Next Post
An interesting article about reading/literature pedagogy, in the NY Times today, helped alleviate some of the disappointment I felt after finding out that public television’s Reading Rainbow has come to an end. 
I am a firm believer in the “read what you want” approach. I was an avid reader (both academically and non) until my junior year of high school. At that point, the sheer volume of reading material for school (plus physics, calculus, an overly full extracurricular schedule, and a dash of teenage angst) killed my interest in reading for fun. I consider it a blessing that, in my final semester of senior year, I decided to drop out of AP Lit (did that teacher really think we didn’t catch on to his slacker motives for having the class divide into groups and “teach itself”?). As a replacement, I took a class called “Reading Lab,” much like this Times article describes. If it weren’t for that class, where I had the freedom to read what I wanted, and a time designated to do it every weekday, I’m not sure if I’d be the book lover I am today.
(Pictured is my high school library in Vermillion, South Dakota. Sigh…the “good” old days.)
