Reading to Learn, Reading for Love, Reading for Life

“If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.”

Roald Dahl

I love Roald Dahl. I love him SO much. So it only made sense that I use him as my quote for this post; and you may see him again before it is through. I have outright been avoiding this writing – how do I put into words how I feel about something that I have devoted my entire life to doing? That I love almost more than my husband? (You think I am kidding.)

A sign that I keep seeing at the store that I really need to get!

I knew from a very early age that reading was important. It was almost as though it was an innate piece of knowledge for me. My father was illiterate – I remember reading menus for him when I was 8 or so because he couldn’t read them himself. My mother certainly never read to us as kids – although, she was known to read a book or two for herself once in a while. So why then, did I start off life embodying a reader?

I don’t know. I just know that I cannot imagine my life without books. Without holding them in my hands and letting them whisk me off into magical lands. And I cannot express the sorrow that I feel for people who do not feel that way. I can’t imagine. But I deal with those people every day.

During my “day job”, I am an English teacher. I teach 8th grade language arts to anywhere between 50-75 students, depending on the year. If you think that I do not encounter more students who do not read than those who do, then you are crazy. If you remember 8th grade, I am sure that you know reading was not your top priority. At least not for most people. My students however, do not have a choice. We do a lot of activities in my room when it comes to reading, but on top of those activities, I require my students to read a minimum of 40 books during the school year. I am sure that some of you adults just choked. But, yes, that’s right – 40 books.

We also spend some time talking about authentic, real-world information surrounding reading. I want them to know that literacy isn’t important only in Mrs. Morgan’s classroom. I want them to know that literacy is important every where and always!

Now, this post isn’t here to teach you all about what I do in my classroom or how to be a teacher or what my expectations are for my students. This post is to talk to you about just how important reading is for every single person.

Christmas morning – she got Harry Potter!!

My husband reads (I for real, promise, I would not have married him if he didn’t), my 9-year-old reads (copious amounts of books, and she was reading by age 4) and my 4-year-old will be there soon. Bedtime routines consist of almost 30 minutes of reading to each child, by either my husband or myself (some nights I will admit that is exhausting), and then my 9-year-old reads to herself in bed for sometimes upwards to an hour. She does not have a t.v., phone, or iPad in her room, so that is her only option. My 4-year-old is obsessed with fairy tales and my 9-year-old is a fantasy junky, but wants to spend most of her “reading world time” in graphic novels (that she finishes within 20 minutes of picking up – thank God she is a re-reader).

Our FAVORITE children’s author, Chris Van Dusen. We try and see him as often as we possibly can.
We even incorporate books into our family pictures!

So, why is it that reading is so integral? What does it actually do that makes life so much better? Well, if you don’t already know, I am going to tell you … kind of.

I spend a decent amount of time looking at reading trends and statistics – after all, I use them as conversation with my students. The information that I find always makes for great interaction and can be quite enlightening. I could spend this entire blog post just spitting back those facts and statistics to you – the fact that Bill Gates is an avid reader and he spends at least an hour, every night, reading; that the richest adults are three times more likely to read than someone with a lower yearly income; that they partially plan out future prison beds by looking at 4th grade reading scores; or that 2/3rds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up on welfare or in jail.

I mean those thoughts are harrowing to me (well, the jail ones at least). But what we know is that successful people read and are proficient in literacy. They just are.

Fresh from the book fair. I think she was about 5 here.

We also know that reading fiction helps to create empathy in children. It helps them grow their imaginations, be more creative, and learn to relate to the characters in their books – being better able to translate that knowledge to their interactions in the real world.

Don’t you normally bring a book when you are going to frozen yogurt?

I was at the gym the other day, running on the treadmill (yay me! If you haven’t already, you should read my blog post about how much I hate running), and I thought I saw something about reading on the television. So I squinted really far, and tried my best to capture a picture – while bouncing up and down:

Reading Books for Mental Wellness.

Can you see what that says?! The broadcast was all about staying healthy (if that isn’t right up my alley!) and they were discussing reading in regards to mental wellness (as the caption says). So we know that reading is important – we just have to implement that important realization into our own lives.

So, start slow. Peruse through a book store. Go to a library and walk around with a chai. Look at the self-help section, the science fiction section, the business section. Decide what sounds best to you – there are NO right or wrongs within reading – as long as you.are.simply.reading. Be honest with yourself about why you don’t read, and work to change that mindset. And if you are already a reader?!? YAY YOU!! You are my favorite already! And the teacher in me says, keep up the great work!

Reading changes the shape of your brain!! It staves off Alzheimers and keeps your brain from growing “old” and lethargic. It is a like a workout for your head. It is one of the greatest opportunities that this world offers. So read for yourself. Read to and for your children. Foster that love of reading, and grow the knowledge that reading for pleasure is vastly important.

Raising readers and becoming readers ourselves is something that no one can take away from us. It can be an escape from the world; an incredible opportunity to continue to learn, but on our own terms. I don’t know much that would be sweeter than that.

“So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install a lovely bookshelf on the wall.”

Roald Dahl