Response to Readicide: What is the message? What is your reaction? What are your connections to school experiences? What are ways you now understand will help students read more effectively in your discipline?
When I read the first chapter of Readicide I think that it depressed me more than anything. I agree wholeheartedly with what the author is saying and I don't see any way that this trend is going to change. I think that with every age group there are now less and less readers. While this can be attributed to the parents, laziness of the child, and other more entertaining media outlets, it is obvious that there is a problem in our schools. Schools should be a place that encourage reading any way that they can but they have gotten away from this with every new year and new policy change. The authors message of the dangers of teaching to the test is an important one and I think that all new teachers should listen to it.
I think that we as teachers all saw a little of this phenomenon in our student teaching. Trying to get the students to read is akin to pulling teeth and what they do read they often do not comprehend. I believe that the fostering of enjoying reading has to be instilled at a very young age and continued through out a student's development. However, the educational system seems more interested in statistics than it does the well being of the students that it educates. The test score is more important than the content that went into it and reading gets pushed to the side. I think that one of the best ways to get students to read is to give them choices in the decision. Arbitrarily assigning one text to the whole class never seems to go off smoothly and I believe that if we just gave the kids a chance to choose for themselves they would be more interested in reading. they may only have two or three choices to pick from but at least they have a hand in picking what they want to do. the choices can be educational and on the topic of what we are teaching.
You know that I agree with where you are going with your thinking, Geoff. Choice is so important. When you can get kids passionate about a subject, they want to read. A friend told me about her daughter who was truly a struggling reader. She then found out about Percy Jackson series, and devoured every book. She soared and is not reading above grade level. Kids can accomplish miraculous result when they are inspired and motivated. BTW, Gary Paulsen once commented that reader should "read like a wolf eats."
ReplyDeleteChoice is the lifeblood of liberty, my friend. When students believe they have freedom of decision in the classroom, there is a better chance of assimilation; revolt and protest will be limited.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who got his students to read 500 pages over the course of a semester (or some amount of time), but it could be a combination of their choosing. For example, they could read 4 pages from Sports Illustrated, 2 pages from a textbook, 100 from a novel, and so on... there was no limit to their choice, as long as they were engaged in some form of written word! I thought that was a great idea!
ReplyDelete