“My Arabic Library” Inspires Young Readers

Over the past two years, one MEPI-funded project has had children literally turning pages in pursuit of more independent reading, critical thinking, and anyltical skills – and best of all, they’re having fun doing it, which only increases their likelihood to learn.

In partnership with Scholastic, Inc., the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, My Arabic Library has provided more than 7 million books to 12,000 classroom in over 6,000 schools across the Middle East and North Africa.

Countries involved so far in this successful MEPI program include Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco, with plans to expand next into Libya.  Last month, an article in the International Herald Tribune (IHT) featured the program in Jordan, where more than 2 million books are being used in all of the country’s 2,300 public schools.

“My Arabic Library integrates well with our educational curriculum and the other material in our libraries,” said Suhair al-Jrrah, a principal at one of the Jordanian schools using the program, in the IHT article.

Intended for grades 1 through 6, My Arabic Library includes 210 high-quality American children’s books, such as classic novels and science material, translated into Arabic.  Scholastic, Inc. consults with teachers and other education officials in each country to select the titles, making changes to the texts, as necessary, to adapt to cultural differences.

To maximize the effectiveness of My Arabic Library, the program starts with training courses, so that teachers learn how to incorporate the books into their classrooms.  The instructors learn the value of building independent reading time into the school day, promoting interactive learning, and encouraging children to think in new ways.

By the end of 2007, more than 40,000 teachers and school administrators will have been trained throughout the region.  In Jordan alone, nearly 6,000 teachers and 870 school principals have already been trained on the uses and benfits of My Arabic Library.

“When the teachers discovered there were no hidden agendas in the books,” Fatenah Amawi, Jordan’s representative for Scholastic, Inc. told IHT, “they’ve been very keen to use the books and to encourage the children to read them.”

The students also have the freedom to check out the books for use at home, enabling their family members to share in the learning experience, while opening ever wider windows of reading and knowledge.