A Controversial Approach to Reading Instruction

As a student, I always favored writing over reading.  The same applies as an adult.  Hence some of the spelling errors I find in my blog posts after I publish them.  I enjoy the writing process, not necessarily the re-reading process.  I envy the population of adults and children who can whip through 300 page books in a couple days, then pick up another, and fly right through it at the same speed as the prior.

And here's where the controversy begins.  I teach reading.

Don't get me wrong.  I agree there is absolutely nothing better than getting into a good book.  I get so into some books that it takes me several months to pick up a new one when I finish that good book.  That feeling of finishing a book is one that should be felt by every human being.  It's a sense of accomplishment, but more so, it's a time to engage into another world.  That relaxing escape is just what we need from time to time.

So as I sit in my living room preparing and planning for the upcoming school year, I have noticed something very interesting about my reading ability.  Something I have always known, but it became ever more prevalent lately.  I am a professional skim-reader.  I am not illiterate.  I know how to read, but I just cannot get through a reading that I have zero interest in.  As I prepare to teach stories that I am unfamiliar with, I feel a sense of discomfort.  I began to read a classic seventh grade short story when after a few sentences, I went straight to a Cliff Notes website.  Why should we force our students to read a "mandatory" reading just because every seventh grader in the world reads that story?  I read when I am interested in the content or when I am excited about the reading.  Shouldn't reading be the focus in an English classroom rather than specific readings?  I cannot get my students excited about a reading that I myself am not excited about.  However, I can get my students excited about the opportunity to engage in reading something of interest because that is how you develop students who love reading.

Here is my proposal:

• Teach the process of reading.
• However, if students would rather engage in a book mentally than put post it notes all over it, then let them.
• Do not put time lines on reading.
• Encourage sharing of good (and bad) readings.
• Do not force students to read something just because someone, somewhere, determined that is the reading all seventh grade students in the United States should read at that point in their life.
• Let students read any genre or format - magazines, recipes, websites, etc.
• Allow students to skim or "cheat" when necessary (Controversial? It's what a lot of adults do).
• Let students use their reading for a greater good.

Let me elaborate.  If a student has not learned the basic phonics skills to read, then that is one thing that requires skill building.  However, the majority of students I encounter in middle school know how to read, and they simply need to read more to advance as readers.  They end up hating reading because they are allotted no choice in the stories, books, magazines they read in school. Even worse, they are evaluated on their reading skills based on a few generic readings in a standardized test, that I as an adult can barely get through without snoring.  

I will admit, my proposal can become a management nightmare for a teacher, which is what scares me to completely switch to my own proposal.  However, I think it is worth the forfeit of control.  Reading and writing are extremely important skills that will never go away.  I sometimes take for granted my ability to read and write.  By teaching students to love reading, we will see students grow as readers and writers.  And when they do not necessarily love a particular reading that they may be required to read, teach the life skills to get the reading done, even if it means finding Internet resources to help them comprehend the reading.

Sure, this approach may ruffle some feathers as we tend to be bound by our curriculum resources.  I fully admit that I still teach the required readings because it is easy to manage, and because I have developed great resources for these readings.  However, I cannot and will not ignore the sight of my students grunting and groaning as I have them follow along with a required reading.  

Reading should not be "turn to page 72 and follow along".  Reading should not be "answer questions 1-5 after reading this story."  

Reading should spark curiosity.  Reading should be fun.  Reading should be a method to help us grow as humans.

If we as a community of adults take the time to reflect on our own reading practices, then we will begin to see our students as individual readers who all have unique reading habits.  We should encourage the act of reading in whatever way possible.