D&Z Chapter 12: Recommendations from Reading Research (What I Truly Believe In)

The final chapter of “Subjects Matter” is dedicated to “point out some of the key studies and reports that are giving an ever clearer picture of “what works” in enhancing students’ comprehension of the nonfiction text genres that comprise our subject fields” (p. 281). There are many conclusions listed and described within this chapter that I find to be important, but there were a particular few that I really believed whole-heartedly. 

In the section entitled, “What students read” I particularly enjoyed and believed in number 2 on the list which explains that “ students should read for the same purposes as literate adults, for both information and pleasure. A sense of personal purpose is key to their reading success”. When I read this line I screamed “yes!” out loud. In all the years I have loved and enjoyed reading, I have always found that the only reading that motivates and inspires me is reading that I personally feel has a certain purpose. I typically have always hated reading history textbooks, articles, etc. because I have never really felt a personal connection with the text. I never could understand the purpose of reading those texts. Of course, now that I am studying to be a teacher, I appreciate the subject of history for our students, but I still do not have that personal attachment to historical texts. Thus, I really believe in what “Subjects Matter” is stating here. 

Within this same section, there is also a list provided from research that identifies the larger motivations students may have for reading. I personally also whole-heartedly believe in this list because I can relate to so many of its components. For example, one of which I connect with is listed as “ social interactions with others about their reading”. I typically love reading books that I can talk to others about. This may be due to my fascination with literature, but I have always enjoyed debating about characters and over-arching themes in different books. Another component on this list that I agreed with was listed as “ a sense of efficacy, of confidence about their reading abilities”. I never actually thought about this, but I always loved the feeling of reading a book and knowing that not only could I read it, but I could read it well and enjoy it. I honestly loved the feeling of carrying around a particularly large book with 600+ pages I was reading because I always felt like people would look at it and just think “wow, that’s a lot of pages!” While this is embarrassing to admit, I think it is something that really does motivate people to read and challenge their reading. 

In the section entitle “What students read” I also particularly enjoyed and believed in number 5 on the list which explains that “Teenagers need genuine choice of reading materials: much of what they read should be self-selected, based on interest and curiosity” (p. 298). From experience I know this statement to be true for most if not all students. I remember in 7th and 8th grade my English teacher would allow students to pick their own self-selected reading books and would make time for us to journal about what we read. This was always my favorite part of that class. Too often is it now that schools just assign textbooks and reading books to students that are only good for meeting the curriculum. Students are not often allowed to choose what they read and, thus, they typically have issues finding purpose within the work, therefore leading to a decrease in motivation. I have always believed it to be important for students to read books that they choose. Through this act of deciding students begin to discover their own interests and become more likely to relate positive feelings with the act of reading. 

I also found this item on the list interesting because it mentions that teachers often worry that students will choose to read things like “trashy novels and fashion magazines”. The book then continues to say that students tend to actually choose better texts than we think. I believe that list provided in the textbook on page 298 did not do the topic justice. The first book on the list was the third book of the “50 Shades of Grey” trilogy which, to be honest, is not appropriate for students to read in school due to its widely-known sexual content. I was surprised by the book titles on the list, and I didn’t think that the authors should have included those titles to back up their information. This being said, I still believe that students tend to pick meaningful and adventurous books. I am a huge fan of YA literature, and I have a huge library of such books. My favorites are: “The Catcher in the Rye”, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, “Looking for Alaska”, “The Fault in Our Stars”, and “The Book Thief”. I think that there is so much in YA literature that may even be more valuable than reading the classics. This may be shocking to hear from and English major who thoroughly enjoys the classics, but I truly believe that YA literature identifies common issues and themes that students (and even adults) typically have to go through in their lives. Many YA books are written beautifully with multiple layers of important insight and wisdom. The classics are beautifully crafted and are filled with history and skillful writing, but I oftentimes wonder what is more important: the crafting and history of a book that no longer applies to students’ lives anymore, or the crafting and relevance of a book that addresses the most common issues that people go through in their lives. It is a hard call. Especially for an English major. Still, because of my firm belief, I too believe it is important for students to choose what they read about. Oftentimes it is something they can relate to or something they are interested in learning more about. Why take that away from them? 

 Overall, I have learned so much from reading this book. Though it was quite a bit of reading, the content was very inspirational and eye-opening at times. I’ve gained new strategies for teaching and new outlooks on what kind of teacher I want to be. I have also learned a lot about what it means to be a good teacher. The book is definitely worth the read.