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[CCBC-Net] Why are children reluctant to read?
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From: Gerry O'Brien <gobrien>
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2006 06:43:50 -0300
Excellent post, Maia! Education is great but it ain't worth gettin' an ulcer over. Loved your website. Gerry
----- Original Message ----- From: "Maia Cheli-Colando" <maia at littlefolktales.org> To: <ccbc-net at ccbc.ad.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2006 5:30 PM Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Why are children reluctant to read?
>I am a reader. My children are readers and read-withers. We have a
> ridiculous number of books climbing the walls of house, and crawling on
> the floor. It delights me that my seven year old can read anything she
> wants to, and does.
>
> And yet, I wonder about this thought processes behind this month's
> discussion. What are our reasons for wanting all children to read?
>
> I celebrate that my kids love books because we get to share those worlds
> together, because they explore new places and learn so many things from
> the pages. It would be queer to be a writer and have your children not
> love books; that could feel lonely. But that doesn't make me feel that
> /everyone has/ to read.
>
> I am relieved that my kids love books because not reading skillfully is
> problematic for the kinds of subjects (and possibly, careers one day)
> that interest them. The practical end: it would be awfully hard to
> make your way in much of the US today, not reading.
>
> Celebration and pragmatism. What drives us when we push reluctant but
> capable readers to read more than they want to? Do we feel they have to
> enjoy what we enjoy? Do we really believe that everyone takes glory
> from life in the same ways? In our house, music is as much a passion as
> books, and the ocean is more loved than either. Truthfully, I would be
> more frightened if my children didn't sing than if they didn't read, and
> if they didn't honor the earth, I would feel I had completely failed in
> my mothering hopes. But if they could read, and just didn't much... I'd
> know they were missing out on something I loved, and I would try to
> tease them through it... but would it be because I think everyone should
> read, or because they are /my/ children, and I want to explore those
> lands with them?
>
> How do teachers approach reading in the classroom? A good teacher in a
> healthy environment is able to share his or her joy of stories. Human
> beings are generally responsive to others' enthusiasms -- so kids will
> pick up on positive book energy and ride with it, for a little while.
> But is it okay if a kid then says, okay, I can do it, and will do it
> sometimes, but I'd rather be out climbing trees? All in all, isn't it
> healthier to climb trees than to read a book? It's lovely if we do
> both, but if it's one or the other...? And, children's days are awfully
> constrained these days. (Homework in elementary school?)
>
> At a time in history when there are so very many things we feel
> pressured to understand, to be competent in, is it worth taking a step
> back and asking if literacy and articulation in English (often in
> addition to a first language), strong reading skills and expository
> writing, "high school" math, chemistry and biology and physics, a
> driver's license, memorization of the American presidents and the (very
> theoretical) balances of power in the American government is really what
> we want each child to emerge into adulthood with? Are we teaching so
> much to so many in such crippled environments that mediocrity is the
> best we can gather for most?
>
> If a child can read, and wants to build physics experiments instead in
> most of their "free" time, isn't that okay? Isn't doing as good as
> reading about doing? :)
>
> Maia
>
> Robin Smith wrote:
>> Dear all,
>> I think about this issue a lot. I ask parents to think about the
>> seriousness of "aliteracy," having the skills of reading, but not
>> reading. It's almost a luxurious problem, isn't it? In many parts of the
>> world, literacy can be a luxury--being awash in books and libraries can
>> seem like an impossible dream. Yet we have many children who can read,
>> but choose not to. I don't have the answer, but I think a part of the
>> problem is that reading (at least the way it is taught in some schools)
>> is simply not fun. That's why so many of the suggested titles are humor
>> titles. And that's why many of the books you have suggested I think of as
>> "boy books."
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
Received on Mon 07 Aug 2006 04:43:50 AM CDT
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2006 06:43:50 -0300
Excellent post, Maia! Education is great but it ain't worth gettin' an ulcer over. Loved your website. Gerry
----- Original Message ----- From: "Maia Cheli-Colando" <maia at littlefolktales.org> To: <ccbc-net at ccbc.ad.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2006 5:30 PM Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Why are children reluctant to read?
>I am a reader. My children are readers and read-withers. We have a
> ridiculous number of books climbing the walls of house, and crawling on
> the floor. It delights me that my seven year old can read anything she
> wants to, and does.
>
> And yet, I wonder about this thought processes behind this month's
> discussion. What are our reasons for wanting all children to read?
>
> I celebrate that my kids love books because we get to share those worlds
> together, because they explore new places and learn so many things from
> the pages. It would be queer to be a writer and have your children not
> love books; that could feel lonely. But that doesn't make me feel that
> /everyone has/ to read.
>
> I am relieved that my kids love books because not reading skillfully is
> problematic for the kinds of subjects (and possibly, careers one day)
> that interest them. The practical end: it would be awfully hard to
> make your way in much of the US today, not reading.
>
> Celebration and pragmatism. What drives us when we push reluctant but
> capable readers to read more than they want to? Do we feel they have to
> enjoy what we enjoy? Do we really believe that everyone takes glory
> from life in the same ways? In our house, music is as much a passion as
> books, and the ocean is more loved than either. Truthfully, I would be
> more frightened if my children didn't sing than if they didn't read, and
> if they didn't honor the earth, I would feel I had completely failed in
> my mothering hopes. But if they could read, and just didn't much... I'd
> know they were missing out on something I loved, and I would try to
> tease them through it... but would it be because I think everyone should
> read, or because they are /my/ children, and I want to explore those
> lands with them?
>
> How do teachers approach reading in the classroom? A good teacher in a
> healthy environment is able to share his or her joy of stories. Human
> beings are generally responsive to others' enthusiasms -- so kids will
> pick up on positive book energy and ride with it, for a little while.
> But is it okay if a kid then says, okay, I can do it, and will do it
> sometimes, but I'd rather be out climbing trees? All in all, isn't it
> healthier to climb trees than to read a book? It's lovely if we do
> both, but if it's one or the other...? And, children's days are awfully
> constrained these days. (Homework in elementary school?)
>
> At a time in history when there are so very many things we feel
> pressured to understand, to be competent in, is it worth taking a step
> back and asking if literacy and articulation in English (often in
> addition to a first language), strong reading skills and expository
> writing, "high school" math, chemistry and biology and physics, a
> driver's license, memorization of the American presidents and the (very
> theoretical) balances of power in the American government is really what
> we want each child to emerge into adulthood with? Are we teaching so
> much to so many in such crippled environments that mediocrity is the
> best we can gather for most?
>
> If a child can read, and wants to build physics experiments instead in
> most of their "free" time, isn't that okay? Isn't doing as good as
> reading about doing? :)
>
> Maia
>
> Robin Smith wrote:
>> Dear all,
>> I think about this issue a lot. I ask parents to think about the
>> seriousness of "aliteracy," having the skills of reading, but not
>> reading. It's almost a luxurious problem, isn't it? In many parts of the
>> world, literacy can be a luxury--being awash in books and libraries can
>> seem like an impossible dream. Yet we have many children who can read,
>> but choose not to. I don't have the answer, but I think a part of the
>> problem is that reading (at least the way it is taught in some schools)
>> is simply not fun. That's why so many of the suggested titles are humor
>> titles. And that's why many of the books you have suggested I think of as
>> "boy books."
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
Received on Mon 07 Aug 2006 04:43:50 AM CDT
