Reading is Cool

   The reason for choosing such a vast and complex subject as reading , was the desire to be in touch with both the old literature, and the new books that thrill the young readers of today. I wanted to make a bridge between the literature enjoyed by the mature readers and the old stories reinvented for the young public always in search for something new. I would like to to help students to know more because they usually have just fractions of information that they  do not master properly.  We are Romanians , the offsprings of Dracula, or not ?                                                              

   The topic was not chosen by accident, not by chance. Dracula, Bram Stoker’s novel, is one of the most famous novels of all time. A novel that brought an undesirable attention upon the Romanian space and upon one of the most enigmatic historical figures that has ever lived, Vlad the Impeller. A famous historical figure, a respected one, was transformed by the imagination of a writer into the monster that haunts the nightmares of a worldwide population.                         

      Another very important reason was the realization I came to, in my many years of teaching high school children that after a certain age, their interest in reading came to a halt, maybe even stopping altogether. And this decline in reading and general literacy is, by far and away, the most disturbing trend I have noticed during my many years as a classroom teacher. Indeed, this generation of school children may be the first in our history to actually read less than their parents!               

       The long-term implications for such a trend are truly scary. Students who demonstrate poor reading habits are less likely to be informed citizens and productive members of society. Our nation's economic productivity and political viability are both likely to suffer if this trend continues - and there is every indication that it will. In other words, reading is vital to our nation's security and our future as a free people!

      With these thoughts in mind, I asked my students this week to think about their own reading habits and then, as a warm-up activity, write about the possible reasons why kids do not read. Their answers were quite illuminating and generally consistent with other more what we know and those surveys that    have been done on kids and reading. 

   The majority of students in today’s world complain that they do not have time to read because they have something better to do. The reading declined and literacy seems to be at its lowest point ever. It is a trend that worries us teachers, the vast decline of reading in school and outside the curriculum imposed by the schooling system. Every generation reads less and less than the previous one, elder brothers read more than the younger ones. There are long term implications that are really scary for the keen observer. We have to face the fact that students that demonstrate poor reading are more likely to face social failure and are less informed citizens. Romania’s e economic productivity and political viability are in danger and they are likely to suffer from such dangerous trend and the social reality proves that nothing is going to change.                         

   Other students cited the impact of new technologies such as the internet and video games. "Kids don't read because they would rather spend their time playing video games or hanging out with their friends," one student wrote. Another student explained, "Kids don't read today because they have TV and computers and video games instead. I don't think you can really do anything to help.
    Significantly, many students said that the books they have been assigned to read in school have actually diminished their interest in reading. One student said that she does not read because "English class has butchered the fun in reading." Another student agreed. "Honestly some of the books we read in English are so lame. I understand they're classics, but give us something we can relate to and we'll read it."

    Some students pointed to the role of parents in encouraging reading at home. "It's up to the parents to push their children to read," wrote one student. Another said much the same thing. "Kids don't read because their parents don't make them. If parents were more involved with them, they would get used to reading all the time."

     Still others cited the "coolness factor" as the reason why students don't read. "They think it makes them nerds," said one girl. Another student wrote, "Someone put in their minds when they were little that reading was not cool and boring."

    Some students pointed out that popular series novels such as Twilight and Harry Potter can help interest kids in reading. "I used to absolutely hate reading," wrote one girl, "but ever since Twilight came out I read every night." But she also admitted that, "I still hate reading books for school because they're so boring."

    Or as one student said, "If we were allowed to pick a series or genre that we enjoy, we would probably read a lot.”

    Having these reasons in mind I thought of literature works that can bring together more cultural aspects that children are interested in: history, literature, foreign languages and film. All teachers would like their pupils to read Shakespeare, but let’s bear in mind that we as teachers must find the common ground with their kids. I was surprised to see pupils that have never read a book in their entire life, reading Twilight. Not just reading it translated, but also in original, looking forward to reading the next volume. I considered it to be a miracle in today’s hi-tech era.

     If you ask any foreigner to tell you something about Romania, the first thing that foreigner you tell you, would be Dracula. I think that as Romanians, the pupils should know a little about this novel or the character the story was inspired by.

     In a world without no cultural boundaries , where globalization is a term that you hear almost daily, I think it is important not to forget your roots , but still be perfectly aware that we live in a global society.

    We hear every day that the children don’t read, so as teachers we should do our best to make them read. As a teacher I have high expectations of myself and wish to achieve every possible impact on students. As defined by Webster, to educate is "to supervise mental or moral growth." But when one gets to the core of the word it is more important to society. Without education, society as a whole would gradually fall apart. My goal in life is to relay knowledge to my students to help them become productive citizens.