Tara Morgan – Something Something Reading in the Wild
I thought that the first chapter of Miller’s Reading in the Wild was amazingly well-written, and there were points put forth with which I enthusiastically agree. At the beginning of the chapter, Miller states that the endless “to-do” list of professional, personal, and familial obligations can make it difficult to fit in the proper time to read; Miller acknowledged that “if [she] didn’t make reading a priority, it would be easy to skip it.” The truth to that statement hurts, because I do not make reading as large of a priority as I would have preferred. In the text, there is a passage in which a lady claims that when she does get some down time, she usually checks Facebook instead of reading a book, and I usually do the same. But here’s the thing: that lady has kids and a busy adult life as an excuse. What’s my excuse? It’s not like I go home after school and work and read. No, I lay on the floor and watch YouTube. I am a monster.
That is why I consider myself a “fake reader;” I pretend that I read a heck of a lot more than I actually do. However, this is not to say that I never read! I will definitely peruse assigned readings and whatnot, but that is only because I value my grades, not because I WANT to read that oh-so-interesting article on the reason why my generation is worthless is because we don’t read. I wish that I wasn’t a faker and actually read as often as I claim I do, because I used to absolutely adore reading as a child. I hope that the 10-minute reading sessions at the beginning of class will help me overcome my laziness and get back into the habit of reading for pleasure.
One Reply to “Tara Morgan – Something Something Reading in the Wild”
Hi Tara! Great post, it flowed so well! I am also really looking forward to reading an actual book during the ten minute reading session during class time. I never read books anymore. I am obsessed with pop culture and read celebrity gossip articles everyday, but never books. In reading the introduction, I saw my sister as Miller sees her husband. Reading is apart of their identity. My sister always a book in her hand and knows exactly what she is going to read next. My goal this semester is to finish at least one book for fun that I chose I on own and not one that was assigned for a class. I challenge you to do the same. When it comes to fake reading, I do read gossip articles, but if textbook reading is assigned for class, I do the absolute bare minimum. I too, am a fake reader. In my blog, I wrote about my fears in how to address a student who is fake reading during class. Do you have any ideas about one day addressing fake readers in your own classroom?