Importance of Establishing Competent Readers

In class today, we discussed our interests in reading, how to best teach reading, and the implications involved in teaching reading. I think the number one factor in determining a student's overall school and life success is rooted in their enthusiasm for reading. This idea is supported by the articles we looked at in class about Finnish students. They start school at an older age, have less homework, looser discipline, and no honors classes, yet they outscore EVERY nation in the world! Why is that? I believe, like many scholars have suggested, that their success is largely due to their love of reading. Aside from having to read subtitles while watching TV, the culture nurtures a love of reading. In fact, the government endorses this by sending children a picture book when they are born. Reading is definitely something we can do better in the U.S. A majority students in our country start to find reading boring and a chore once they hit middle school and, in reality, if students have not mastered reading by late elementary school, they are very unlikely to pick up the habit later in life. I believe schools need to foster reading for fun (at all levels). Book reports are fine but they should not be the only assessment for reading. Teachers should allow their students to read books of their own choosing and, instead of a final or report, teachers could set up discussions with the students that would demonstrate their reading comprehension.


As I stated above, I believe reading enthusiasm and skill is the number one factor in predicting student success. The longer a student pursues their education, the more they are going to have to read. Students need to enjoy reading to a certain extent in order to stay fully motivated in school. Homework will come much easier for students who enjoy reading. Aside from the benefits in school, students who leisurely read outside of the classroom also learn more than the school could ever teach them. For example, students learn a variety of ways to express themselves by reading multiple genres of texts. Also, in school, vocabulary lessons can only go so far, especially since some students will feel challenged by it and some will not (the structure of these is a whole other matter however). Therefore, students can learn and understand vocabulary better when they see it used in context in a story. Also, avid reading fosters creativity and imagination. I would also argue that leisure reading can also increase a student's intrinsic motivation, as the satisfaction felt for finishing a book is a form of delayed gratification. That, and their reward is not something external, it is another book for students to enjoy.

Thus, my point is that America's schools need to focus on creating competent readers. While it is most crucial to build these skills in elementary schools, the upper level schools need to work on these skills as well--no matter what subject area. Teachers need to pinpoint students who are struggling with reading and work with them to reach competence. With all the technological stimulation out in the world today, the book is being thrown aside as "boring." However, being one who did not have a TV for awhile, and thus read for entertainment, I find TV "boring." I believe that if schools work harder at establishing reading competence and promoting a love for reading, students will be much better off. The side effects of too much TV would be less of an issue and actually, students can probably come up with more creative ideas for solving all the world's problems by being well-read. Boys are especially suspectible to falling behind in reading. This can be solved by paying them special attention and providing reading resources that boys would find more interesting. These changes need to start occuring now within the schools. Hopefully, in the near future, the government will recognize the importance of reading as well and stop placing all the emphasis on math and science. Even mathematicans and scientists have to read! Perhaps if schools start making headway on reading skills, the U.S. will become more like Finland's government, providing support and fund for building reading enthusiasm.