For the love of reading...

A few weeks back I was able to attend the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project Saturday Reunion in NYC, a wonderful opportunity sponsored by the district.  These Reunion Saturdays are attended by thousands of teachers from all across the country, and are full of workshops led by some of the most respected experts in the field of literacy.  It was a truly unforgettable, joyful experience.

The plenary speaker was Dav Pilkey, author of children's books such as The Paperboy, Captain Underpants, and Dog Man.  As a second grade teacher, I was very familiar with his work, but not with him as a writer.  Pilkey spoke about how he came to be a best-selling children's author, after beginning as a struggling student in elementary school; a non-reader with significant ADHD.  He talked about the teachers he had who tried to limit his reading to books that were "his level", books that may have been accessible to the teacher, but which he had little interest in.  He said that it all changed when his Mother began taking him to their local library, and allowing him to read whatever he wanted to read, whatever caught his interest.  He said that everything changed when reading became about "love... not levels."  He challenged the audience... does it matter as much WHAT children are reading, if they aren't developing into readers?  Maybe it matters more that they ARE reading... books that they love, books that they choose.

It's this same love of reading that Becket Washington School tries to instill in our readers.  Using the TCRWP curriculum, children are responsible for picking their own reading material.  They book shop regularly, and fill their bags with whatever titles brings them joy.  

It's also this same love of reading that has been inspiring me to check dozens of books out of the Dalton library every couple weeks.  Last unit, I was checking out graphic novels by the basketful. Students couldn't get enough of these books... they devoured them as quickly as I could bring them in.  This unit, I checked out 45 nonfiction books on all different topics, from all different "levels". There are books in our classroom on topics from baking breakfast treats, to farm horses, to boneless sea creatures.  There are books on guinea pigs, motocross, swimming, keeping rabbits, and even whale poop!  Children are scooping them up eagerly and reading... persevering through even the tricky parts because they are invested in what they chose to read.  

As a classroom teacher, it's a wonderful thing to see... children growing as readers, both in skill and in love, right before my very eyes.