Donalyn Miller’s Reading in the Wild chapter 1 has thus far advanced my fear as a future teacher, challenging the idea if I will be able to create wild readers. The book itself is bringing many points that I haven’t thought of for myself as a reader, to carry a book at all times. To set even 5 minutes to read a day, and not only read for hours on end. As a reader I lack time, and that is not an excuse. “Invested readers make time to read.”

The other idea that was pointed out clearly was ‘fake reading’ and list the signs to be looking for, and as a teacher it is our job to be aware of our students and their abilities and search for any “pattern of nonreading behavior.” And what we, as educators should do in response of the students “fake reading.” This is intertwined with my fear of being a teacher, I hope I can create an environment for students to read and feel comfortable with adjustments when they do not feel as if they are being successful. I aspire to be a teacher who can create comfortable classrooms and help students reach and surpass reading goals.

This story has no trickery

Her disguise is purely clothed

Yet they share urgency

While lust is highly loathed

 

Men fall in love with a beautiful face

Stalk down their prey

As if it was a race

This beauty queen traded up

Rags for disguise

Until the prince could never catch up

 

I’ll start off with my name, that’s a solid introduction; my name is Hailey Erickson. As most other students in this course, I am liberal studies major. As much as that major defines me so does my minor in Special Education, I am able to declare this semester. I have been involved in the special education community for most of my life, and am eager to have my own classroom someday. I am a working student which also defines me, as I transferred from Butte College after one too many years and began at Chico State last fall. I work as a caregiver for 2 incredible young adults with intellectual and physical disabilities, and have for over 2 years. I am the youngest sibling of 3 and enjoy having my family local for now, including my boyfriend of 2 years moving to Chico this last semester. I am passionate about what I do and am looking forward to another challenging semester of seeing what I have to offer.

When we recently read Bronwyn T. Williams “A Puzzle to the Rest of Us” it brought a familiar sense to me of questioning what qualifies as reading, what makes a reader. I read an article last semester that mentioned that we as a generation have been told we are the least likely to read, stats are decreasing. It must be questioned what is being qualified as reading, scholarly articles, novels or medical advances? Before these articles, I would define a reader as a book person, nose to paper, walking while reading. Now I can boldly define that I believe every one of us are readers, readers of signs, journals, books and mostly online post. We are all reading more than ever before, challenging the idea that we read less. We may not be only reading hundreds of novels but we read early morning, late nights and everywhere in between. At a ripe eligible reading age, we all become readers.