by Matthew Tyler Funk

Created on: October 14, 2010

Reading is most easily encouraged by allowing students to read about subjects they have pre-existing interests in. By focusing on the ways reading empowers students to explore their world and their own interests, teachers can successfully cultivate interest in many young readers who had previously lacked it.

Reading should be taught in the context of how it empowers students in the real world. A commonly stated purpose for teaching students how to read is, after all, to empower them in the real world. Reading is also a rite of passage, marking a certain level of age and maturity. Within reason, it is best to censor as little of the world of reading from the reading student as possible, allowing the student to choose his or her own path through subject matter. Subjects which a student has interest in but has not had much exposure to without being able to read may be used in a sort of "carrot and stick" motivational approach for students who are reluctant to learn to comprehend the written language.

This approach allows the students to become partners in their own educations. Rather than feeling disconnected from the learning experience, students are able to feel like they play an important role in directing their educational experience. Allowing a little more freedom in subject matter than the students may be used to is a certain way to help students mentally connect reading skills with the self-reliance and independence those skills are meant to bring.

Subject matter should of course still be restricted to some degree, but the way to coax a stubborn child into developing an active thirst for reading is to offer new subjects for the student to choose from. Even somewhat controversial subjects can be addressed in the readings, and then discussed further as needed in class or individually. This reinforces for students that reading can provide them a gateway into more mature conversations than they can participate in without the freedom that reading brings them. It shows students that reading helps them to be taken more seriously, corresponding to how much time they spend educating themselves.

The best way to teach that reading is a gateway to knowledge and power is to demonstrate that truth in the teaching process. Students should be allowed to actively participate in deciding what to read. The more individually the students are allowed to make these decisions the more motivated they will be to read and understand what they are reading, and there's no better way to learn than by doing.

Allowing students freedom in subject matter encourages them to read not just for class but on their own time as well. It's a very simple, and very effective method of motivating students to put more reading time in, which in turn results in stronger readers.

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