Day 20: Rambling about Reading

    So today I wanted to begin by discussing what World-renowned author and teacher Kelly Gallagher has referred to as readicide. Mr.Ghallagher’s 150-page book and years of research proves that our young people are simply not reading and that while poverty, English as a second language and electronic entertainment have played a role in this decline, it can also be tracked down to how schools are disregarding the pleasure of reading for the almighty test.

   As a newly appointed special education English teacher, I look around my classroom at the peeling book shelves, filled with the oddest assortment of books imaginable and can’t help but notice that not a single one of my students even glances their way. And I have to ask myself why that is?

   So the shelves are filled with books two and five of a series or yes we have four copies of animal farm and maybe that one book covered in dust is stuck shut with bubble gum, but they are still worth reading right?

   The sad fact is reading is hard and students are looking for something to capture their attention and hold it without all that messy work, similarly to how video games and television shows sooth the mind after a long day at the office. They want something authentic and real to them and simply have not been taught or have had the opportunities to truly engage in reading. And who can blame them, when administration and parents are pressuring schools to prepare their children for placement tests such as SATS, NWEAS and other standardized tests that tell very little about a student’s knowledge or skills. Reading just isn’t a priority.

   For those few teachers that are able to squeeze a book into their daily agendas – they are forced to have students annotate with sticky notes, doodles highlights and a host of other markings as evidence that their students are not wasting their time by sitting and reading. And while this activates are beneficial to devilling deeper into a text for the struggling reader it creates a more unappealing and daunting task.

     So what do we do?

     We as teachers do what we always do and we adjust. Make reading a priority in your classroom. Create blogs and other assignments that engage young readers with things they love, bring back SSR and free choice reading and most importantly teach students about the world around them. Bring in newspapers and magazines, teach them to be critical and knowledgeable members of society and do not accept that there is no budget for high interest’s books for your classroom. Talk to the principal, superintendent school board and community and find ways to get books in your students’ hands and do not for a second think there is less value in books like harry potter or Michael Vey.

Let’s do our best as educators and readers to help our students find a joy in reading.