As a middle school teacher, I find that many of my students do not like to read, neither for pleasure nor content. Some students lack the desire to want to read independently to increase knowledge on any particular subject, even if that subject is of high interest to them. In New Haven Public School’s curriculum, students are offered a wide array of books on topics studies say are of high interest to middle school students. I am left with a few questions that fuel my curiosity when we talk about giving students a voice and a choice. Were our students at the local level ever surveyed to assess if in fact those are topics of high interest to them? Are we basing our choices on other districts and adults who do not share the same student population or demographics? Are we promoting the eugenic idea that these books chosen will help demonstrate mastery and intelligence? Are we holding these books as a standard without any real criteria? Are we promoting an equitable opportunity for all students to succeed? These are important questions to address because if we are not establishing who our audience truly is then how can we expect these book choices to engage our students positively.
Another pedagogical observation is that once we read a selection, we tend to analyze the literature using the conventional Language Arts strategies. We ask students to analyze characters, setting, plot, problem, solution and theme. We may offer the students an “analyze and apply” question. These strategies are not getting our students to engage in the literature at a personal level. We know that when we read, something in that selection should touch us at our core, we should be able to identify with what we are reading. In my opinion, adhering to just our conventional strategies does not do this. According to Jacob Chastain, he states that it ends up being more effective when a student has the opportunity to read just to read and create meaning then to have them analyze immediately the writing and how an author fulfills the conventions in their writing. In other words, when we allow students to “read like a reader” before asking them to jump into the work of “reading like a writer,” the dialogue is richer and the comprehension deeper. (Chastain, Jacob: Middleweb, 2022) I think as teachers this is a valid and eye opening point and it would promote the text to self-connection we strive for. When students are allowed to read a text, they are given the opportunity to exposure they may not have otherwise. In this day and state of the country we sometimes cannot give students actual experiences because of bureaucracy, or financial limitations, therefore we need to rely on literature to offer these experiences that may help bridge the gap with students who enjoy a better socio-economic situation. As a middle school teacher, I find students do not engage in meaningful discourse during literature discussions. I think one of the reasons is the types of questions we ask. We tend to ask questions that allow for little analytical input and students worry about getting an answer right or wrong. Students sometimes have not been given enough time to process a piece of text in order to give it meaning. As an educator this idea of reading as a reader has made me reflect on my practice and how moving forward I need to separate and make a clear distinction of being a reader and creating meaning so that I then can move on to the writing element of Language Arts.
