I stumbled upon this comic strip not too long ago, and it really conceptualized some of my past experiences with certain books, especially the kind that you can't put down. I call it the "I'll just read one more chapter and three hours later I'm still reading" phenomenon. Unshelved does a much better job of describing the experience. As English teachers, I'm sure we all have positive relationships with books, so we get it, especially if we have chosen our own reading material. I just wonder how many students "get it." I mean, how deprived are those who have never had the experience of getting lost in a book?
Of course, I am a realist. Not everyone is going to like to read. But something tells me these self-proclaimed book loathers have not always been so disgusted at the written word. Somewhere between early childhood and adulthood the reading experience loses its appeal.
I subbed for KG and the lower elementary grades last fall, and let me tell you, those kiddos are true readers. And authors. And storytellers. And professional liars. Perhaps the lying and storytelling are intricately connected. Anyway....
While subbing for a teacher I borrowed a book to read during prep period entitled Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher. I subbed for the teacher for three days, so I only had the opportunity to read the first half of the text, which was about the the problem (i.e., readicide). I didn't make it to the solution (I've found that problems are much easier to diagnose than they are to "fix" in the teaching profession).
Gallagher explains that many reading experiences, even in the early elementary grades, are test prep related, which contributes to readicide. He also suggests that many teachers over teach novels, which sucks the fun out of reading and leads to readicide. I hope I am not guilty of this nasty offense. I must finish reading the text to find out.
Any general thoughts? Amazing recent reading experiences? Etc. etc.?
I will definitely be checking this book out! I agree that getting lost in a book is an unbeatable experience (even when the book isn't that great). I have mixed feelings on overteaching reading. Sometimes, teaching a book at all is overteaching to students. There are numerous examples of writers who hated English classes because they didn't want to be told what to read. When I get complaints about overteaching before the book even begins, I emphasize the idea that most of my teaching of the book revolves around a community concept of the novel that we will develop as a class. This wins some of them over, and the others tend to have no idea what I'm talking about and assume I'm crazy for the rest of the semester. I appreciate both conclusions.
ReplyDeleteHigh school can definitely kill a student's love for reading. I think it's because in grade school kids read what they find to be fun and entertaining and are rarely forced to read things like Dickens and The Scarlet letter, which are not only excruciatingly boring to most students, but a lot of times above their reading level, sometimes due to the antiquated language alone.
ReplyDeleteBut, what's the answer to this? Completely disregarding the canon because we don't want to bore students? This seems hasty, as students should be exposed to great literature. Plus, there will be some students who do live Dickens and Hawthorne, so to deny them the exposure of texts like those isn't right, either. Like everything else, I think the best solution is something in the middle.
As to kids losing their love of reading in high school, I think it can be because they only read what's assigned and a book they just choose at random for their self-picked book. I discovered my love of reading in Jr. High when I could choose any book I wanted as my book, unlike grade school where I had to choose from the stupid little shelf stocked with The Boxcar Children. Luckily, when in Jr. High, I chose books I enjoyed reading, and I think this is a big problem for a lot of high school students. I think teachers need to help them choose books that they might like, not just grab one from the teacher's book shelf.
When I taught literature for my student teaching, it was mostly discussion based and relaxed. If they hated the story and wanted to bitch about it, I let them--it actually led to some good discussions. I tried to keep quizzes to a minimum. It seemed to work okay, though it's not as if I have enough experience to make many comparisons.
As to my own reading experience, the last book I read and loved was Moby Dick.