For+the+love+of+reading

Reading is boring! Those words are painful for a teacher to hear. According to children's book author Mo Wiliams, books beet bordom! I believe that given the time and the right books, anyone can love to read. I believe that students should be given time in school to find books they love and time to read them in a supportive environment. Given the time and the right books students will not only learn to love reading, but will also learn to read better.

Students who read more often not only enjoy reading, but are better readers. To become better at anything you need to practice, this includes reading. If students were given uninterrupted time in school to read and find good books, they would read more. This could be done in study halls, lunch, or on a rotating basis during class. Students could start by finding a book that is interesting to them by taking to a teacher, librarian or friend. This uninterrupted time would allow students to get involved in a really interesting story and they might even want to read on their own time. Reading skills are a direct predictor of many other factors in a students life. Students that are better readers do better in school, enjoy school more, have higher self esteem, fewer behavior problems, better health and attendance. By giving students time in school to read, theynhave a chance to improve in all of these other area. Time reading is time very well spent.

Some people might say that there are so many mother things to do in school, that there isn't time to devote to just reading, or that students will waste time and not really read. If we teach students the skills in their ELA classes to be better readers, help them choose books that match their interests, and the time to get involved in books, it will not be wasted time. Since reading can help students in so many ways, we must make more time for uninterrupted reading in school. Until we have that time I hope that students will find time on their own to read, share the books they love with friends, and continue to let their teachers and librarians know how important reading is.