The article,
The Pleasure Principle, reminded me of the first two weeks that I was out of
college. I had spent thousands of
dollars being in school and being told what to read. I don’t know that I picked up a book to read
for pleasure. It was all what I had to
read to write an assignment or do for a class.
If I read anything other than that it was a quick magazine with a
picture or pop culture topic that caught my eye.
The first
two weeks out of school I read books by Torrey Hayden. I stayed in bed for days just reading. I was so enthralled with the stories. They made me laugh and cry. When I was finished, I felt complete joy and
excitement. I had enjoyed my reading zone. I had been in the book experiencing the
characters and the plots of the books. I
had again discovered the joy of reading that been lost by always having to read
assigned readings.
Reading is
not a job it is a means to understanding the world and how things work. The only way to become a better reader is to practice
reading. As teachers we know that all
children are different. They act
different, learn different, and enjoy different things. The only way to truly enjoy something is to
be hooked and to own it. The more time we
give children to read and invest in their reading and reading choices the
better readers we will see.
As teachers, we need to give students time to
read what they are totally invested in and if they can’t find it, we need to
continue to share and introduce them to different texts so they can discover
it. We all enjoy reading what we like
and it makes the process of reading so much more pleasurable. As teachers, we need to bring this in to our
classrooms. We need to give both assigned
and shared reading as well as time to read for pleasure. Allowing the pleasure principle into the
classroom will encourage readers to continue to read and become better at
understanding and comprehending what they read because they truly own and it
means something to them.
Through reading for pleasure they will find the intrinsic rewards of joy
and great connections to the world around them.
I liked how you shared your college reading experience and contrasted it with what you did following college - staying in bed for days reading! Because of your experiences, you can ensure your students get opportunities to get lost in their own reading.
ReplyDeleteHi Marsha,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your reading life with us and how much more you enjoyed the reading you chose to do for enjoyment than the reading that was assigned in college. I agree with what you shared in your post that our students need choice and need opportunities to enjoy their reading while also receiving support and targeted instruction through mini lessons and conferencing. Thank you for working to provide this for your students! Sincerely, Dawn