I was balancing this book on the elliptical at the gym which proved to be successful. Not to be dramatic, but when I need motivation to go that extra 10 minutes or crank up the resistance on the machines at the gym, I think about literacy. I seriously do. I think about struggling readers and I try to figure out ways to instruct students in reading and writing. I also get angry about the current state of affairs (a lot of the same issues Gallagher discusses in chapter one). I then have to use my cardio exercises as an outlet for all the negative things that occur in our profession. This makes me sound like a madwoman now that I think about it. Reading Gallagher has helped me figure out what to do about all the problems that fire me up. The organization of the book makes it accessible for teachers: problems and solutions are presented conspicuously and not mysteriously, as is apparent in some books and articles. That being said, chapter two clearly states the root of the problem of readicide and offers multiple solutions.
As I remember my high school years, I can relate to the material in this chapter. By the time I was in ninth grade, I barely read anything for fun, save blogs on the internet. My love of reading was killed off in middle school (which is very sad, considering middle school is a great time to expose students to chapter books and literature circles). No offense to older teachers, but my middle school English teachers were prehistoric. All three of them, from sixth to eight grade, were on the verge of retirement. I only mention this because there seemed to be a trend at that time where we had tons of older teachers who hated teaching and were coasting along until they could officially retire. I remember reading one novel (The Cay) that I didn’t even read and still made an A in the course. I didn’t have to read to make good grades; I just answered questions on worksheets about grammar, spelling, etc. I was never challenged to read and I was hardly encouraged to read. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in high school that I really started to like reading. However, I think I just liked literature, I didn’t really like reading. I loved to discuss the themes in the books…I loved the characters. I had really good literature teachers in high school. I read most of the books in their entirety, but I honestly did not start reading for pleasure on a regular basis until I took a young adult literature course when I was 21. TWENTY-ONE! How is this okay? I hardly think I’m unique in this sense. I’m just lucky that I loved literature enough to go into a lit program in college that led me to education that led me to a YAL course that led me to actually enjoy reading and helped me become a better reader of literature.
The purpose of my rant was to enhance the points Gallagher brings up in chapter two. My story is an example of readicide. Fortunately, I was never a struggling reader. But I think that if it wasn’t for that YAL class and my switch to being an education major, I would still have a hard time reading literature and I probably wouldn’t enjoy reading it as I do now. I think if my schools were structured in the ways Gallagher proposes, I would have started to enjoy reading long before my 21st birthday.
I definitely agree that SSR has its place in the classroom if it is implemented appropriately. Gallagher says that it’s one thing to encourage reading and another to offer an array of high interest reading materials for the students to consume on their own. When I was in SSR in middle school and high school, I didn’t have access to a classroom reading library like Gallagher’s. We were lucky if the teachers had old Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys titles. I know schools lack money etc. etc. etc. but if I was encouraged to read by a teacher who was an avid reader and could recommend titles as Gallagher did with Who Killed My Daughter? I would have been inspired to read more. English teachers have a ton of responsibilities and I’m not trying to say that they need to tack on one more. I’m saying the same thing Gallagher is saying, and that is that getting kids to read should be the number one priority in school (not just the English classroom). I’ve been slowly building my classroom library because I believe that students need access to a variety of reading materials— a “book flood zone” (Elley, 1991). Reading Readicide has helped me determine how to deal with the problem of a loss of love for reading. I’ve always been aware of the problem, but Readicide has been a great resource in helping me understand what to do about it.
Also, I read The Grapes of Wrath during summer reading between 9th and 10th grade. I actually enjoyed it!
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