Two Writing Teachers have written about the Slice of Life on their blog. Head on over and check it out!
I have a confession to make. Both of my sons have read books that make me want to break out the lectures on good story structure, good manners, and all around what makes a good book.
I desperately wanted to rip the books from their hands, hold them high, and declare from the top of my kitchen stool why they shouldn't be reading them.
Books like this:
And this:
More than anything I want to ban these books from my house forever. The "book lover" in me wants to show them "something better" to read. As a teacher I have just about any book at my disposal. Here is why I'm continuing to honor these selections: (Even though I'm getting twitchy doing it!)
1. My Li'l came home from the library clutching "The Captain" as if he had found a piece of gold. I wish I would have captured the picture of the day we were in the car, and he was clutching the book with white knuckles. It is the first time in his little life that he has brought a book to us in the waking hours, and Begged us to read to him. He will read with us at bedtime, but he wasn't really into bringing us books in the waking hours and asking us to read. Yes, he's 5. Yes, I know the content that is in these books. Yes, I know that he's probably not ready for them. But "The Captain" has opened the door for us to sit with him and then gently suggest other books to read too! And it's working. A chapter of "The Captain" has resulted in some great nonfiction reading, and some willingness to try to read on his own. (Other selections of course.)
2. My oldest started reading "The Diary" when a VIP in his life hooked on to them. Oh, let the lectures begin. "They don't say good things about school." "He's sarcastic." "You aren't ready to know what that really means."
But the thing is, the VIP was a reluctant reader, and was struggling greatly. I was watching up close parents who do everything right by their kids, and he still wasn't picking up books. When the VIP started hauling these around as if they were a gift, and my oldest picked up on that, all of a sudden we had two young lives that were being connected by...what's that??? Books. There is nothing better than peeking in a bedroom and seeing them peering over a book laughing hysterically.
So, I bite my tongue. The piles of books for us to love together are waiting. Until then, The Captain and The Diary are welcome in this house.
As a final thought, I can't wait until I work through this as an educator, and see the implications of what this means in a classroom setting. Confession: I'm still working through this.
Joy!
Kendra
I love the Maya Angelou quote - it's a new one for me. It's one I need to share with parents. I love the honesty in your slice.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and one that I'm sure a lot of teacher-parents deal with! I believe that quote is true… sometimes we have to come out of our comfort boxes and live in our students' for a bit. Good for you for letting reading shine through first!
ReplyDeleteWhat ever it takes to hook them, then we can mold them and teach them. Yes, some books drive us crazy, but you have to choose your battles wisely.
ReplyDeleteMy only response is that I'm sure in my own life I've read some junky books, & enjoyed the 'read'. I used to buy my son lots of comic books because he wasn't reading either, but one teacher also got him interested in the newspaper-he was hooked by non-fiction. The quote is true, great post!
ReplyDeleteI immediately flashed on my high school self reading all the V. C. Andrews books. Siblings locked in an attic and falling in love? I was all over that junk! Now I can't imagine what they were even doing in our school library, but there was a whole series of them and they were like a train wreck I couldn't turn away from. I knew they were trash, I knew my parents would disapprove, and that made me want to read them even more! HAHA They kept me reading all through high school though. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, our boys and their books! But, as a dedicated Babysitters Club reader, whatever works! Love the quote...let's frame it and hang it everywhere!
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