SCET Journal 2020

Reconsidering

Our Practice

or Jane Eyre of their own accord. Thinking back to my high school years, I remember my classmates (and on occasion, me) waiting until the last minute to read our summer reading books or running to the store to grab the Cliff Notes version. I wanted to read what I wanted to read, and the school-assigned book was shuffled to the end of the summer; however, a num- ber of my classmates would read for the assignment and be done. What message are we sending our students? Read one or two books, and they are done reading for the summer? Too boring? Too difficult? Hop on the Internet and Google the summary. Based on my teaching experience, assigning classics has not motivated students to read during the summer. Students want to read books they choose to read (Scholastic & YouGov, 2017). Effective reading, regardless of academic pur- pose, actively engages the student in reading and discussions about the text, whether with classmates, friends, family, or anyone else who may have read the same text (Colwell et al., 2018; Ivey & Johnston, 2013). Berit Gordon (2018), author of No More Fake Reading , suggests these discussions do not have to revolve around the same texts or in the classroom. Numerous scholars assert the most effective reading occurs when students choose to read and choose what they read (Barry, 2013; Blanton, 2015; Colwell, et al., 2018; Compton-Lilly, Caloia, Quast, & McCann, 2016; Gordon, 2018; Ivey & Johnston, 2013; Merga, 2014; Merga & Moon, 2016; Whitten, et al., 2016). Choosing to read not only in the summer but also during free time is often contingent on children’s and parents’ reading attitudes. Scholastic and YouGov (2017) surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,718 parents and children ages 6-17 about the importance of reading and their reading attitudes. They found 86% of children ages 6-17 recognize the importance of reading, and 58% of children ages 6-17 like to read books for fun. Likewise, 96% of par- ents recognize the importance of reading in general, and 88% recognize the importance of reading for fun. However, less than 50% of children ages 12-17 read books recreationally more than once or twice a week. Eighty-nine percent of children ages 6-17 prefer the books they pick out. Eighty-eight percent of children What Do Our Students Think About Reading?

say they are more likely to finish a book they person- ally choose. Many of Scholastic and YouGov’s (2017) findings are corroborated in other studies. Many children like to read but prefer not to read (Durán Bautista & Rendón Marulanda, 2018; Merga, 2014; Scho- lastic & YouGov, 2017). Merga’s (2014) and Merga and Moon’s (2016) surveys of high school students revealed many students would read if they could find the right book. However, forty-one percent of children ages 6-17 struggle to find a book to read (Scholastic & YouGov, 2017). Many adolescents who do not like to read say they find reading boring, consider read- ing a distraction from more enjoyable activities, think reading requires too much brain work, and believe reading is too much like school (Love & Hamston, 2003; Merga, 2014; Scholastic & YouGov, 2017). Inevitably, reading for pleasure leads to more reading (Durán Bautista & Rendón Marulanda, 2018; Merga & Moon, 2016; Schüller, Birnbaum, & Kröner, 2016), but compulsory reading and lack of choice often quell desires to read (Merga, 2014; Merga & Moon, 2016; Scholastic & YouGov, 2017). What Influences Reading Attitudes? Students’ reading attitudes are impacted by numerous variables from their environment, relation- ships, and exposure to media. These variables can have a positive or negative impact on the students’ decision to read. Books influence reading attitudes. Despite the adage not to judge a book by its cover, the cover and appearance of a book plays strongly into selecting a book to read (Merga, 2014). Students choose books based on race and ethnicity (Ivey & Johnston, 2013; Merga, 2014) and the desire to read stories about diverse characters and experiences (Merga, 2014; Scholastic & YouGov, 2017). Students also choose books based on genre preference (Barry, 2013; Col- well et al., 2018; Lindley et al., 2016; Merga, 2014; Scholastic & YouGov, 2017). According to Barry’s (2013) survey of 148 eighth graders, adolescents enjoy scary books, funny novels, books in a series, realistic and urban fiction and cartoons, comics or graphic novels. Book selection can also be impact- ed by a student’s desire to connect with a character or situation (Barry, 2013; Colwell et al., 2018; Ivey & Johnston, 2013; Merga, 2014) and to feel represent-

South Carolina English Teacher

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