Thank you to everyone who commented on the last post. You reminded me of books I'd loved and forgotten (like Sideways Stories from Wayside School), and given me some great ideas of new books to enjoy.
Yesterday, I was surprised when a number of my tenth grade students did not get my reference to Shel Silverstein's "Boa Constrictor". So, I promptly retrieved Where the Sidewalk Ends from the library and read a number of selections to them. Just for fun, here's "The Toy Eater", from Falling Up.
It's strange to think about a childhood encounter with a story, poem, book, movie, or song, and what difference it might have made. Was some aspect of my personality or sense of humor forever altered by Where the Sidewalk Ends? It feels that way, but it's impossible to know.
As far as my tenth-graders go, surely some astute teacher or librarian along their educational path read them some Shel Silverstein poems. Most of them don't remember it, though, and I can't help feeling sad for them. It makes me want to put out an alert to all elementary teachers. Of course, that's a can of worms that, once opened, would cause an infestation, because I want them to read all the books on my list and many more.
There are plenty of recommended reading lists by knowledgeable people out there, which is helpful. Somehow, though, the idea of required reading for elementary rubs me the wrong way. Childhood is a time for exploration, discovery, and wonder, and adults should do everything in their power to preserve that. So, there's an art to choosing, suggesting, and guiding kids to the right books. I, for one, have the utmost respect for those librarians, teachers, parents, and others who practice that art.
Yesterday, I was surprised when a number of my tenth grade students did not get my reference to Shel Silverstein's "Boa Constrictor". So, I promptly retrieved Where the Sidewalk Ends from the library and read a number of selections to them. Just for fun, here's "The Toy Eater", from Falling Up.
It's strange to think about a childhood encounter with a story, poem, book, movie, or song, and what difference it might have made. Was some aspect of my personality or sense of humor forever altered by Where the Sidewalk Ends? It feels that way, but it's impossible to know.
As far as my tenth-graders go, surely some astute teacher or librarian along their educational path read them some Shel Silverstein poems. Most of them don't remember it, though, and I can't help feeling sad for them. It makes me want to put out an alert to all elementary teachers. Of course, that's a can of worms that, once opened, would cause an infestation, because I want them to read all the books on my list and many more.
There are plenty of recommended reading lists by knowledgeable people out there, which is helpful. Somehow, though, the idea of required reading for elementary rubs me the wrong way. Childhood is a time for exploration, discovery, and wonder, and adults should do everything in their power to preserve that. So, there's an art to choosing, suggesting, and guiding kids to the right books. I, for one, have the utmost respect for those librarians, teachers, parents, and others who practice that art.
As much as I read now, I didn't read that much in middle school and the first couple years of high school. I didn't enjoy most of the books that were assigned to us to read in school, and this was before the internet was commonplace, so I didn't have an outlet to find books that I or any teenager would enjoy reading for fun. I had scanned my small town public library and my school library shelves and did not find much. (Although I remember telling my school librarian that I didn't know what to read and she gave me a little book called "Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone, uncataloged to boot!) When I was an older teen, I started going to Barnes and Noble with my dad and just walking up and down the aisles and began to find a huge world of books that I actually wanted to read. All this is to say, that I agree with you. Teens need to find the right book(s) that appeal to them. I will say that if one of my awesome teachers from high school would have given me a list of suggested to titles to read, I would have ate it up. I'm just saying. :)
ReplyDeleteYou reminded me of a project that I did several years ago where the kids created melodies to go with a poem that they picked from Shel Silverstein's collection. Of course they had to read several poems before they found the one that they wanted to put to music. I'll have to see if I can't find time for that this year!
ReplyDeleteThanks!