Chapter 3 brought up the fact that serious readers want to be at "the reading flow." Gallagher also mentions that this is where we should want all of our students to be, where they have to "come up for air." I guess a lot of my responses go against what Gallagher has to say because I am not someone who enjoys reading. I certainly understand where he is coming from because I would much rather my students be reading for enjoyment than doing what they are doing. I don't entirely agree though. I've never liked to read and my older sister was an avid reader. I remember her getting in trouble because she would sneak her novels into her school books and pretend that she was reading the school book, but actually she was reading her novels. I would say this is an example of what Gallagher was mentioning because she would get so involved in reading that she didn't care about anything else. The problem was that she was she forfeited a lot while she was probably also gaining a lot. I know I am contradicting myself here because now that we are older, I know reading didn't hurt her. She has a tremendous vocabulary and still enjoys reading and has probably learned a lot about different cultures, etc from the books she has read. I do think though that she probably missed out on learning as well. She didn't pay attention in school so her grades suffered, she never learned how to read academically. I also think she missed out on other experiences. While I was getting involved in other activities and more involved socially, I think she missed out on that. She was always curled up with a book and by her self.
Although I understand the importance of reading I guess I also see the other side. I can't buy into the whole reading flow thing because in my mind I think when students get caught in the "zone" they are missing out on other skills that they need in life as well. I think there really needs to be a happy medium.
The chapter goes on to talk about To Kill a Mockingbird and Hamlet and The Grapes of Wrath. Not the most interesting of books to read but I do like that Gallagher states that a teacher "must create reading situations in which our students discover the reading flow they need to achieve while reading both academic and recreations works, assigned and self-selected." This is great because students do need to learn how to read things they don't necessarily want to read because unfortunately life is full of that (high school, college, work, etc) but they also need to be allowed to read the things that interst them. I am in total agreement with the 50-50 approach, but it doesn't seem like very many teachers actually use this approach.
My feelings on this chapter are similar to yours, but I do love to read. I know all about the reading flow and love to curl up,(or stretch out in the sun) with a good book. I can get lost with the characters and think about them for days after I finish the book. That said, I completly understand that not everyone is going to get into books the way I do and I don't believe that we as teachers have failed the people who don't leave school loving to read. I have never really thought about the fact that some people might be missing out on life because of reading and maybe your sister doesn't feel like she missed anything. I would curious to know if she thinks she missed anything.
ReplyDeleteI am also like Lorie. I sometimes go into a zone when I get into a book. I am surprised by your sister. Usually, readers tend to be superior academically. It made me wonder about her social situation. Did she use the books to escape from social interactions or did reading just make her miss out on the interaction??
ReplyDeleteI sometimes feel sorry for people who do not like to read but on the other hand feel as though that is something people are hard wired to do in their brain. It would be interesting to see how many mathematically inclined people actually enjoy reading.
So, I sometimes wonder how preferences happen. Is it that we are "hardwired" or do we have early - and even later - experiences that often involved significant people in our lives that "rub off" on us. I can trace my love of reading - and my hesitation in math and science to experiences along the way.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those readers who also gets in the zone, just ask my 2 children when they are hungry and want something to eat (They're 14 and 16; old enough to fend for themselves). My students are that way too when they read something they want to read. I did have one student get in trouble in Math class for reading one of my books, at least he was reading (I did tell him to pay attention in math).
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