EDTP 540: Reading Response: Wilhelm Intro & Ch. 1

At the close of the introduction, Wilhelm briefly introduces a girl he calls Joanne. I liked Joanne, and I'd like to get to know her better. I like that she was forthright enough with her teacher to tell him, "You're not interested in how I read." I like that she's savvy enough to separate what is right or true for her from "what you all (teachers) think is right." And I like that after she "does what she has to" in school, she goes home and spends time on "real reading." (Wilhelm, 10) That is, of course, pleasure reading, apart from quizzes, questions, and assigned page quotas.

Yeah, I like Joanne, but how many kids are like her? I always thought I was pretty smart, and I always thought I loved to read, but even now as a grad student I have trouble bringing myself to do much pleasure reading after all my school reading. As teachers, can we make all reading "real reading?" Can we let kids who have sports, TV, video games, hi-tech toys, and the internet only read pleasurable material? Is it possible to make everything they read a pleasure? Of course not, so where do we start, and where do we stop?

Wilhelm notes that his students "didn't seem to converse with or critique characters, authors, or other readers." (23) Maybe Joanne did, but she knew well enough not to do it in school. I bring this point up, though, because the trutt is that we can't make all reading a pleasure, but we can teach kids that it's ok for them to dislike a book. We can let them know that even English teachers sometimes read books that we don't like, or even stop reading books that we don't like. We can stop cramming the institution down their throats and admit that we didn't get Shakespeare the first time either, Bronte is a bore, and every time I sat down to read Heart of Darkness in high school, I literally fell asleep. I did get through it, but it took a while.

I suppose you'll always have the "Marvins" who just think that reading is stupid, but you'll also have the Joannes, and if kids who like to read don't like to read for your class, you're doing it wrong.