Passengers Impressed By Innova Primary Students Reading On The Bus
Since most students nowadays have been raised in the age of social media, the majority would often be using their mobile devices, including on commutes. Seeing people reading a book instead is rare, which was probably why a commuter, Mr Asraf Asuir, was surprised to see Innova Primary School students doing just that.
The pleasant sight was apparently so overwhelming that Mr Asraf couldn’t believe his eyes.
Primary school students read books quietly on the bus
Speaking MS News, Mr Asraf said that this incident happened on Thursday (15 Jul), on the upper deck of SMRT bus 900 heading towards Woodlands bus interchange.
He initially thought the upper deck was empty as there was hardly any sound while he was making his way up. However, he was surprised by what he saw.
The upper deck was filled with several Innova Primary School students who were spotted sitting together. Since it was around 1.40pm, they were likely on their way home from school.
Quietly reading on the bus
Instead of chatting or using their phones as most youths do, they were all quietly reading.
In fact, Mr Asraf even saw one of the girls changing to another book to read. The students on board were reading throughout their entire journey till the bus reached the interchange.
Pleasantly surprised by what he saw, Mr Asraf decided to capture the scene and share it on Facebook. His post went viral, garnering over 2,000 shares at the time of writing.
He noted that the “amazing” and “rare” sight of the kids without their phones and iPad blew another passenger away too, as he spotted her sneaking in a snapshot. He also praised the students for their long attention span.
Brought back memories
Mr Asraf told MS News that this scene brought him back to his memories as a student where everyone had to read during morning assembly.
Being a playful student in the past, he expected school kids to be similarly boisterous on bus rides and outside of school.
According to Mr Asraf, school children generally irritated him because of how loud and mindless they could be. However, these Innova Primary School students proved him wrong and even inspired him to start reading again.
Netizens marvel at rare sight
However, not all netizens reacted the same way, as some pointed out that they were just reading comic books and not purely text.
But perhaps the very act of reading a physical book itself is what caught most netizens’ attention as many didn’t hesitate to share the post.
Others mentioned that their motion sickness prevented them from reading while commuting. The commuter also agreed so himself.
One netizen went so far as to find a reason why the children may be reading their books so diligently.
They mentioned that the students could be participating into Singapore’s National Library Board’s charity drive called Read for Books. Whenever 10 people read for 15 minutes, a book would be donated to selected beneficiaries.
This movement is to help the less privileged and share the joy of reading with them.
Spreading positivity around
Mr Asraf never expected this simple picture to become viral.
He said, “There are a lot of good people, good kids, good schools, kindness, and positivity that deserve more sharing on the Internet.”
Since there is always negative news around, Mr Asraf is just happy to share something positive for a change.
“I hope people look out for more positive stuff and share them because I believe there are a lot more kids like them elsewhere. We have just yet to recognise them,” he remarked.
Important to cultivate children’s love for reading
Whatever may have motivated the students to read, the fact that they were sitting quietly and were so focused during their entire bus ride is still rather impressive.
They even inspired Mr Asraf who praised their parents and teachers for cultivating a good reading habit.
Let’s hope that Singapore’s National Reading Movement would work for more children and adults, to cultivate their love for reading.
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Featured image adapted from Asraf Bull Terrier Asuir on Facebook and streetdirectory.com.
