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The Norton Reader: How Teachers Make Students Hate Reading

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When most students see the words “reading” or “writing” they cringe a bit on the inside. A few students love having their teacher pass out the book that their class will be reading while most others dread it, along with the troublesome worksheets that have them analyzing every word in the book. As children age, their response towards reading and writing tends to be more negative rather than positive. Why is it that so many five year olds turn out to be young adults who cringe when “reading” and “joy” are utilized in the same sentence? One could say that a reason would be a teacher’s, mainly a language arts teacher, teaching style. One’s teaching style can impact how a student learns and grows. Forcing a student to read or do a reading assignment that they do not enjoy can make them hate reading, rather than improving on any literary skills. In The Norton Reader, John Holt, author of “How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading,” says that teachers put too much focus on having their students understand everything about what they’re reading. He asks “Why should children understand everything they read?” (359). Reading should be done …show more content…
Teachers should focus a bit more on their student’s interest in reading and writing, and how to increase it, instead of whether or not they fully understand a literary piece. Young children are more easily influenced by a teacher’s teaching style. If a teacher gives their students a negative or boring experience with reading or writing, their interest in either two may decrease. Some teachers are simply trying to follow the curriculum in the best way that they can, but they should not let that control their teaching style. Students shouldn’t let books that spark no interest to them keep them from discovering books that they truly enjoy. Reading and writing are all around us. Negative experiences with one or the other shouldn’t keep one from striving to improve and enjoy

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