Over the years I have learned to come to enjoy reading more than I used to. When I was younger and in school I never enjoyed reading because I felt that it was forced upon me. I can remember especially in high school I never wanted to read because I was told I had to. Even if I did like the material I was never fully involved in it or engaged enough and always wanted to just finish the book to get it over with. I realize now that this was immature of me to act in this way as I was only hurting myself by not reading the material.
It is normal to not love everything you read in school, especially in older years like high school and college when a lot of it is based on text books and lengthy articles. I still find some books that I have to read now for school may not be exactly what interests me, but since I am older now I can appreciate reading more as I like to learn new things and want to further my education.
I enjoy reading biographies about others lives and find it more captivating when a book is a true story or based on a true story. Reading is something that is so important from the time you are young and all through your life. I think it is necessary to get children today to really appreciate reading and get them to realize that it is a skill they will need and should value for the rest of their lives. Instead of constantly reinforcing that you have to read this book, as a teacher I want to get my students to want to read the book and be able to discuss it with me. I really like the idea of casual book talk as we use in our Perspectives class as it seems to stem a lot of different points from people and gets a great discussion going among the class.
1 comment:
I completely agree with you. I felt the same way during my school years. I did not like having to read certain books because I did feel like they were forced on me. I wouldn't even admit that I liked the book, even if I really did. However, I do think reading is very important to younger children. It can help their vocabulary and imaginations. I am going to try and somehow get my students to enjoy reading. Even if that means letting them pick books that they find of interest to them, I think this will feel less forced upon them and they might feel like they have more freedom. I also agree, I enjoy the book discussions that we have in class. It gives everyone an opportunity to talk and listen to each other's opinions.
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