Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It

Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About it, by Kelly Gallagher, is a good read. As a student, I loved reading. But I did experience many of the things schools do to kill reading. Chapter three resonated with me because I’ve seen teachers over teach books. It kills the joy of reading. Gallagher makes great points saying you wouldn’t stay for a movie if it were paused 22 times to discuss it and by over teaching, many educators hit the state standards, but miss the real importance of reading a book. Having experienced many of the things he writes about, I understand how a student’s desire to read is extinguished or never even developed.

One of my other classes recently went to a local high school. We observed a freshman honors English class where they were reading To Kill a Mockingbird. The teacher had made a packet for students to fill out as they read. I grabbed one to look it over and saw most of the questions were asking students to relate the reading to their own worlds and experiences. He asked them to relate to the first snow Scout and Jem experienced. He asked them if they ever had a neighbor who was mysterious or creepy like Boo Radley. And he asked them to think of other texts, movies, TV shows and music that could help them relate to the novel. I really liked the packet and thought it was a good use of the students’ time.

Readicide made me think a lot about my three week unit plan for this class that’s due in a few weeks. I really want to go through it and make sure that my plans encourage students to read. I want to ask them thoughtful, relevant questions instead of over teaching and hitting state standards. I agree with Gallagher that schools are killing the love of reading. But as a future teacher, I can change that and allow students the time to read for pleasure and experience the “flow.”