Reading Reflection

I have always been someone who really loves reading. I remember what the first book I ever read by myself looked like. It was a picture book about the four seasons. I was a late reader, so it was in first grade. Another important moment in my journey of reading was a year later in second grade. My teacher, Mrs. Hutchingson, always had a chapter book to read aloud to our class. Some of my favorite children's books are from that year: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and Wait Till Helen Comes. Not only did I love these books, I knew I had to read them on my own. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was the first chapter book that I read in just one evening.

That was also when I realized that I read faster than most people. In fact, I read so much faster than most people that they do not believe I am reading. I can remember the same details as an average reader when I read. Sometimes, I have to read a book more than once, which often takes about the same amount of time as the average reader takes to read the book the first time. However, because I read so many books, I forget what I have read. I will start a book and realize twenty pages later that I know everything that is going to take place. Online social-networking tools such as Shelfari and LibraryThing have provided some assistance in that area. Both websites let you put books on your shelf and review them and given them ratings. I prefer Shelfari’s interface with the easy five star rating system.

I have found a way of being a little more critical of my reading, but I feel like I am still a passive reader for the most part. I realize I am applying my “funds of knowledge” to understand what I read, but unless I am discussing the text in class, I am not finding many ways to incorporate my academic reading in my life (Moll et. al, 1992). Thanks to my job, I am having more and more conversations about children's literature with students and other teachers. That comes through recommending and discussing books that both the students and I have read.

My goal is to begin writing about not only the academic texts that I read, but also for children's and adolescent literature. One way I plan to achieve this goal is to start a blog on my library webpage that I will have to update often because of its location. I worry that it won't be authentic enough because of me censoring my thoughts because of my audience, so I would need a journal to write in as well.

Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132-141.