First of all, thank you to Cathy Mere at
Reflect & Refine: Building a Learning Community for organizing and hosting this week's #cyberPD!
As I began rereading the first two chapters of Donalyn Miller's
Reading in the Wild, I found myself reflecting on my own reading journey and how that has evolved over the course of my life. As a young child I remember my mom taking my siblings and I to the library weekly so we could pick out our five books. What a challenge it was to select just five each week. I loved the feel of the books in my hands and sitting in my mom's lap listening to her read to me was a special time. My next memory is first grade. I don't remember ever being read to, but do remember the blue plaid phonics workbook. As I progressed through elementary school, I remember reading stories in basal readers, but don't remember one story I read or connected to. Often times I wouldn't read the selections and would read the questions in the accompany workbook, find the answers and move on. I also don't ever remember a teacher sharing their love of a book or reading. I was never taught in school that reading could be enjoyable, connecting and engaging. The message I received is that reading was a means to an end. I was a product of a school as Donalyn describes, "the practices of many school reading programs diminish and disregard the development of personal reading habits" (p. 3). Fortunately as an adult, I found a love for books and started living a "reading life". I can't imagine my life without books now!
As I write this, I'm inflight on my way home from a workshop. I'm reminded of something someone said at the workshop about parents expecting education and today's classroom to look like it did when they were in school. I think parents also expect reading to look the same. As a teacher I hope to engage students unlike I was in school as a reader. I often WONDER if we all cultivated an environment that values and embraces the development of reading habits, what kind of students and learners we could have? I think Donalyn's statement sums it up best, "I want my students to see reading as something they do-- not something remarkable or rare. I want them to read because they enjoy it and feel comfortable in their reading personalities" (p. 3).
Donalyn spends time describing and talking about how you know you are a reader living a "reading life", and so I'll leave you with a short story that I was reminded of when reflecting on how I know I live a "reading life." One day my daughter and I were in the car, at a red light and I pulled out my book. She said to me, "I bet lots of kids have to tell their parents not to text and drive, but not me! I have to tell my mom not to read and drive!"
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts about wild reading! My memories of school are much the same, and my wild reading kicked back in after about 5 years of teaching when I realized I needed to be reading more to share more! I, too, wonder if all teachers cultivated reading communities ... what a smart, empathetic, vocabulary-rich, deep conversation world we would live in! It's a mindset we have to pour into students and provide workshops for parents too. Parents are the first teachers ... if they are not setting an example of a reading life, we need to connect parents to the research. Lots to think about there.
And the story about your daughter ... That is an AWESOME example of a wild reader! Love it!
Thanks for jumping in the conversation!
Michelle