If there were a Bill of Rights For Readers, it would definitely include the right to choose one's own reading material. No one likes assigned reading, especially being assigned a book by reading level or genre.
When I was ten years old, I decided to read Jane Eyre. It took two weeks of summer vacation for me to plow through the formal language, but the chill house in the English countryside, the haunting shrieks in the night, the orphaned girl in love with the mysterious brooding Mr. Rochester, all gripped my imagination, and I couldn't let it go. That book was definitely not on my reading level, but I'm grateful the adults in my life encouraged my literary explorations rather than confining them.
Now a avid adult reader, I remember being attracted to different genres at different ages. In third grade I read biographies and historical fiction. In fourth and fifth grade I devoured mysteries, especially gothic tales like The Secret Garden and Jane Eyre. In sixth grade, adventures and fantasy were my passion. My parents and teachers never held me back or insisted I read certain books from certain genres. In time I explored many kinds of books on my own.
With free voluntary reading, I believe all children will eventually develop strong reading skills. That's why I'm proud the Collins Library has books to satisfy every student's taste.
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I can relate! My heart just sunk when one of my 2nd graders told me at the beginning of the year that she couldn't read a book I recommended because it wasn't enough AR points!
ReplyDeleteI really hate AR too. It limits what I can read. I don't like reading non-fiction of any kind; I enjoy fantasy, sci-fi, and mytery. But I have to read multiple books from each genre(for reading class), when if it was similar to last year, I could read whatever I want as long as it was the appropriate length. I very much agree with you.
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