Don't Students Read Books
In School?
Friends, I want to tell you something that many of you don't know: kids don't read books in school. They read excerpts of books in state-adopted reading programs. I call this phenomenon Starving on Snacks. Entire books (full meals), read with the whole class, teacher-and-student lead discussion, getting to know characters, studying plot, pacing, etc? This is not happening in the vast majority of schools. There is no time, no materials (try finding 34 books) and no support, so teachers just follow the prescribed reading program.
So, what are students doing in the library, you may ask? The librarian reads them a story, and then they have 15 minutes to choose a book on their own, which is usually not at their independent reading level. Invariably, the book is too hard (I call this The Harry Potter Effect) or it is not literature but How to Draw Airplanes or something equally non-academic. If your children don't want to read maybe they are too tired because of
math homework help online , ask them, maybe you can help them.
What about silent reading, you wonder? Students learn to sit quietly for 20 minutes and look at books that they cannot read or understand on their own. I will worry about children literature awards when I actually witness students READING BOOKS.
This is why parents need to make absolutely certain that their children are reading good literature at home! Forget all of those worksheets and copying spelling words- start reading books!
Parents, Make Certain That
Your Students Are Awesome Readers!
Do not wait for anybody else to do it! Reading is the most important- wait! You KNOW why reading is so important!
