I definitely think of myself as a good reader. Not necessarily a fast reader, but one who comprehends. More importantly, I like it! Fiction and science fantasy are part of my daily diet, but I also really like... you know... everything. Everything that's well written. Or at least, not so bad that it offends my sensibilities. The time of life I read most was probably late elementary school and middle school. I got into Harry Potter and the Ender's Game series and The Wheel of Time series... and countless other books. The majority of the reading I did was outside of school. I would spend a few hours after school at the library every day, just pulling different books from the shelves. I actually got into really big trouble at school for reading during my classes. My grades suffered pretty badly because of my reading habits. It wasn't until my Senior year of High School that I decided I needed to leave my books at home so that I could focus on school. I sometimes wonder where I would be now if I had applied myself back in those days... but all the books I read are an indispensable part of who I am, so I don't regret the time I devoted to them. I can't really think of a time when I didn't enjoy reading. I can think of a handful of books that I didn't enjoy (most notably the Scarlet Letter. Ugh. Why do they assign that one so often in schools? Ugh.), but reading? I've always enjoyed reading, whether it's scholarly articles or comics or novels or those little emergency instruction pamphlets on airplanes.
My brother had the most influence on me as far as reading goes. Most of the books I read when I was younger were books he recommended to me. I hardly saw him without a book in his hand when he was a teenager. As I mentioned before, the only time I was discouraged from reading was in school. It wasn't until my AP English classes that my ability to read was appreciated or encouraged.
Of course, there aren't a whole lot of opportunities to focus on reading in the choral classroom. Aside from reading and analyzing the text of our pieces, there aren't a lot of ways to incorporate reading without detracting from rehearsal time. It would be cool to incorporate treatises from composers and critics on the music we are studying. I think the best thing you can do to "foster a climate" in the classroom where students are interested in reading is to read them things that ARE interesting. Most music history lectures are so dreadfully dull that it's a wonder anyone majors in music at all. As teachers, it's our job to liven things up by relating texts and concepts to things the students actually care about. If there's one thing i have learned from my own experiences with reading, it's that every student is extremely driven and passionate about something. If you can tap into that energy, and guide students to connect aspects of what they already enjoy doing to aspects of your subject, then it won't be such a struggle to motivate them. Perhaps my teachers could have found a way to use my love of reading to help me become engaged with their own subjects. Perhaps my math teachers could have found me engaging articles about math, or introduced me to books where mathematics are incorporated into the plot or the main character's skills with math are instrumental in their eventual victory! I'm sure it wouldn't have been a stretch for my science teachers to find a science fiction novel that related to what we were studying at the time. Maybe the right sports novel would have gotten me more excited about basketball. It's all about finding the right angle to approach different personalities and learning styles. This is a bold statement, and I know it's not always this simple, but I really believe that if your student isn't succeeding it's because you haven't figured out how to reach them yet.
I like that you talked about how your brother was a big influence on you as far as reading goes. I have kind of an opposite experience. Growing up, I never saw anyone at home read books, so I never saw it as something I should spend time doing. I was a good reader and excelled in my classes, but I read because I had to. I like that you talked about finding something students are passionate about. I think that is crucially important to implementing literacy into our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with your statement that if your students aren't excited about your content area, it's because the right approach hasn't been tried yet. I was a real reader too, but I was a nervous wreck when it came to singing in chorus. What would have helped me (personally) is if the teacher had something in his/her classroom library about people who were nervous, or about how people totally messed up in front of an audience but found some way to laugh about it. I agree...you wouldn't want to take time away from performance in reading, but I think even having a few materials available in your classroom will go a long way, and that students will find the time to read those materials if they want to, just as you found the time to search out and read the things you loved. Thanks for your posting! Love your passion. You might just have to teach your minor of English someday after all. :)
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