Rhonda Cranford September Blog # 2 The Pleasure Principle

The article “The Pleasure Principle” sums up why readers read.  When you read and you are completely absorbed in your book then you are in the zone.  Reading lets you escape from the real world of do this, do that, go here, go there, what’s for dinner, where are my shoes, to a place of…..well that depends on what you are reading but for a few minutes the reading zone is not where you are physically at that moment.  I learned as a college student the pleasure of reading.  Now as an adult I often have to force myself to put down the book, to leave the zone, and to return to the real world because of responsibilities and life.  I want my students to love reading, to see that through books there are many adventures waiting on them.  I want my students to experience all that books have to offer.  

I agree with Atwell, “A child sitting in a quiet room with a good book isn’t flashy, or a marketable, teaching method.”  But it is the start of a lifelong love.  Children who have the opportunity to read what they want to read will become better readers.  It was not until later in life I really realized that I had the freedom to read any book of my choice, to read the last page first if I wanted, to only read the first few pages then to opt for another book.  I really like The Reader’s Bill of Rights.  A reader has the right to skip pages, to reread, to browse, to read anything, to escapism, to read anywhere (this includes the bathroom), to read out loud, to not defend your tastes.  I would add to this list of rights the right to not finish a book.  Children need to know that yes sometimes we are expected to read certain things for a certain purpose such as this article for my class.  I had a choice about which article but I was required to read and blog on it.   But they also need to know that the best part of reading is to read for pleasure.  I want the majority of the reading in my classroom to be pleasurable.  I want my students to look forward to reading.  I have one child who really stands out this year and think he has discovered the reading zone.  I often have to tell him now it is time to do something other than read.  This is not want he wants to hear but it is a fact that we all must face.  There is a time for all things including reading.