We are approaching the end of out first year of SLA Beeber’s
existence. Currently, we are reading 1984
by George Orwell. During my spring break, I read 1984 for the first time and was blown away. This is Orwell’s social
manifesto, his critical statement on how the history of the world could turn if
we are not careful. I enjoyed the book, but as I was reading it, I realized
that many of the connections that I was making to it came from my knowledge and
learning experiences around politics and society, which I know I did not have
as high school student. Therefore, how to engage 15-16 year old freshmen in a
book like this in May, I realized, was going to be a challenging task. This is
an essential question posed to every teacher as he or she writes his or her
curriculum. It is an art to design learning experiences that are engaging not
for us, but for students sitting in out classroom who have to be there at a
particular time. This of course, is very different from the natural process of
reading in my everyday life whereby I pick up a book, read at my own pace, and
have occasional discussions about the book with my friends, family, and
colleagues. I need to be thinking from the perspective of my students.
Pedagogical Decisions:
One of the crucial pedagogical decisions I made was to allow
my students to read the book at their own pace. We had four weeks left in the
school year, and I felt strongly that if I plopped 1984 in front of them and insisted that they read 75 pages per
week, then I would effectively be sending the majority of my students to
sparknotes to read summaries and analyses to participate in classroom
discussions and complete the projects and assignments related to the book. In
class, therefore, I was explicit about the type of reading experience that I
wanted them to have with the book. I explicitly stated that school in general,
and English teachers in particular, often turn students off from reading,
rather than offering experiences would encourage them to enjoy books and become
lifelong readers. I told them that by giving them the opportunity to read at
their own pace, I was encouraging them to enjoy reading the book, instead of
having an “anxiety-induced reading experience,” and to practice the reading
skills that I have emphasized this year: 1) that reading is a thinking process
of inquiry, inferences, and reflection 2) that good readers re-read when they
do not comprehend (they see it as their responsibility for understanding the
text). I told them that I did not want them flocking to sparknotes to make
meaning of the text, unless they were totally lost and needed the assistance.
This gave students the space to focus on re-reading, rather than feeling the
pressure to plow through the text. I believe that re-reading and focusing on
self-monitoring of their comprehension is an authentic reading skill that they
will hopefully take with them from this class and this unit in particular.
Student Response:
One student read the entire book in the first weekend. This
student is already a voracious and inquisitive reader, so I feel strongly that
I set her up to knock it out of the park, in terms of reading and enjoying the
book. If I had required everyone to read the first 75 pages in the first week,
would she have still read the entire book? Or, would she have just read the
book as an assignment to meet the expectations of the school task?
Another student came to me and said that she read the first
23 pages twice and still did not understand what was going on. I was proud of
this because it showed that she was self-monitoring and using the reading
skills we had talked about this year, which emphasized comprehension. She still
needed assistance with decoding the book and connecting to it.
Many other students are reading the book as varying levels
of engagement. Some students are struggling with the book and find it boring.
Some students say the book it “popping,” which is a positive review. I class, a
student asked, “How do I read a book that I don’t like?” I was initially taken
aback by the question. It is a good question because there are times in the
academic and professional world where we are expected to read things that we
may not initially find enjoyable. My response was that you need to find a way
to enjoy what you are reading. I read quickest and with the highest level of
comprehension when I enjoy what I am reading.
However, this still does not answer her question because now
we need to figure out how do we psyche ourselves into enjoying something that
we do not initially enjoy? I ultimately realized that we tend to enjoy reading
things that we can connect to or of which we see the broader relevance to
society and world events. Therefore, the essential task is around always
assuming that there is social value and personal lessons in nearly all
literature and art, and being patient enough and alert enough to find the ways
in which I can relate to what I am reading or see the ways in which the book
relates to broader events and experiences of the world.
Therefore, if we can approach everything that we read and
seek to learn about with a degree of intellectual curiosity and wonder, we are
more likely to enjoy and comprehend what we are reading.
Still Wondering:
I am still wondering about the rigor and expectations of
this pedagogical decision. Is there value in the “higher” expectation that
students read 75 pages per week? Am I lowering my standard by allowing students
to reading at their own pace?
