I love reading. I have loved reading ever since I was a little girl. Like many others, I was often caught in my bed under the covers with a flashlight, trying to read just one more chapter.
But when I reflect on where that love of reading developed, it was not in school. The love of reading came from my home. While I would never classify my parents as readers, they knew it was important to develop readers. My mother always took my sister and I to the library, ensuring access to books. It was from this exposure that I began my love affair with books.
In middle school, I remember being frustrated with language arts class. I was forced to read a book that the teacher chose and I was restricted to reading certain pages. I had to look up definitions for words, spend time answering questions about the book, and completing a whole bunch of work related to that one book. It killed me. I hated it! I would sit and wish that I could just open a book of my choice and read!!! As I went to high school, the same experiences happened to me. I actually lost the love of reading because I did not see enjoyment in it like I once did. In addition, my parents had split and their attention was diverted to other things besides giving me access to quality literature at the library. It was not until I was in college as an education major that I found books again. I started my rediscovery of loving to read for pleasure.
Fast forward to now. I have experienced the good, bad and ugly of reading instruction theory. I started teaching in schools that were using scripted programs for reading instruction. Everyone was teaching the same thing, at the same time, on the same day. Talk about one size fits all!
I decided that this did not align with my philosophy of teaching and applied for and accepted a job in a district that was using student-centered approach to teaching balanced literacy. As a result of being a part of this approach to teaching literacy, I developed into a teacher that loved to teach literacy. What I developed as a child, a love of reading, is what I was now able to provide for children that were in my classroom. It will be, and always will be, the number one goal I have for whatever decisions I make as a teacher, literacy coach, or professional in my field. It is to help children grow into lovers or reading and writing.
So that brings me back to the quote at the beginning of this post. Learning to read and write should be enjoyable. It starts with the humans we teach; not with the standards, not with the books, not with mandates that administrators like to give. It starts with the people for whom we teach. We can't forget that. As I begin my new adventure as a literacy coach, I will need to draw from that in everything I do. Because humans are what I teach, inspire, and believe in.
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| My daughter in bed falling asleep reading a book. I love how she has her arms wrapped around it-loving a book just like her mom! :-) |
