Little bunny books - reading despite school

As I remember the story, grandson Paul came home one day from first grade and declared that he didn't like to read anymore. Coming from a "reading" family, this wasn't received particularly well. A little investigation by his parents discovered what Paul really didn't like was reading the required materials in the reading series. He called them "little bunny stories." The happy ending is that Paul's parents visited the library and bookstore and found books more suited to his reading interests. Mostly Dave Pilkey Captain Underpants books (that his grandfather enjoys as well).

I'm thinking of this bit of family lore as I read Kelly Gallagher's e-book, Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. [Thanks so much for the head's up about this book from Dr. Joyce at the NeverEnding Search where she includes a lot of other really good information about the book as well.]

Gallagher defines:

Read-i-cide:noun, the systematic killing of the love ofreading, often
exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools

and suggests that

...rather than helping students, many of the reading practices found in today’s classrooms are actually contributing to the death of reading. In an earnest attempt to instill reading, teachers and administrators push practices that kill many students’ last chance to develop into lifelong readers.

Gallagher offers solutions to schools creating alliterate graduates - one of which is reading for fun. I wish the author had a more positive view of libraries - he insists that classroom libraries best serve kids. This is something the profession needs to work on - emphasizing the school library's role in creating classroom-housed collections.

I often wonder just how much I would read if I was permitted to read only a certain number of pages per day (NO READING AHEAD), only could read things that were interesting to female elementary teachers female elementary teachers - who haven't read any new children's literature possibly since they finished their college children's lit class but even more likely, since they were in elementary or middle school themselves -  assigned, and on which I had to complete worksheets. Is it any wonder why video games look good to kids?

Paul's story had a happy ending despite his school, not because of his school. Paul didn't like reading at the time because he was a good reader, not because he was a poor reader. How sad is it that for all those children who don't come from such superior genetic stock that schools are not helping struggling readers and destroying successful ones?

Share this book, along with Krashen's Power of Reading, 2nd edition, with reading specialists, teachers and parents. But only if you care if the next generation reads more than chat boxes.

Comments

[teacherninja]

I haven't read this, but just added it to my Amazon Wish List. Krashen's book (along with Trelease and everything by Frank Smith) have informed my teaching of reading all along. Reading is and should be fun and this is exactly why i am making a career move from the classroom to the media center--so I can help inspire this process along. Thanks.

[Kate Tabor]

Amen! As a once and future seventh grade teacher I consider myself a reading evangelist. I pushed aside 1/10 of my curriculum for independent reading. Every other Monday my students would choose their own book and spend the entire period reading (with breaks for twitching if needed). I filled my classroom with high interest books available for check out. Their responsibility was to write a journal entry about what they were enjoying/not enjoying about the book.

Assigned reading had NO worksheets, no reading quizzes about inane details, and you could read ahead. What did I get from this recipe? Kids who love to read because we honored their choice and their perspective and gave them tools for books that pose problems for the reader. So, I'm looking forward to reading the Gallagher! Thanks for the addition to my reading list.

[Jenni]

Please consider changing 'female elementary teachers' to 'female elementary teachers who haven't read any new children's literature possibly since they finished their college children's lit class but even more likely, since they were in elementary or middle school themselves." I am so tired of The Outsiders, The Island of the Blue Dolphins, Boy of the Painted Cave etc., not because they are bad, but because there's a whole new world of literature that has been published since then.

[debt relief]

One moral of that story - as a parent never take everything literally. I admire these parents/grandparents for taking the time to find out the real reason behind why the child wanted to quit reading. Not every parent would have done that.

[Susan Myers]

I think Accelerated Reader kills the love of reading for all of the points you have in your post. Plus, teachers (at least in my experience) had the bad habit of restricting students to books with certain point values or within certain reading ranges.

[Greg Carroll]

Every teacher should read "The Reading Bug" by Paul Jennings .... his childrens books are also FANTASTIC and kids love them. As a trained Speech Language Pathologist Paul has tight control of the language in his books and they are a relatively easy read while maintaining the integrity and interest of the story. They are among the most highly read in our school library!
I have shared the reading Bug with many parents and teachers .... it would be a compulsory text for any training course if I was in charge. The basic thesis is that reading is FUN!!
How many teachers read TO children now. It is an essential part of good reading programme and a real skill that all teachers must master.
cheers
Greg

[Michael Doyle]

My son loved pro wrestling, but wasn't that thrilled with reading. We subscribed to some version of WWF Official Nonsense Fanzine, and the first issue arrived--the cover was emblazoned with some android dressed in glitter obviously designed to appeal to a kinkier crowd than our clan.

Still, we let him read it. And read he did.

He is a voracious adult reader now (no, not wrestling anymore).

I HATED reading in school. I HATED trying to figure out what something meant. Let me revel in my limbic joy, not my cerebral cortex. Don't get me started on "What is the theme?"

(And I HATED interpreting music--man, how many kids lose their innate joy for music while forced to imagine "pastoral" scenes during Beethoven. It's like our arts teachers learned their techniques from the "A Clockwork Orange" School of Pedagogy.)

((And I HATE the word "pedagogy.))

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Ninja,

I’ve always said it was the teacher’s job to teach kids how to read and the librarian’s job to teach kids to love to read. I am amending that helping kids develop the love reading is everyone’s job.

Thanks for the note and all the best,

Doug

Hi Kate,

You sound like exactly the sort of teacher I want Paul and Miles to have!

Oh, still need those twitch breaks now and then ;-)

Thanks for the comment,

Doug

Hi Jenni,

I amended the post. Thanks for the correction.

Doug

Hi No Debt,

I am afraid you are correct. This is why family education is so important.

All the best,

Doug

Hi Susan,

Here's my take on Accelerated Reader:
http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/creating-fat-kids-who-dont-like-to-read.html

It's a tool that can be well or badly used IMHO.

All the best,

Doug

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the Reading Bug suggestion. It’ll go on my wishlist.

I agree about reading aloud. I even did this when I taught junior high English – and kids loved it. In fact, my first presentation at a professional conference was about reading aloud to secondary school students. Boy, that takes me back!

All the best,

Doug

Hi Michael,

My son was like yours except this love was videogames – read every magazine about them cover to cover. Today he reads for pleasure but I am not sure I’d call him voracious.

And yes, some educators do have a knack for bleeding the pleasure out of intrinsically pleasurable things. Maybe it is good that sex ed is not allowed in so many places.

All the best,

Doug

[Emily Adams]

As a student, I am happy to see that people do realize that there are newer books students could be reading. I had a professor last semester who chose a comtemporary novel for our class and because everyone enjoyed reading it, we were able to have better, more productive discussions.

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My son went to a first grade school that prepped kids wonderfully for reading. It put him ahead of most other kids. My daughter is now in college as she is majoring in education. We are proud of her.