I remember taking Jenna to the library and checking out books. We would read together. She would look at books on her own. She looked forward to any reading contest or book clubs. She enjoyed traveling through books and acquiring knowledge. Reading was a positive thing.
Fast forward to the school years that required certain books to analyze in order to receive a good
grade. Reading was no longer fun. We had to dissect each sentence and look for
symbolic meaning. Why can’t we just
enjoy books for the sake of entertainment or learn about subjects that really
do interest us instead of something that the educational system came up
with?
Jenna’s frustration leads her to say, “ why do you
suppose the author chose the word ‘the’? What does that mean? What can we learn about
the author illustrating the sky was blue rather than orange or gray? What do these colors represent?”
I
understand her frustration. I felt the
same way, and we’re not alone. Being forced to
read To Kill a Mocking Bird would not
have been so bad if being graded on the representation of every word and
character had not “killed” the joy of reading. At least
Jenna will read and memorize script. I
find myself relying more on video or audio entertainment than reading. I get tired reading.
I’ve never been an avid reader. I
am slow. I would rather read on my own
terms though I often wish it was at a faster pace. I do enjoy learning – but I’d rather research what interests me and what is easiest for my mind to
handle.