I do think of myself as a good reader, speed isn't everything but I can read quickly and have good comprehension of it. I know that is an area I would like to improve in is my actual comprehension. I have always enjoyed reading so a question I have is. Do you have to like reading to consider yourself a "good reader"? I am a huge fan of Gary Larsen's Far Side Collection, Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, Charles Schultz's Peanuts comic strips. I still search out the comics in every paper that I get the chance to read. Online texts are world news and current events with a special interest in politics. Historical fiction books are hit and miss whether I like them or not. Lord of the Rings is as far as I got into the fantasy genre and Harry Potter has been something I have liked since page 1 I do not know the reason for these days but once a year in elementary school we would bring books of our choice and read the entire day. Those were my favorite in-school reading experiences because it broke the routine of school. I decided what i wanted to do that day based on the books that I would bring. I never enjoy reading for college classes for a number of reasons. 1) textbooks are not meant to be enjoyed, but learned from (personal opinion). 2) My history classes required from 20 to 100 pages read per week, per class which is something I never accomplished. Its having to rush to get done feeling i don't like when reading a book. Reading was something I just did on my own I do not remember being encouraged or discouraged from it by any group. Something I hope to do again outside of college when I graduate is read for my enjoyment about whatever subject interests me.
I think the greatest way that I can foster reading from my students is to have a library in class that students can come in during lunch and read. Maybe I can have a high school class that is supplemented with other books and format it like a college class where lectures and papers are due about those books. I think a key step about anyone gaining a perception about how they are as readers would be to point out how much they actually do it. Ask questions like do you read the paper? Tweets? any articles about anything online? Once a student realizes how much they read ask this open ended question. Of everything you read what do you enjoy? Then get them to read more of that particular text. I have learned this in my education classes about education, as a teacher you lead them in a direction, give support and then what your students do is up to them.
I really appreciate your expansive definition of texts here....you include everything from comments to historical fiction. I also liked your point that too much reading can be overkill. I recently watched a documentary called "Race to Nowhere" about how students are getting anxiety because they are assigned too much homework, and actually there is a lot of research that suggests that "more homework does not equal more learning." Instead, the key is choosing each reading assignment carefully. So you can assign your students 20 pages per week, but they may get more out of it than if you assigned them 100 pages of a text that was not as informative or relevant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a thoughtful posting!