What is reading? I feel I must address this question first before embarking on this blogging journey.

What is reading? Here are some answers from children: “It’s filling out workbooks.” “It’s when you put sounds together.” “Reading is learning hard words.” “Reading is like think…you know, it’s understanding the story.” “It’s when you find out things.” “Pronouncing the letters.”

When I hear these answers, my heart begins to ache. In my opinion, these children have a twisted understanding of reading. And this misunderstanding is common among varying age groups.

Before coming into academia, I was an eighth grade language arts teacher outside of Chicago. During the first week of school, I would ask my students to write me a letter about who they were as readers. Two themes dominated the letters: (1) I’m not a good reader because I don’t read thick books and (2) I don’t like reading because I don’t like to do worksheets. In reading these letters, I became privy to how my students defined reading. Many of their definitions were not in sync with my definition of reading.

I know many adults who believe reading is the ability to read a passage aloud without making a mistake. However, I call this decoding. Real reading is not about perfect articulation. Rather, reading is about meaning-making. Reading is not about thick books and worksheets. Reading is about the enjoyment one gets from a story, or the insight one gains from the text. Readings is enjoyable when one reads about topics of interest. Unfortunately, many schools have made reading a chore, a worksheet, or a set of skills. I propose we make reading fun—a place where we can experience new lands, fresh ideas, and creative thoughts.