It is true that now is the age of technology. It is true that at this time information can be obtained very quickly. It is true that competition is very tight in this day and age. It is true that in this time the dynamics of the social, cultural and economic environment were changing very rapidly. And, it is really true that we are required to live smartly and creatively to through this new rev era.
Indonesia and other countries in the world are aware of those facts. Indonesia and other countries in the world have prepared themselves to face the realities and needs of Rev 4.0 era. For examples, our country has tried and improved national infrastructure development, empowered micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), built the ability of national industries, reduced imports of raw materials and components and spurred our natural resources to be of high added value. But lad & gent, we are still weak in one important thing. That is reading habit.
Here Iam, I am going to talk about one of demanded moral for Indonesia this 4.0 revolution.
Have you ever tried to link reading habit and revolution 4.0? Maybe not, but I did.
An experned name Elizabeth B. Hurlock says that moral is such habbit and rules that is a custom in our life . That’s why I says that reading habbit is such moral.
Reading habit, hmm that is a very common term in our life. Right, very common term. People say read a lot to get more knowledge. People say reading is the whole world. People say the more you read the more you know. Unfortunately, for some People in my country those are just small talks that less action. That is so sad situation.
How can the role reading habbit improve our human resource ?
I will show you my two opinions that describe the role of reading habit to improve our nation human resource.
My first opinion is that “The increased countries prosperity and reading habits are two things that cannot be separated”. In other words I say “In this 4.0 rev era, reading habit must be improved if we dare to dream to reach Indonesian Human Resource Improvement. Why do I say like that?
Perhaps some Indonesian says their hobby is reading. It happens in a country where reading levels are still lacking such as Indonesia. Then people may assume that the person has a positive hobby. He reads more often than the average person do.
While, If people in Indonesia have a higher interest in reading than today, thus it could be summarized that in the future no one will answer reading activity as a kind of hobby as reading will be a common activity done everywhere and by anyone at anytime.
Indeed, reading is very important. No wonder that in developed countries, people usually love to read. Even reading has become part of their lifestyle and culture. So, once again I state that to improve Indonesian Human Resource we have to have Reading habit because the increased countries prosperity and reading habits are two inseparable things.
Indonesia’s reading culture has been a debatable topic. The debate revolves around whether Indonesia has a low rate of reading culture. According to NOP World Culture Score (2005), Indonesia scores higher in time spent for reading compared to innovative countries such as US and Japan. However, TheWorld’s Most Literate Nations (2016) by J.W. Miller puts Indonesia in number 60 out of 61 countries in terms of literacy. So terrible.
Let’s see how the Japanese built their nation by reading. This sakura country rose from adversity starting with familiarizing the culture of reading to the entire community. The first step taken by the Japanese is to eradicate illiteracy to develop its human resources. Then discipline that culture to the people early on.
Apart from Japan, the country that has a high reading culture is Finland. According to John W. Miller the country located in Northern Europe is known for being the most literate country in the literacy field worldwide. Steps taken by this country to increase interest in reading include the provision of maternity package (child development packages) provided by the government to parents who have new children by providing some baby equipment that is inserted with reading books for parents and for their babies. A culture of reading there that has been passed down through generations is done by requiring their children to read one book per week makes Finland the number one education country in the world and the great quality of its human resources.
Despite the fact that reading interest in Indonesia is still very low, it does not have to weaken or break our spirits. Complaining and cursing is not the solution. It is precisely this critical condition that we must make it as a trigger to change the situation for the better. And it must start from each of us. Let’s build a nation with a culture of reading and make reading, especially reading books, as part of our daily life habits because reading brings many positive impacts
By reading not only the knowledge we receive but also being able to build character. And this is my second argument.
This is the basis of why humans really need books. It forms the human mindset. It’s not easy to change people’s thought with physical efforts. People have to change on their own by changing their mindset. This is where reading plays a role.
Books are like a strong doctrine that would drive people to change. Our brains are influenced by books. Human brains are structured based on books, arranged by certain methodology. So, if people read more, then human brain will be structured either in deductive-to-inductive or inductive-to-deductive manner. Then, as a result, having a broad-minded society increases human resource.
As the conclusion, the younger generation is an asset that will become a leader in the future. The quality of the young generation is largely determined by the competence and social relations with each other. One of the ways to improve competence is to get complete and correct information.
By : Aninda Kusuma Aulia
