Heather Register Blog Post 3-Routman "Share Your Reading Life"

Reading Essentials by Regie Routman-Chapter 3 “Share Your Reading Life”

“What kinds of messages am I sending with the work I am structuring?” This statement resonated with me as I read this chapter. As I reflect on my time in the classroom, I’m sometimes convicted that some of the approaches I took with reading were unintentionally defeating my purposes. Routman refers to some of the less than stellar practices I incorporated such as having parents sign reading logs and requiring written responses to books read independently. Instead, I should have been opening up to my students about my own reading life. I bet they would’ve loved to know that a young Mrs. Register didn’t sleep with stuffed animals but stacked her favorite books by her pillow instead. I love to read, however, busyness and life responsibilities have gotten in the way. If I want students to share my love of reading, I need to reignite that love and practice reading more often. Was what I doing as a teacher keeping my students from actually enjoying reading? I was making my job harder and theirs more boring.

            One of the most tedious practices I ever hated doing was keeping track of reading logs. I knew most of them were made up, forged, or forgotten. I just didn’t know how else to track what students were doing. When Routman discussed her own distaste with long reading records and her choice to think about her preferences as a reader when recording, I thought that maybe engaging students in a discussion about how to keep track of their own reading would be an effective strategy. Allowing them to have a voice in what they would be completing might help them feel more ownership over their reading lives and maybe this would promote more efficient record keeping.

            Another point that I found powerful was Routman’s statement about what to do with a student who just can’t find a book he or she is interested in. Her solution? Help them find a book that interests them. Fed up last year with gifted students who refused to read, I set out to do just that. It was daunting and I wasn’t always successful. However with that mindset, I do feel like I got more of my reluctant readers hooked than if I hadn’t taken the time and shown them that I cared if they l liked what they were reading.

            A final portion of this chapter that stood out to me was the statement that, “Well-stocked and well-used libraries, in school and at home, are positively associated with reading achievement.” I’m well aware of the hard work our school puts in to providing books to students. My concern comes with how we can help families see the need for books in their homes and the need to make reading a priority for their children. Many families can’t afford books and that’s understandable. What can be done to remedy this situation? This is something I’d like to look into more.