Week 11: Readicide

I am still reading The Catcher in the Rye, but I wanted to finish it before I blogged about it again.  Instead, I am going to share some of my thoughts on Readicide.  I really enjoy the book, and the obvious points that Gallagher is making.  I think, in some parts, he is generalizing because I know that, from first grade through my senior year, we read books as a class and read books of our own choice independently.  Gallagher mentions, however, that schools are not reading novels.  I realize now, after our discussion on Friday, that some people did not read like this.  He also states that students need to be reading longer, more difficult texts, and writing more instead of filling out bubble sheets or circling the best multiple choice answer.  I agree with him, but I also feel that not only do these novels need to be discussed so the students grasp the importance and the themes of the books, the students also need to be tested over content.  Did they really know what was going on?  Did they really read the novel or just Sparknotes?  The best way to do this is a multiple choice test.  The best way to test their understanding of common themes and what the novel was really about is definitely essay questions. 

As much as I like this book I do feel like Gallagher gets a little repetitive at times.  That being said, I feel like if I would have gone without ever reading this book, I would be doing a disservice to my future students.  I want to be the teacher that makes them love reading; the teacher that provides so different novels and types of novels for my students they have no choice but to become engrossed in reading.  Will this happen for ever student?  No, but that does not mean I cannot try!