My childhood dream was to become a teacher. As we know, one of the fundamental roles of a teacher is to enable each student’s learning through knowing how to read and through valuing reading.
Initially, as a primary teacher, I loved teaching reading the most. Apart from the rudimentary lessons in decoding the language, I experienced great joy in reading a story aloud to the children. Also, I felt a thrill at their delight in sharing what they read. These reading sessions were a favourite part of my days. Yet, as we all know, reading is not confined to the subject of reading. It is a necessity across all subjects.
After a short break from teaching primary students, I took up high school teaching as the Reading Resource Teacher. Yes, it was an actual title in secondary schools in Western Australia for many years. My superintendent virtually guaranteed my continuity with a comment along these lines – Literacy is something that will never die. We all need to be literate, to read.
What? No books!
In my role as a reading teacher, it took very little time for me to realise that I had been one of the most fortunate of children. In my thirteen years teaching in just one high school, I encountered too many secondary students who had slipped through primary school without mastering the skill of reading. Many had no books in their homes. Even more had no reading material at all – no newspapers (still popular in the day), no reading matter of significance. The profound impact on their lives had already begun.
I took much joy – and experienced a lot of pain too – in helping teens with little background in reading acquire skills in
- reading for understanding;
- reading for real life situations (recipes, job application forms; how to make a kite – a great fun project) and
- the crème de la crème of reasons for reading – reading for pleasure.
They listened to me read Storm Boy and many other novels. They talked about books they read as part of my programs. They enthusiastically took part in writing their own stories for each other to read and for me to read aloud to their classmates. They were not only valuing reading, but also creating what they read became a pleasure for them.
Other levels of reading
As well as those lessons, in my general English classes I dared introduce Shakespeare to a relatively young group of students who were astounded that they could understand and respond to the classic. It reminded me to never underestimate the power of words. I was passing on what I imbibed as a child from my role models, my grandmother and my parents and from my peers – the joy of being read to and the joy of reading for pleasure.
A little more ‘proof’ on the value of reading
As a Reading Teacher, I was required to measure the ‘reading age’ of all incoming Year 8 students. My colleague and I ran standardised tests (I know, a whole new topic!) which we used as a benchmark. Curiously, I found these surprisingly accurate when I became more closely acquainted with some of the students in my own classes. An age-appropriate score didn’t always guarantee they understood everything they read, but it did mean they often had a good grasp of the act of reading and comprehending much of what they chose to read.
Without going into the whys and wherefores of such tests, I used these as a benchmark to closely monitor a Year 9 class for a full school year. This class read for 10-15 minutes at the start of every English class. I ensured that every child had reading material for each session.
A box of books to choose from sat on the front desk for errant students who’d forgotten to bring a book. It was also useful for those who finished their current novel and didn’t have their next one to hand.
Some reluctant readers grabbed a comic book which was allowed as not all students could get their heads into novels, even though that was preferred. Every student kept a reading log showing what they were reading. Each entry had start and finish dates. I’d check these at some stage during the lesson. Keen readers stood out as they usually showed a growing list of novels they’d read both at school and at home.
What does valuing reading have to do with frogs?
Of course, it would go without saying that we had the school library on board. The wonderful librarians fostered the love of reading in collaborative program that supported the classroom. One popular recollection is RIBIT – Read in Bed, It’s Terrific. Students chose novels from those promoted by the librarians or by classmates who shared a quick spiel about their latest favourite book.
The joy of reading, the marked pleasure I noted on the students’ faces as they shared what they read about, or chose to read aloud to their friends, remains with me many years after leaving the teaching profession.
Did all this reading make a difference?
Over the year I noted a gradual shift in reading habits for some of the reluctant readers. They appeared to enjoy the exercise of reading.
At the end of the year, we retested all participating students. Without exception, reading ages improved. The argument for natural growth according to age was factored in. Compared to the start of the year, reading every day – or at least every other day if only done at school – showed that students improved in their ability to comprehend what they were reading. (Comprehension of what was read was inherent in the tests.)
Other ways to encourage and value reading
For a year or two, I recall the entire lower secondary school being engaged in what was then the trend of silent reading for a few minutes after lunch. A compulsory ten minutes of Silent Reading was scheduled into every class regardless of the subject.
Ideally, this time was to be Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading, viz USSR – a huge ask in a large high school of over a thousand students. I must add that we had admin on our side for the program – and perhaps they too stopped and read for ten minutes! Teachers – imagine – books out, bags tossed aside, no PA announcements and complete silence for ten whole minutes. Bliss!
Where are we at today as a nation, with valuing reading?
Australia Reads states….“From reducing stress, to getting a better night’s sleep, reading for pleasure has proven benefits for mental health and wellbeing.”
According to a recent news bulletin received from Australia Reads, reading is once again on the agenda in Federal Parliament (Australia), and was spoken about as recently as June 27th this year, 2024.
Children deserve that learning to read should be treated as a fundamental right. Today’s social media is not fulfilling the role of novels, of reading for pleasure, nor is it teaching discernment about what one reads. Literature that constructively teaches about life, or which engages one’s imagination in creative ventures is vitally important in today’s world. I hope that any nationwide initiatives will foster a love for reading.
What can you do to encourage and show that you value reading?
As a child I had a home that supported reading. I was fortunate. My father and mother read books for information, magazines, newspapers, and novels.
As a parent I’d encourage all parents to encourage their child or children to read from an early age. If books are not readily available, the local library is usually a great source. I loved sharing books with my children and grandchildren and often quote snippets or phrases that we all know. It creates a bond – something that beyond the mere words on the page.
Let’s leap back to frogs. My granddaughter loved a simple book called The Wide Mouthed Frog. She’s now several years older since we first enjoyed reading it together when she visited. We still quote sentences from the story today.
A random thought crosses my mind. Imagine the importance and value of reading to that surgeon who’s about to operate on you!
To be continued…
It is clear, I should hope, that I firmly believe learning to read and valuing reading starts in the home. In my next post, I’ll share more of the joys I’ve experienced with my own children and grandchildren. You can read about one example here.
Please leave a comment below or by clicking on the link here and scrolling to the end of the post.
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RTBIT! I love that, Susan, and will repeat it whenever I creep off to lie on my bed and read.
I enjoyed reading your experience of teaching reading across many ages. All I can say is, how lucky they were to have you to inspire ane encourage them.
This weather certainly invites being snuggled up in bed with a good book!
Although I don’t read paper books as much as I used to I still get pleasure from today’s audio books. I don’t seem to get the interest in e-books and would revert to paper if I did want to actually read.
Audio books…another whole realm to explore! With a narrator adding a degree of interpretation, it’s a different experience to reading a book yourself.
I resonate with your comment about e-books.🙂
I look at the times of our posts….somehow the blog is not taking into account the difference between East and West!!