While reading in Naked Reading, several things caused me to stop and think. The author refers to the conclusion made by Kylene Beers, which states that there is no one template for alliterates. This is something I’ve felt for a long time, but it never seems to be addressed in quite that way.
Something that caused me to stop and think was the point that was made about the emphasis on reading for the primary grades as well as in high school, but how the children in grades 4-8 somewhat fall through the cracks. The author also points out that there are not programs created for this age bracket; which after further reflection on my part, I begin to wonder if the reason we need remedial programs for reading in high school is because we ceased to give it importance in the school curriculum at younger ages. If we made reading a consistent concern through the first 8 years of schooling I think we might see an improvement in the reading levels and statistics.
Another thing that made an impression on me was the information that the average American reads fewer than 3 books a year for pleasure. This shocked me greatly. The other thing the author mentioned along with this sad statistic is that America leads the world in amount of pleasure reading done annually! To put it succinctly…HOLY COW!! Technology has taken over everything so completely that people cannot, or will not, enjoy something so simple as reading. I was one of those children that read at a very early age, was reading large books long before I was “supposed” to, and no one in my family ever thought it was strange; which is probably why I have remained a lover of reading and now consistently put away 3-4 books a week. Sadly though, I have several nieces and nephews that are what most people would consider alliterate. They think of reading as a punishment from the TV, computer, and video games. I wonder sometimes if the lack of independent imagination in children can be directly linked to dependency on technology for entertainment. Something to reflect further on…
Lesesne, T. (2006). Naked reading: Uncovering what tweens need to become lifelong readers. Stenhouse Publishers.
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