & staff together was indeed an inspiring experience. I learnt that students often have better ideas than ours!! It is important for us to involve them in decisions effecting their lives.”

Ms. Jyoti Mehrotra (Sr. Vice Principal)

“Inculcating the reading habit and the value of discipline through the introduction of story time in between periods was indeed a wonderful idea. The involvement of the student council reinforced their leadership qualities and showed them how small changes could make big differences. The idea of Design for Change needs to be implemented in a small way by every school in our country. A wonderful experience!!

Ms. Indu Tickoo(Principal)