Library News
Pakenham Secondary College
The Benefits of Reading!
How can reading fiction help us develop empathy and perhaps be better people?
Have a look at what reading can do for you! Not only can reading help your student to learn, but it can also be good for their health and will help them develop qualities useful in real life.
Empathy is the ability to step into other people’s shoes, see what they see and feel what they feel. Understanding other people’s experiences and perspectives might be a good quality to have in a world where there appears to be much conflict and unkindness. The following is an extract from an article ‘Does reading fiction make us better people?’
Characters hook us into stories. Aristotle said that when we watch a tragedy two emotions predominate: pity (for the character) and fear (for yourself). Without necessarily even noticing, we imagine what it’s like to be them and compare their reactions to situations with how we responded in the past, or imagine we might in the future.
At our library we have some wonderful books for our students to read that will help them explore and understand other people’s worlds.
We can’t wait to share these stories with them in our upcoming exciting reading program!
Ms Gargano Teacher Librarian and Library Team
