Everyone seems to have misunderstood the purpose of my question. I know how to motivate my kids to read. I know to expose them to quality books and stories. I've read all the books from Chris Tovani's to Kylene Beers. I just wanted to know if everyone was noticing what I was noticing....we are getting better readers, but they aren't becoming life long readers.
Most of my kids had to do homework logs last year in 7th grade and they hate to read. They got all their AR points last year, and they hate to read. They did fluency practice every day last year, and they hate to read. They read leveled stories out of the reading text (high interest, low reading level and intelligence level), and they hate to read. We are forcing the act of reading on them, and they are hating to read. I understand the need to practice, and I stress it with my kids, but are we practicing them to death? I hated practicing piano, but I loved to pick out tunes and figure out songs. Are we neglecting the joy of reading? They may be able to pass the state test, but if they hate to read, they won't teach their children to read. If that happens, we are going to have a nation of non-readers who hate to read and their children who will learn to hate to read and then what's the point of all our work? We need to make them better readers, but we have forgotten the emotional appeal of learning. I have loved reading since I was a baby, and I am an excellent reader....not because I practiced every day, but because I loved reading. If we instill a love for reading, the better readers will develop. Bill _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
