Steven W. Simpson, Ph.D. writes about this immensely pragmatic and fun "trick" to embed the love for reading in children.
"B.F. Skinner was a Harvard psychology professor and author of the book Walden II, a novel about a community run by his behaviorist principles. He argued that "We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love reading."
I think it is possible to do both, but the idea expressed in Skinner's quote is a good one. Teach kids to love reading first. Teach everything else after that. Let me give you an example of my version of this idea.
I had a meeting one afternoon with two very, very serious parents. Their son, a freshman, had poor reading skills. They intended for their son to go to college, and wanted to know if I could recommend a good grammar workbook series or software product. I asked them if their objective was to help their son become a better reader, and they assured me it was.
I told them I knew several good products they could buy, but asked if they might be interested in something a little less orthodox. I told them I had an idea I used with my own children that worked pretty well. They looked uncomfortable, but were willing to listen.
Take your son to a book store and go to the magazine area. Take the money you were going to spend on the workbooks and hand it to your son. $50 should be about right. Tell him to spend the money on any magazines he likes. The only rule is that he must spend all of the money. Do not comment on what he buys. It does not matter.
You take him home and put the magazines in his room. "That's it?" they asked. "That's it" I answered. Here is how it works. He will most likely buy a bunch of junk, but you should not really care. He will look through the magazines, reading headlines and captions. Sometimes he will read whole articles. Give him a week or two and then ask him which of the ten or so magazines he likes best. Buy him a subscription to the three he likes best. Don't discuss it with him. Just subscribe to the magazines in his name. When they show up, just put them on his bed. Eventually he will read them, most likely when you are gone or not looking.
What this does is teach him that reading gives pleasure. Once that has been experienced, the whole concept of reading changes for him. If he starts reading for pleasure, magazines, newspapers, anything, he will get better at it. It will give more pleasure and he will do it more. In the end, he will start finding books to read. His language skills will improve and life will be good.
I have suggested that idea many times because the process seems to work. I like teaching language skills by helping students find out that using language feels good. It reminds me of Peter Elbow's method of teaching writing. Let them create without editing. Then edit what has been created. It feels good to write freely and it feels good to edit and fool around with what you have created.
In fact, I liked the magazine idea so much that I figured out a variation of the same idea using books. In the alternative school where I teach I get a lot of kids with really serious problems. They often hate school and teachers and anything academic because in the past they have not been successful in that environment. The trick, I decided, was to find a way for them to experience small, quick success and feel pleasure rather than pain.
Now, when I begin working with a new student, I talk with him or her long enough to get a rough idea about their attitude, skill level, likes and dislikes, interests. Then I pick a book and hand it to them. I tell them that they only need to read 25 pages, long enough to give the author time to get something going with the plot and characters. If they like it, go ahead and read it. If they don't like it, we will trade it in on something else.
If they read one book, no matter what it is, you have a good chance of helping the student transcend past failures. The student has completed a book, felt pleasure, and most importantly, made a connection with you as a teacher. I find a second book as close to what the first one was as possible and give that to the student. I don't ask for any writing for discussion. If the student starts talking about the book, great. We have a discussion. Otherwise, right on to the second book.
If they read that, you have a wide open door into your student's heart and mind. You have introduced someone to the wonder of literature, even if what you gave them to read was formula fiction.
That quote is right. First help them find pleasure in reading. Then
discuss ideas, do some writing, nurture that spark. They may ask you for suggestions or explore on their own; but either way, they will find and read those great books."
"B.F. Skinner was a Harvard psychology professor and author of the book Walden II, a novel about a community run by his behaviorist principles. He argued that "We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love reading."
I think it is possible to do both, but the idea expressed in Skinner's quote is a good one. Teach kids to love reading first. Teach everything else after that. Let me give you an example of my version of this idea.
I had a meeting one afternoon with two very, very serious parents. Their son, a freshman, had poor reading skills. They intended for their son to go to college, and wanted to know if I could recommend a good grammar workbook series or software product. I asked them if their objective was to help their son become a better reader, and they assured me it was.
I told them I knew several good products they could buy, but asked if they might be interested in something a little less orthodox. I told them I had an idea I used with my own children that worked pretty well. They looked uncomfortable, but were willing to listen.
Take your son to a book store and go to the magazine area. Take the money you were going to spend on the workbooks and hand it to your son. $50 should be about right. Tell him to spend the money on any magazines he likes. The only rule is that he must spend all of the money. Do not comment on what he buys. It does not matter.
You take him home and put the magazines in his room. "That's it?" they asked. "That's it" I answered. Here is how it works. He will most likely buy a bunch of junk, but you should not really care. He will look through the magazines, reading headlines and captions. Sometimes he will read whole articles. Give him a week or two and then ask him which of the ten or so magazines he likes best. Buy him a subscription to the three he likes best. Don't discuss it with him. Just subscribe to the magazines in his name. When they show up, just put them on his bed. Eventually he will read them, most likely when you are gone or not looking.
What this does is teach him that reading gives pleasure. Once that has been experienced, the whole concept of reading changes for him. If he starts reading for pleasure, magazines, newspapers, anything, he will get better at it. It will give more pleasure and he will do it more. In the end, he will start finding books to read. His language skills will improve and life will be good.
I have suggested that idea many times because the process seems to work. I like teaching language skills by helping students find out that using language feels good. It reminds me of Peter Elbow's method of teaching writing. Let them create without editing. Then edit what has been created. It feels good to write freely and it feels good to edit and fool around with what you have created.
In fact, I liked the magazine idea so much that I figured out a variation of the same idea using books. In the alternative school where I teach I get a lot of kids with really serious problems. They often hate school and teachers and anything academic because in the past they have not been successful in that environment. The trick, I decided, was to find a way for them to experience small, quick success and feel pleasure rather than pain.
Now, when I begin working with a new student, I talk with him or her long enough to get a rough idea about their attitude, skill level, likes and dislikes, interests. Then I pick a book and hand it to them. I tell them that they only need to read 25 pages, long enough to give the author time to get something going with the plot and characters. If they like it, go ahead and read it. If they don't like it, we will trade it in on something else.
If they read one book, no matter what it is, you have a good chance of helping the student transcend past failures. The student has completed a book, felt pleasure, and most importantly, made a connection with you as a teacher. I find a second book as close to what the first one was as possible and give that to the student. I don't ask for any writing for discussion. If the student starts talking about the book, great. We have a discussion. Otherwise, right on to the second book.
If they read that, you have a wide open door into your student's heart and mind. You have introduced someone to the wonder of literature, even if what you gave them to read was formula fiction.
That quote is right. First help them find pleasure in reading. Then
discuss ideas, do some writing, nurture that spark. They may ask you for suggestions or explore on their own; but either way, they will find and read those great books."
There is a phenomenon called Mattew Effect, which applies to reading as well. More we read, the easier reading becomes and less we read, the harder reading becomes (duh!!).
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