“I don’t like to read unless it’s something that I’m interested in,” he said almost apologetically as we browsed the stacks looking for a book about — I don’t remember now — about hunting or dirt bikes or football. He seemed surprised when I answered, “I’m the same way.”
“I only like certain kinds of books,” she said, looking for something with vampires that she hadn’t already read. Remembering my own days as a picky reader, I left her to her friends, and they found something she later pronounced “good.”
I’ll confess to making it through all of the Harry Potter books, but mostly I’m just not interested in reading the books my students enjoy. Lately my taste runs to nonfiction. As a result, I don’t recommend books I like to my students. I might get a few of the more sophisticated readers through a chapter of Superfreakonomics, but Malcolm Gladwell? Nah.
So while I have a professional familiarity with, say, the Twilight series and Ted Dekker’s thrillers, I haven’t read them. I am learning to make crowdsourcing work for me, instead. Give the kids a way to discuss their reading, and they’ll guide each other. (I use the forum module on Moodle and am about to embark on a high school version of literature circles.)
How do you feel about reading the books that interest your students? How do you maintain a working knowledge of what interests them? What are you reading now (nonprofessional) just for yourself?
Hi Carla. I’m responding to your post because I often feel insecure about my ability to be an effective middle teacher who prefers to read adult literature and a non-fiction. I’m not sure I have much advice for you, other than to say you’re not the only one facing this conflict. I’m happy to see that I’m not alone with this sentiment. Thanks.
Several years ago, I made a commitment to recommend a book a day to my classes. To that end I began reading a lot of YA – and I have in turn opened my students to many great books that speak to them. Brent Crawford’s “Carter Finally Gets It” is a must for all freshman, and all of John Green’s books are worth the time. I also throw in a fair amount of non-fiction that they might find interesting. Gladwell’s “Outliers” and “Tipping Point” are favorites, as is Leavitt’s “Freakonomics.”