Reading

Today I wanted to
blog on a topic that I am passionate about: reading. I don’t know when I became
passionate about this subject but I think it may have been 1995 when I
travelled the world for the year and had plenty of time to read. I had always
read and would become engrossed in books but I probably spent more time reading
sports and music magazines and newspapers (which I still do). Now days I cannot
sit anywhere (in front of the television, on a plane, train, bus or lie in bed
for that matter) without some form of reading material in my hands.
Reading takes us
places. I remember being captivated in the early 1990’s by reading National
Geographic magazines of these amazing places in the world. I am very fortunate
enough to have visited some of these locations such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia,
the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, the Ring of Kerry in Ireland and Table
Mountain in Cape Town to name a few. If it wasn’t for reading I would not have
discovered these places.
Reading extends our
minds, our vocabulary and our outlook on life. I am very strict on reading in
the classroom to put it mildly. I make all of my students read a novel every
two weeks. I have to approve the novel at the start to ensure that it is
appropriate, not too easy and not too hard. At the end of the two weeks all the
class sits down and each individual stands in front of the group to present an
oral book report. They give us a brief summary and then importantly tell us
their opinions. After this their classmates ask questions about the book. One
of the reasons we do this is to ensure the student has read the book. If they
have not completed their novel there is no way they will be able to do their
report. Occasionally some will try to bluff their way through but their
classmates like catching them out. I tell my students that if they do not read “Would
you like fries with that?” will become a line they had better get used to. A colleague
once suggested I may have been a little heavy handed when I wanted to write on
a student’s report ‘Not reading will condemn (student’s name) to academic
failure’. I didn’t end up putting it on the report.
I know parents like
this task. They like making the students accountable. If a student has not
completed their book they miss 4 weeks of Friday free time. They hate this. I
want students to eventually read for enjoyment but for some the whip has to be
cracked to get them reading in the first place.
There has always been
a myth (I Believe) about boys and reading. I taught at all boys schools for
seven years and I generally had classes of enthusiastic and eager readers. I
used the same strategies as I currently do but I was thrilled with the way my
boys read. Get them enthused, find books on topics they will enjoy and you will
captivate them. A huge thank you to the Australian author John Marsden for
creating the Tomorrow When the War Began series of books. I first discovered
them in 1999 and was hooked straight away and I loved sharing them with my students
many of whom went on to read all ten books in the series. One of the reasons I
loved these books was that the truly heroic characters in them were female and
this was important for young men to see.
I still say that the
three best books I have ever read I did at school: To Kill a Mockingbird, The
Outsiders and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A adore all three books and
find myself still reading them every few years or so, recommending them often
to my students and still being able to quote the last few lines of both The
Outsiders and Huck Finn.
Anyhow I hope this
entry has truly shown my passion about reading. As I say to my students….read,
read, read and when you think you have read enough…read some more.
Happy reading!