The Book Whisperer

Peeking into my classroom one day last week, our reading specialist remarked, "Wow, you have a lot of boys this year. How's that going?"

Amused by her question, I responded, "Teaching so many boys adds such energy to my classes. It's like driving a stagecoach down a mountainside. I am standing in the wagon seat, clutching the reins, with my foot on the brake as we careen down the road, gravel flying over the edge. No matter what I offer them, they are eager for it, and some days, I am just holding on. I can barely keep up with their enthusiasm."

She seemed surprised, "Don't you find it harder to get boys to read?"

Thinking for a moment, I told her, "No, I don't. Why should I?"

I am experiencing what teachers call a "boy year," classes that are dominated by a disproportionate number of boys, and I love it. There are 60 boys on my roster of 93 students this year. One class contains 21 boys and 9 girls. Several colleagues, noticing how many boys are in my classes, expressed their sympathy and wished me luck in getting my boys to enjoy reading, telling me,

"Boys are rowdy! They look for any excuse to derail the class."

"Boys play around during reading time."

"Boys hate reading and writing, and are not shy about telling you."

"I cannot get some of my boys to participate."

Looking at my boys, I don't see this level of apathy about reading. When I mentioned casually to one class that we would use goodreads to discuss and record our reading this year, two boys jumped on the site from home, set up their own accounts, and started a discussion board about The Hunger Games. I was surprised to see how many of their posts mentioned how much they cried during a certain scene (I won't spoil it for you, but if you have read the book, you know). Fifteen readers have now joined that group, a mix of boys and girls united in their shared love for Suzanne Collins' books.

In another class, four boys began their own book group to read the Alex Rider series--swapping books back and forth and begging me to locate titles that were missing. When I posted a sign-up sheet for our after school book club, 30 boys signed up the first week. What these readers clearly want is freedom to read the books that interest them and encouragement to do so. I don't see a boy literacy crisis, although I keep reading about it in journal articles and on the Internet. Am I naive about this?

Considering the data (and we all know it is about the DATA these days), boys score lower than girls on standardized reading tests and report less motivation and interest in reading. I often wonder how much of the disengagement many boys have for reading stems from classroom instruction designed by predominately female English teachers, though. When every class novel and reading activity filters solely through the predilections and worldview of a female teacher, boys can become demotivated and believe that their personal interests and opinions are not valued in English class. It is clear that when selecting books to read aloud, purchasing books for a library, or designing lessons, we must be mindful of the boys we teach and our latent prejudices about the reading material we offer to students.

Boys want the same thing that every reader wants--to open a book and find themselves in the pages. As teachers, invested in creating readers, we owe it to our boys to help them find such books.

Reflecting on my own experiences, it probably helps that I appreciate the same books many boys do. I love fantasy epics and authors like Roland Smith and Eoin Colfer. I am just as likely to pull Scott Westerfeld's new steampunk science fiction novel, Leviathan, out of my bag and recommend it as I am to suggest a title like Helen Frost's The Braid, a book geared toward girls. I don't have strong gender preferences in what I read myself, so providing a balance in the books I recommend to students and choose for us to read together in class seems natural to me.

We create a crisis when we define readers along gender lines, and I think boy readers get a bad rap. They will read fiction, they will read books that explore emotional issues, and they will read books that are longer than 100 pages. They will read. Instead of blaming our boys for their gender, or lowering our expectations for their literacy development, we should scrutinize any system where boys are hailed for their achievement in science and math class and allowed to define themselves as nonreaders.

I will not tell my boys that they aren't supposed to be readers. I hope no one else tells them. Meanwhile, I will chase them down the hall to the library as they run to check out books, tell John that he will have to patiently wait a few days for me to finish Leviathan, and dig in my cabinets for three more copies of Brian's Winter. And on those days when my sweet, crazy boys overwhelm me, I will sit with Summer and chat about how much we both love narrative poetry. I loaned her The Braid!

As we consider ways to support every reader in our classrooms, let's share ideas for motivating our boy readers. How do you encourage your boys to read? What books do your boys like? How do you balance your instruction to value both boys and girls? Do you see a boy literacy crisis with the boys you teach or not?

