Teens and Reading
The other day I was talking with my students and asking them what book they are currently reading in English. After a heavy sigh and a groan one student said, "The Scarlet Letter." To which I replied…"hey, that's a great book. I read it for fun a few summers back." You should have seen the look on their faces, hahaha. "Why on earth would you do that?!" one girl asked in disbelief. "Well, because it's a classic and I never read it in high school - it wasn't in our curriculum. So I wanted to read it!" Two girls exchanged a shocked look and they turned their attention back to the worksheet in their laps. "Is it so crazy that I like to read for fun?" I asked. "YES!" was the resounding answer. One girl went on to tell me that her mother used reading as a PUNISHMENT for when she was bad as a child. Another student told me that they couldn't even make it through the first Harry Potter book because ...