Let Them Read!

Reading as autonomous learning

We often encourage students to take ownership over their choices, always reminding them that they are responsible for their own actions. We go so far as to deliver consequences for those actions, positively or negatively enforcing the expectation. Why then, do we sometimes forget that the consequence of students selecting their own reading materials is that they will, in fact, read? As a mother of four boys and a teacher for 14 years, it has become overwhelmingly obvious that if the child picks the book, the child will read the book. If I choose the book, it collects dust on the bookshelf. In the Secondary English classroom (arguably in any classroom), while some exemplars may be studied for their rich contributions to the literary world, more relevant are the choices made by our students. It is in this rich, autonomous, barrier-free experience that student-centered learning occurs. Interest, as well as ownership, increases engagement and, most importantly, reading.… well, for the love of it.