I'll be the first to admit that I am not a reader. I don't enjoy reading books. The only time you will find me reading a book is when I have to for class or if I'm laying on beach somewhere with not a care in the world. It didn't always seem to be this way for me though, when I was younger I would read for enjoyment but somehow as I've grown older my desire to read has been diminished. While I was reading through some of these posts and reflecting on discussions we've had in class some suggest that this is due to how through out schooling we are taught to read for content and in a sense, lose our ability to read for enjoyment. Although though out schooling we would have silent reading, which I now see could be a means for reading for enjoyment, it always felt like a chore to me. My question is, why do you think so many people lose their enjoyment for reading? Is it something that as you get older you become so busy and encompassed by your daily routine that we forget to sit down and pick up a good book? and is there a way to ensure that our students and children will enjoy reading?
I never read for enjoyment anymore. When I was young I struggled to read so I had difficulty keeping up with what my peers found interesting in books. After working hard to improve my speed I enjoyed it a lot more. On a rainy day I stared to pick up books to read instead of watching television. This, however, did not last long; when I started to get older my classes started to get harder, which caused me to have more homework to occupy my time. When I finally finished homework for a night the last thing I wanted to do was read.
ReplyDeleteReading was something that I had to do so much for school that it was the last thing I wanted to do in my free time. I think this is an issue that a lot of students face causing them to lose interest in reading. Just like with anything, reading is something you have to train yourself to do. People say it takes 21 days to start a habit and I think if people push past this and make it a part of their daily routine it will become more enjoyable.
I too am one who is not a huge fan of reading. For me in grade school and middle school we had programs such as accelerated reader. Where you would read a book and take a quiz on that book and then eventually win PRIZES!!! What kid doesn’t like prizes? So I checked out many a book from the library but very few of them did I read. I would skim the book quickly and take the quiz without ever reading a page. And this worked for me. I could grasp the general concept of the book and do well on the quizzes. So why would I read the book when my method worked just fine?
ReplyDeleteI also have a fear of reading out loud. And all through out school this was something that everyone did. So when we were assigned a certain reading and then was told we would be reading out loud I would memorize the short paragraph. Again not reading what I was suppose to because I was to worried about the other factors involved.
When it comes to children today I think that technology has a lot to do with the lack of interest in books. Why read a book when it’s coming out on movie or when you can play the online video game? Books are losing their true value because kids are losing interest. I think if parents got more involved with “forcing” their child to read or just making it enjoyable. Like reading at night with your kids instead of a video game before bed.