Before I came back to school, I would put myself up on that high pedestal as a good reader. Now, I realize I belonged on one of the bottom rungs. My reading style consisted of skimming and skipping along to the "good parts." I missed the nuances, word play, and even flaws the authors left scattered throughout their novels. I read articles missing the bias and the statistics without meaning. Through life experience and classroom work, I now peer, ponder, and peruse the text, subtext, inferences, metaphors, allusions, on and on of even a shampoo bottle or a magazine advertisement. I am a "decent reader" in my current state progressing towards "good" and hoping for "great." As a boy, I read all the science fiction I could find such as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Arthur C. Clarke. I rarely leapt out of the Scifi realm except for the occasional classic such as To Kill A Mockingbird or Dante's Inferno. I also read encyclopedias. No internet existed for me until after high school so I devoured all could of my family's Encyclopedia Britanica. My mother even relates stories of me passing up playing with friends to finish an exciting part of "L." As I grew into a teenager, I started to read other books that challenged me in one or another such as Mein Kampf or the philosophies of Nietzsche. Information and fictional adventure became as sweet as honey and as essential as water. My parents always pushed me towards finding my own answers mainly I think because they became tired of all my questions and so established my voracious appetite. Even those who would thwart my reading like the local librarian who told me I was too young at 10 years old to read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy inspired my reading (I read all four books in the span of four weeks and then slammed all four books on her desk BEFORE the due date). Not really a short answer. I think that comes from reading too much Tolkien.
Now I arrive at the hard part. How do I foster the climate of reading enjoyment in my classroom? I never really had to try so I have to understand students that hate reading. I think I must first find the passion of each student. What drives and motivates them? I can look at incorporate texts that tap into that passion. I also must bring books to life. If I am ready to make a fool out of myself to dramatize and inject a novel, article, informational text, poem, etc. with passion and vigor then I succeed. No lesson plans especially in English can be "throwaways," so there must always exist reading whether it be a novel passage, a quote, another peer's work, interpretations of digital media, graphic novels, the list continues forever. I must look for that specific type of text that speaks to that student and show anyone can be a reader. Maybe the text might be the lastest specs for the World of Warcraft expansion or a text discussing whether Lebron or Jordan are the greatest basketball players of all time. The text might laud the latest fashion trend or review different types of snowboards. Texts do not only exist in the classics. With the advent of the internet, each student has access to their passion and I must be a smart enough teacher to find out how to tap into that well.
Micah, I totally understand where you're coming from. I, too, loved (and still do) reading when I was in high school, so it's hard for me to think about working with students who don't like it as much. I think tailoring assignments to meet their individual needs and interests is a great idea. We need to get them hooked on something they like, and, once they're hooked, we can help them climb up that ladder you talked about. The hardest part is figuring out where each student is at and what he or she is interested in. Good work!
ReplyDeleteYou're on the right track as far as choosing texts that are about students' interests. Not to be a downer, but I think every person has his or her strengths, interests, and passions, and reading simply might not be one of them for many of our students. Try as we may to choose texts about video games, sports, or fashion, the digital age has encouraged young people to be satisfied with looking more than reading (looking at a photo could be considered reading in a broad definition).
ReplyDeleteI think we might have to settle for helping kids not hate reading. Many of your ideas will accomplish this. Just make sure you allow them to have choices, and that they can choose from a variety of topics that interest them. Even when we have to read one specific book that might not appeal to every student, make sure the assignments regarding that book are engaging and involve some level of choice.
Something that helped me be more interested in reading at school was the form of testing that occurred. I always loved to read, but as soon as I had to do an assignment related to the book or take a test that asked vague questions that could go one way or another and I still had it marked wrong it turned me off from reading for school. I had one teacher who took a different approach. All of her tests were done orally and it wasn't even like taking a test. Rather, she would ask some simple questions about the book to make sure you had read through the entire novel, then she would ask about elements of the book that were important to me. I no longer had to worry about finding the "right meaning" to the weather that the character was traveling through (I had a question about this on a test once).
ReplyDelete"You know you were born to be an English teacher when..." you read all of your family's Encylopedia Britannica as a kid. Now THAT is hard core.
ReplyDeleteI think this posting also brings out the importance of, not only hooking students on books, but on hooking them on series, authors, genres, or a particular periodical. If you can show students that they really love one book in a series, you have hooked them on the whole series.
As a fellow fantasy lover, I have to ask you: Have you read Game of Thrones? It's one of my favorites. If I remember from your previous postings, you're an Anglophile too, right? I am also reading Hilary Mantel's stuff right now (she is the first woman author to win two Booker Awards) and am enjoying those as well. Sadly, however, I think I'll have to pass on those Britannicas. :)