Why Read? Like, I Just Don’t Get It.

On the first day of school, a student asked me the question, “Why read? Like, I just don’t get it.” She was serious.  My answer was, “There are so many reasons to read, I just don’t think we can tackle that question today.  Let’s talk about it next class.”  So, today, on the second day I saw this student, I decided to begin with a book talk about Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin.  I chose that book because I thought my students might be able to connect to the main character, a teenager who died just before she got her driver’s license.  After the talk, several students jotted the name of the book down in their composition book (unprompted) as something they might be interested in reading.  Then, I told them it was time to write. 

My instructions for writing were simple.  I set a timer for ten minutes, and students had to keep the pen in their hand and write for the full ten minutes.  I told them they could write about the book talk I had just given them, or they could write about something else it made them think of.  They could even choose to write about something personal in their life that wasn’t related.  It was their choice.  Pulling out my own composition book, I sat in the middle of the room and wrote with them. 

When I saw a student put their pencil down 5 minutes in, I cleared my throat and looked straight in his eyes.  He picked their pencil up and continued writing without a word.  I filled my page with an explanation about why reading is so important to me.  After ten minutes, I stopped the students.  I told them that I’d share first, then I’d take two volunteers who wanted to read.  My instructions were:  when a person reads aloud, they can ask for feedback before they read.  If they do, the class can respond.  If they don’t ask for feedback, the class isn’t allowed to do anything but say “thank you.”  Then I read my piece about how writing is inspiration, imagination,dreaming, and escape. It was a very good piece of prose, one I was proud to use as a model.  After reading, I got up and sat in a student desk.  I gestured to the teacher chair and said, “Who would like to sit in the author’s chair and share?”  A volunteer stood.

The student was nervous, but she told us about her van that she can’t wait to drive.  It is old, but it is hers, and she is proud of it.  I asked her why she chose that topic, and she said it was because of the book talk about Elsewhere.  I smiled and thanked her.  Then, another student stood up.  I was shocked by which student stood.

He was a kid who was actually repeating the grade.  He’d been my student the year before.  It killed me, because he’s smart.  Yet, sometimes smart isn’t enough.  Effort has to be there too.  So, when he volunteered to read, I was on the edge of my seat.  What would he share?  His piece was personal.  He wrote a story, of which the contents are so personal, I daren’t place in this post.  The other students in the room were blown away by the level of emotion that came through in his writing.  They didn’t know what to say or do.  I thanked him, not just with my words but with my actions too.  As I moved on to the question of the day, I made sure to pat him on the shoulder.  He deserved it.

Drawing a concept map on the whiteboard, I told the students to copy it into their notebooks.  They had to be told that notebooks did not mean composition books.  Composition books are reserved for personal writing.  Their notebook is for notes.  Students drew the circle and labeled it “Reading” as I had done.  Then, I asked them what Reading is.  At first, nobody wanted to speak.  Then, they started throwing out ideas.  As they said different things that reading is, they realized that reading and writing were connected.  They also noted that reading was personal, and that it varied depending on purpose.  They figured out that reading makes you smarter, both at a word level, and also at a concept level.  I didn’t have to tell them any of this.  They came up with it on their own. So, I repeated the question.  “Why read?”  The same girl who had asked that enormous question piped up and said, “Well, there’s lots of reasons to read.  I didn’t really think about all that stuff, but I totally get it.  Reading makes us smarter, but its fun too, right?” Score!  Lesson understood.  Now comes the hard part.  The follow through.  Will she and others in the class follow through and internalize the lesson?  That remains to be seen.