Readicide

Readicide by Kelly Gallagher brought up all the good points as to how reading is being killed in classrooms. Some of Gallaghers statements are a little dated as no child left behind was still around during that time but has (mostly) changed to common core, which has tried to fix some of the problems. One such problem Gallagher brings up is teaching to the test, taking exams consisting of all multiple choice. In common core though, one should always be teaching to the test.

One of my favorite ideas Gallagher suggested to use was the article of the week. Students, and even myself, either have a hard time keeping up with politics or current world affairs or do not care about them, leaving a lack of real world knowledge when they graduate. Article of the week allows students to read one article and respond to it. By doing this, students are learning about the world around them so they will be more roundly educated. An article of the week would benefit everyone, including the teacher.

Gallagher raised an interesting point when he said that students drive and wanting to read by the overuse of analyzing, worksheets, and quizzes, among other assignments paired with reading. By having so much work coupled with a text, the text becomes a weight, weighing down a student’s inspiration to read. Gallagher put it best that when someone buys a book or rents one, they do not do it expecting a test to follow, they read because they are interested. A student, however, cannot be held completely accountable to read on their own, there needs to be a balance of teacher guidance and work.  A teacher must be careful as to not over work a student when it comes to reading.