Thursday, November 13, 2008

Reading Reflection

I would not call myself an avid reader.  When I was younger I enjoyed reading and my parents would definitely encourage me to read outside of things I had to read for school.  As I got older and went through high school, there were definitely books that I enjoyed reading, but did not read on a regular basis unless it was for my classes.  I think I was discouraged by the notion that I was forced to read things picked by my teachers and that I had no say in this decision (even though they are now some of my favorite classic books).  I then went on to college and graduated with my B.A. in English Literature.  I definitely surprised myself with how interested I became in my classes and how well I did with the heavy load of reading especially in my last few semesters of college.  I have been reading now more than ever before and have recently been reading some classics that I either don't remember well or haven't actually gotten the chance to read.  There are definitely many different categories of text that interest me.  I enjoy mystery and suspense novels and thinking back on college, my favorite classes were British Women's Literature and I also enjoyed Latin/Latino Literature.  I also enjoy the guilty pleasure of reading pointless fiction for example, The Devil Wears Prada, etc.  
I definitely remember my mother and father reading to me a lot as a child.  They are both big readers.  I have a large collection of books that are probably from early childhood ranging to about young adult categories.  As for school, I don't have any vivid memories about working with certain books but I am sure we did.  Apparently nothing was significant enough for me to remember... I do enjoy and appreciate reading now more than when I was younger and in school.

2 comments:

Cindy Figgs said...

Hi Carey,

That wonderful that after not liking to read you graduated with a BA in Literature. Good for you!

I think it is extremely important for parents to be involved and read to their children. It definitely sets an example and motivation for a child to want to read on their own. And I understand what you're saying about having been forced to read books you had no interest in. However, its a part of the school life, lol. But it can be a negative experience as I know a few of my friends state the same thing. I guess we can give our children a choice on what they want to read, something that captures their attention.

irvingl said...

I remember being unhappy in High School that all of the books were assigned ones as well. I never had a choice of what I read for school. Hopefully as teachers we can find a way to do both; teach required reading and let our students make thier own choices and find books they are excited about.