Readicide

                Honestly, because I have never had a bad reading experience I find it hard to believing that so many kids can get around reading for class. Looking back I can remember the few kids who would explain how sparknotes was their life and they hated reading but I never thought it was as bad to the point that a book was written about how schools contribute to the death of reading. One of the things I enjoyed learning about was that students who have fun reading had better standardized testing scores. I fully believe that reading should be fun and that educators need to make reading fun again. Every child begins with a love of reading. But throughout the education system that passion gets foggy and ultimately is gone by the time high school graduation comes around.

                I also like that Gallagher suggested the idea presented that schools are setting up students to fail. One of the things that come to mind as I reflect on this book is the idea of a dearth of books in schools. It was interesting for me to think about how schools have to be committed to helping students become better readers. Having a variety of interesting texts for students to interact with is necessary for students to become actually interested in reading. If I did not have the opportunity to explore the variety of books in elementary school I am sure I would not be as enthused about reading as I am as an adult. As a future educator I want to fight back against readicide. I want to take a stand and help students love reading. It’s a shame that we live in a society where hating to read is celebrated. I liked this text and I and excited to have it in my library as I pursue my educational goals.