An idea that has come from this class is the concept of Adolescent Book Clubs. I was at first apprehensive because of my lack of interest in reading and the many texts I am tasked with reading for classes (work and school). I reluctantly gave it a shot and it started good. I actually enjoyed reading it for the first week. That weekend I only had a few things to do so I enjoyed the reading. Coming into the second week on the other hand I was over whelmed with school reading and ministry reading. It was difficult to find the time to read and although I enjoyed reading the book itself I found it taxing and because of the time constraints I was reminded of what I hated the most about reading texts in school. Although I have continued reading the book allow me to digress for a moment and lament. I can see my students with the same sentiments if I attempted to introduce an adolescent book club. They also are overwhelmed with required reading and assignments that allow for little time for the students to read for fun. I pray I can find a balance in my life soon otherwise I may never start reading for entertainment again.
Did you dislike reading at an early age? It is very taxing keeping up with all of the assigned readings for all of our classes. As you said I think our kids can feel the same way. I also think that we don't find text that our children can make a connection with. If they can't connect with it then it doesn't carry much meaning. That is also why they struggle with comprehension issues as well.
ReplyDeleteHasn't this program experience highlighted what our students state? I have often found myself relating to my students in new ways. In regards to reading assignments, many students express sentiments that mirror yours. "I tried, but I ran out of time." "I would just rather be doing stuff." Life is busy for everyone. However, that doesn't change the reality that there are expectations for each class. I cannot just modify the class to meet the whims and fancies of individual students. So...what do we do? I think that's where we are at this point. How do we incorporate and advance the reading interest and of our students without overwhelming them with reading?
ReplyDeleteReading for a book club is a wonderful idea, but it has flaws. I liked the book we had to read for class, but if it wasn’t for a grade I would have stopped after the first few chapters. This is one of the problems talked about in Readicide. Forcing reading doesn’t help anyone.
ReplyDeleteIf we would have chosen books we found enjoyable, each person in the class may have had a different book, making conversations like more than book reports.
With all the technology we have today, we should encourage online book clubs. This way your students can read exactly what they want to read and will have to do more than just talk about the book, they will write back and forth about the book with their online club. Sounds like a win, win, win for literacy.