Growing Up with Reading

Growing up, books were part of the big moments as well as the everyday.

 It was from my frequent contact with books that I gained the love for words that led me to where I am as a student in the English Teaching program here at USU. Here are some of the lessons I learned about reading from my experiences with books (Warning: I was feelin sappy-ish when I wrote these…)

1)      That reading can form/strengthen relationships. 

One of my favorite things as a little girl was sitting on one of my Grandma’s lap (BOTH read to me often...) while she would read me a story. I still remember my favorites: one about the famous "little engine that could," and another about an old Russian babushka whose kindness earned her an enchanted goose that could lay brilliantly-colored eggs. These stories connected me not only to the fascinating characters in the books, but to my grandmothers, to whom I’ll always attribute at least part of my love of learning to. There’s nothing quite like reading and appreciating literature with someone you care about.

Image from the book Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco

2)      That reading shouldn't be taken for granted.

When I was about 12, it just so happened that the latest Harry Potter book came out the day before our family’s yearly backpacking trip. The hike required to get to our camping spot was no cakewalk, so only the absolute necessities could be brought along—which, of course, meant that a 10 pound Harry Potter book didn’t qualify. While I stayed up late into the night trying to devour as much of it as I could before our trip, I only made it halfway (I was having to take turns with my mom and sister, too!), and left on our trip the next morning thinking that I’d just half to finish it in a few days. It was later the next day, after a long hike around the Lake, that the most memorable part of the trip occurred, when my dad handed me a photo-copy he’d made of the chapter I’d left off on. He’d snuck it into his pack! Suddenly given something to read in a world with no books was like being given a giant, cold Diet Pepsi in the middle of a desert or something (bad analogy…), and as I savored those written words, I think I gained a slightly better idea of how precious and thoroughly awesome reading can and should be.

A shot of our annual backpacking destination (near Ten Sleep, WY)

3)      That everyday reading makes life rich. 

Many of my memories of the everyday while growing up involve reading of some kind: my mom, in the blue armchair, relaxing with yet another book she was able to find which, strangely, always seemed to have small-town preachers as their protagonists; my dad at the dinner table excitedly relating some shocking fact he’d learned from the latest biographical audiobook he’d listened to on anyone from Dean Karnazes to the Kennedy’s; my  half-awake little sister, still in her Dora pajamas, slowly sounding-out each letter in the Bible verse when it came her turn to read during morning “Scriptures”…

An OLD picture of the fam! Including both sets of my grandparents (all of whom were teachers). I'm the nerd in the red.

While I had the opportunity to grow up with reading, I recognize that many of my students will not have. Knowing this, I guess, has been another motivation to become an English teacher. There are several things I plan to do as I try to help my students gain a greater love for reading. Some of these are:

1)      Choose books, poems and other written materials that A) have content relevant and intriguing to students, B) are written at a level which will challenge (yet not discourage) them as readers, and C) I am passionate about. 

2)      Frequently give my students opportunities to make personal connections with the class readings, by doing things like journal writing, small-group discussions about content as well as personal reactions to the readings, etc.

3)      Make improving some aspect of my students’ reading skills a daily goal in my instruction, teaching methods such as how to take good notes, ask as well as find the answers to questions, and make connections and predictions while reading.

Looking back, I know that my frequent contact with reading while growing up has had a big impact on me. Hopefully, my teaching will help my students gain a greater love for reading, too.