Learning Log 5

I remember when I was in school as a child that my teachers made the selections of the books that we were going to read for the year.  It was not common practice at the time to be able to disagree with the teachers, and I do not believe that teachers were completely honest with me about their reading habits or preferences.  I do not remember seeing very many of them that were reading for their own enjoyment.  In other words, I do not remember them being reading role models.  My reading role models were my parents, who were forever reading when they were not at work or had spare time after taking care of things around the house.  I do not understand how so many teachers can expect their students to develop a passion for reading when they do not have that passion themselves.  The teachers are the leaders of their classrooms, and as such, they must be reading role models for the students.  In order to fulfill this role, teachers need to reflect on what reading means to them, and it is critical that teachers communicate with their students on their own personal reading struggles.  This will illustrate to the students that they are not the only ones in the classroom that have struggles.  It will also show students that this type of a classroom is safe, and it is a community that supports learning.

Teachers can create a reading improvement plan to foster positive feelings about reading.  Teachers set a time for personal reading daily, and they select books that interesting to them.  Reading children's books are a great way to get in touch with what their students are interested in reading.  Teachers need to be aware and check out book recommendations either from the industry or from their students, which is essential in establishing and maintaining their role model status.  It is important for everybody not just the students to keep a reader's notebook in which to record reflections of the books that are being read.