Reading these chapters made me wonder ask myself, "why not?" I love the idea of having book clubs and of having time for independent reading. I think it is important because not every student has the best environment outside of school for reading, and I think it is great if a student needs clarification about what a certain word means, or anything like that. When I was in high school, I
lived for independent reading time. I loved to read so much, but my home environment was not always well suited for quiet reading. I was the kind of student who used to skip class whenever I didn't want to go, or I would secretly listen to my disc-man and hide my earbuds behind my hair to ignore the teacher. But whenever I had a class where there would be independent reading at the end, I would immediately perk up and look forward to the class. I felt like the teacher cared about us and wanted us to be able to read what we wanted to read. When I read these chapters I was thinking about students who might really respond well to independent reading and class book clubs - not all students will like it, but for others it could really foster a lifelong love of learning, and make class something to look forward to rather than skip.
Also, by having independent reading and book clubs in the classroom, it will send a message to students that reading is valued. If it is valued in the classroom, it is valued outside of it.
Another plus would be the ability to provide students with one-on-one feedback and attention regarding something that interests them. I feel like all students deserve some level of individual attention, and by giving students time to read in class, I could address students individually regarding their strengths and things that they need extra help with. I do not see this as a waste of time at all.
I also really liked the idea of having a classroom blog or some other internet means of communicating outside of class. Especially for students who might be shy and unwilling to participate in class, it could provide a space for students to express ideas and learn collaboratively, and to also learn about responsible ways to use the internet.
Calla, you make a good point about not every student having a good environment for reading outside of school. In addition, they might not have a lot of extra time for reading outside of school. I agree that independent reading time in school is important, but I also think the teacher has to monitor it the right way with strategies such as the workshops and book clubs they talked about in the reading. I remember that silent reading time in some of my high school English classes were more of a free for all. The teacher had a shelf of books we could choose from and we sat there for the period with our book. However, she never knew if we were actually reading the book and most students just put the book back on the shelf at the end of the period and likely never thought about it again.
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