Well, I’m a fan of honesty so I’ll put this out there: chapter three involved a lot of skimming on my part. Gallagher showed his true colors as an English teacher! While I see where he’s coming from, and agree with him for the most part; the day I teach a novel for any type of literary knowledge will likely be the day I croak. In fact, if I ever assign a novel it will be just to read, maybe give me a summary to let me know you read it, but that’s it.
In the beginning of Chapter three, Gallagher talks about a reading flow – being so lost in a book that the reader is oblivious to the world around him or her. I can say, without a doubt, I have not experienced this in at least 15 years, if ever. (15 years ago, I was 7) In fact the closest thing I’ve been to ‘lost in a book’ is ‘lost about the book’, i.e. having no idea what’s happening even though I’m reading the book. I must admit, I became slightly envious of Gallagher’s ability to talk about how wonderful it is to read. As the chapter continued, Gallagher enlightened me to the culprit of my hatred of reading: AR. I started Accelerated Reader books when I was somewhere around third or fourth grade, and that was likely the last time I enjoyed what I was reading. By middle school, we would gather in the library in groups of students who had read different books and help each other through the tests enough to get credit for the AR requirements in Language Arts class. Since then, I have become a master of gaining an idea of the text from sparknotes, and discerning the difference in a summary and a review. I read a young adult novel this past summer as part of my master’s course, and I’m pretty sure it’s the first book I’ve finished in at least six years (yes, that includes all of undergrad and half of high school). I understand I may be an extreme case, but I am not the only case. While I don’t think there’s a lot of hope for me, I see the value of enjoying to read. With this, I think it’s more important for me to do my best to prevent readicide with my students. Though it may seem hypocritical, I think it will be very important for me to encourage my students to pleasure read, or at the very least, not discourage them!
I really appreciate your honesty, Meredith. So, what I might suggest is trying some high interest teen popular books and sharing them with your students - along the lines of Gallagher's 50-50. So try one of the recent Newbery winner, for example, this year's Newbery - When You Reach Me, which is about time travel, or last year's, The Graveyard Book, that had me by the first paragraph. Try it - you might like it ;-)
ReplyDeleteI will say, as if you dont already know, that even though you are a fan of honesty, it may be unwise to share your hatred of reading with your students. If you portray reading as a hobby that scientists and mathmatical people do not engage in the students may never try it, because they like to identify with people that are like them. It is likely they wont like it anyway, because my husband (who teaches math) always says the same thing you do and I told him if he ever says that crap around my kids I would kill him!! lol. My kids love to read and Jay loves to read to them now. I say it is because Jay can actually understand the books written on a Pre-K level! Anyways, just food for thought.
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