How many of you teachers out there "read" books when you were in elementary/middle/high school that you are using with your students now?
I find myself in this predicament as I have "read" Hatchet before and am now teaching it to my 6th graders. The problem? I never REALLY read Hatchet... I remember skimming through the book and checking Sparknotes to make sure I was "keeping up" with the class. Now, I am "re-reading" a classic that I never truly read before, and I greatly regret it.
Sure, I can appreciate the book now and I love the adventure, suspense and survival plot, but I wonder if I would have loved it that much more when I was first intended to read it. Wishing I could go back to the middle school me, I would tell myself, "Trust me! You'll like it!"
Too bad my 23-year-old self wasn't around back then to kick me in the butt and force me to read something I know I would have enjoyed. I hate to admit it, but this isn't the only book I "read" that I am /going to re-read. The list included (but is not limited to) Lord of the Flies, Hamlet, 1984, and Animal Farm. I am actually really, really, really embarrassed to admit this to myself, let alone out loud...well on the Internet.
Would my Language Arts students think less of me? Or, would they sympathize with me?
Either way, this is not something I am proud of. Maybe I wasn't intended to read those books in my teenage years? My love of reading didn't blossom until I was in college... senior year! The little voice in my head is trying to tell me "It's okay!"
Should I go back and reread those books or move on to what I know I will enjoy...even if they aren't classics? Shouldn't Language Arts teachers be well versed in the classics or is it okay that I don;'t really have an interest in reading them? Decisions, decisions...
Time to get reading... and I am not telling you what it is! :)
You are NOT alone in your "needing" to redo some parts of your readerly life!
ReplyDeleteI had the same experience with the young adult novel The Giver. I read it independently in fourth grade (thinking I was so cool to be 'reading' such as mature book). Well, I did the same as you. Skimmed through it, didn't take the time to think deeply about it, etc. I encountered it again when my college professor had us do literacy circles. I was enraptured by the ending and feel as though I have a deep connection to this text that, although 'read' once before, I never thought I would experience. I think that sometimes it is even better to return to these books when we are older, when we can have a fresh perspective of them. It's a valuable learning experience, NOT a reason to kick yourself!
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