Real readers get this. We read for the escape. We read to get lost, and read to be found. We read to learn new things and discover what has not yet been considered. We read for hope, for love, for inspiration. We read to sustain our beliefs, to vanquish our doubts, to search for our dreams. We read because we need to believe in the impossible and know that there is wonder in the world.We understand at the deepest level the power of books. We have experienced the laughter, the tears, the enlightenment, the transformations, and are forever changed by the process.
For the last two decades, I have spent my time making sure that as I teach students the skills and strategies of reading, they leave my classroom knowing the elements that make the work of reading worth it. Which makes the following conversation even more difficult to share.
I sat across from my teenage son, watching him "get through" his weekly reading assignment. You know the one:
- Monday: Vocabulary Work
- Tuesday: Plot Structure- name the characters, setting, three events…
- Wednesday: Strategy Time – this week star -" Inferring"
- Thursday: 59 questions to answer
- Friday: Ahhh – "The extension activity" Here's where it gets really exciting – Create a new book cover? Make a poster of your favorite scene? Or, my all time favorite – the shoe box diaramma!
As we worked together on his packet- I saw the tole that every filled in blank, looked up definition, and answer given to someones else's question had taken on him. It was excruciating to watch. Reading was torture. He begged me to just help him "get it done." His words pierced me:
"Mom, I hate reading. I did not want to tell you that, 'cause I know that it's your job and reading is a big deal to you, but I really really hate it. I dream of the day when I will never have to do reading again. If I was on a desert island, I would rather die of starvation, than read a book. And, if you think I am weird or something, you gotta know, all my friends feel exactly the same way."
Son, unfortunately, I know.
Photo on Flickr by DoBSoN77
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