O.D.+3.1

Online Discussion 3.1 - Two Perspectives on Reading

I see both thoughts of reading as a valuable resource for students. It is important to keep kids interested in reading which is where free voluntary reading comes into play. I’m a non-typical librarian that doesn’t read much, even as a young child, I remember if I wasn’t interested in the topic, it was easy for me to lose my focus. Knowing what it is like to be one of those “readers” that lacked in comprehensive skills, I think it is very critical in a student’s education early on.

The reading-spelling connection that the powerpoint slides discuss was interesting and beneficial to the age of students I work with. We see a lot of college freshmen at our college of technology that have not been successful in their previous writing courses because of the quality of work they turned in. Most recently I was working with a student to develop even a topic to discuss in a persuasive essay. When I explained this essay would be a lot easier if he chose something he was interested in and knew something about, he finally was able to find a topic and get started. I think the statement that author Mayo used on her personal writing experiences said it best. “For my own writing experience, I know that it is useful to find a piece that I admire, try to figure out what the writer did that makes me admire that piece, and try to do the same in my own work.” (Mayo, 2000). She used something she was interested to help her create her own writing work, much to the way students engage in reading with similar interests and writing on topics that interest them.

Mayo, L. (2000). Making the connection: Reading and writing together. English Journal, 89(4), 74-77.