Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Where did you learn to love reading?

According to a Telegraph article, it's not in the classroom. See, I don't think that's necessarily true. If you have the right teacher, one that actually gives a damn and attempts to step outside the curriculum to integrate some contemporary flavor into the classic dust, it could be a very beneficial environment. When you have the schmoes that are more concerned about their paychecks and social lives than performing their job as they should (meaning superseding the bare minimum absolutely required), you get kids that are being gypped.

I never remember not having books around. In fact, my mom and I just unearthed a whole box of an old but pretty valuable set of books that were saved over the years. I don't remember not having them around, that's how long I've had them. My mom's always been a big reader and I remember flipping through her books when I was really little. I couldn't understand anything but books were always around and I always wanted to touch them. Reading's always been there so when it came to school, it was a breeze. It's like going to art class when you already have a natural talent for art that doesn't involve stick figures.

It didn't matter what was forced on me in school; it never hampered my want to read. And, I think, having a teacher there that's the source for such an introduction to reading for a child that might not have had the same literary influence could be just as beneficial. Classrooms, while cess pools for mass market education, can actually be helpful to a child, especially if that child is eager for something and they just might not know what that something is.

So where did your love of reading come from? Your parents? Your own curiosity? A teacher that was so overly enthusiastic about books that you just had to see what the big deal was? Spill.

7 comments:

Brooke Reviews said...

My love of reading came from my Nana. Before I entered school she was always buying me books. The first real books I read were Little Women and The Secret Garden. They remain two of my favorite books to this day.

Thao said...

My love of reading came from my Literature teacher in grade 7th. She made me read a lot and write a lot back then. Everytime anyone had good grades in classes she'd give the person a book/set of books. It was really fun and encouraging.

bettielee said...

My love of reading started at home, and I too, grew up surrounded by books. We had tottering piles of them everywhere. My mom read like crazy. But I had teachers that inspired me to write.

Cindy said...

I fell in love with reading in 3rd grade, the age where you read to learn :) My teacher encouraged me so much and talked to my mom about my reading with such pride, that I've never been able to stop!

Unknown said...

Great topic!!

I agree about the teacher part. I've had some teachers that don't even care of have just given up.
My parents aren't big readers and neither is my sister but thanks to my wonderful, hilarious, sometimes crazy, 8th grade teacher, I started to actually LOVE reading. I haven't stopped reading since then. :) I red quite a bit before then though but I didn't actually love it as much as when I got to 8th grade all because of that teacher. Boy, she LOVED to read too. :D I kinda feel sad that I didn't really grow up with books, I sometimes feel like I missed out but then I think it's not so bad that I started out "late" because I lean to appreciate it more. Well, that's what I think. :)

Donna (Bites) said...

Awesome responses, guys! Check out the next post for an awesome place to share your stories!

Anonymous said...

My mother read to me the Petite Prince which then I read myself a countless times. After that she bought me books with tapes, covering Hollywood movies (Star Wars and The Black Hole), Greek Mythology (Hercules, Pegasus, The Odyssey) and American classics (Rip Van Winkle, Jamestown). After that I was hooked and never turned back.

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