Here is a list of some titles my boys (and many girls) love to read this year:

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Found and Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan

Bone graphic novels by Jeff Smith

Peak by Roland Smith (all of Smith's books are perennial favorites)

Killer Pizza by Greg Taylor

The Heir Chronicles by Cinda Williams Chima

**For more information on supporting boy readers, check out author and boy reading advocate, Jon Scieszka's retooled Guys Read website.

Posted by Donalyn Miller at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

The Teacher Sourcebook features a fabulous article about the English Companion Ning (ECN), known as the "world's largest English department." Created by revered high school teacher and author, Jim Burke, the ECN boasts over 6000 members--rapidly becoming an invaluable resource for English teachers around the world. Offering blogs, discussion boards, and forums, the ning combines social networking features with a treasure trove of content.

During October, The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child, will appear as the English Companion Ning's featured book club title. Join me to discuss the classroom conditions that foster independent reading, share favorite books and authors, and investigate the need for reading role models both in and out of school. The book club begins on October 4th.

Posted by Donalyn Miller at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The 27th annual Banned Books Week kicks off this Saturday, September 26th. Sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; the American Society of Journalists and Authors; the Association of American Publishers; and the National Association of College Stores, and endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, Banned Books Week celebrates freedom of expression and democracy. In a recent press release, ALA President Camila Alire emphasizes the importance of increasing public awareness about banned books, "Censorship has no place in a free society. Part of living in a democracy means respecting each other's differences and the right of all people to choose for themselves what they and their families read."

Some notable book challenges in the past few months indicate that without the efforts of teachers, librarians, authors, and advocacy groups, attempts to ban books would succeed in many communities:

• The Puerto Rican government recently banned five books from the public school curriculum, citing concerns about the "coarse language and vulgar content" in the books. Writers, artists, journalists, and professors protested the government's decision by reading excerpts of the banned books in front of the Department of Education headquarters in Hato Rey.

• This spring, community members requested the removal of materials from the West Bend Community Memorial Library, claiming that specific YA books like Baby Be Bop by Francesca Lia were "obscene." After heated exchanges between groups on both sides of the issue--including demands to burn certain books and force the mayor's resignation--four members of the Library Board were removed. In June, the new board unanimously voted to retain the materials in the Young Adult section of the library without restricting access.

• The YA books Crank and Glass were banned from a Norman, Oklahoma middle school library after author Ellen Hopkins donated a free school appearance. The school district superintendent also cancelled Hopkin's visit. In response, Hopkins penned "Manifesto," a poem about censorship, which is featured on the official Banned Book Week site.

• This week, award-winning author, Laurie Halse Anderson responded to three recent challenges to her books, Speak and Twisted, showing that these provocative works positively impact teens by posting excerpts from readers' letters.

In addition to young adult titles, hundreds of books written for younger readers attract censors' attention, including beloved favorites like Where the Wild Things Are and the Harry Potter series.

While I denounce censorship, I realize that teachers and school librarians must use discretion when offering books to young readers. As public servants, we must acknowledge the personal beliefs of the families we serve. Parents have the right to determine what books their child may or may not read. I dislike protests where a few parents' values potentially limit every reader's access to controversial books, though. To prevent book challenges and parent complaints before they occur, consider these criteria:

• Provide above level books on a case-by-case basis. Every year, I have sixth grade students who read significantly beyond their grade level. Finding appropriate, interesting books for advanced readers is challenging. I keep a small shelf of young adult (YA) titles behind my desk and only offer these books after speaking with a child's parents.

• Familiarize yourself with books and authors before placing titles in your library. I try to read every book before I provide it to my students, but this is not always reasonable. If a book is labeled as YA, I insist on reading it first. With grade level titles, I read reviews before purchasing books. I prefer to know when a book contains questionable content before a parent or student tells me.

• Avoid assigning specific books. I believe that the main reason I have received few complaints from parents or administrators about books over the years, is that I never require students to read a particular book. I expect students to read books from specific genres, but students control which titles they choose to read. If a child's parents express concern over any book their child selects, I help the student choose another one.

• Read every book you plan to read with students before using it. Before adding books to recommended or required lists, assigning titles as whole class novels, or sharing a book as a read aloud--READ IT FIRST!

• Select books for your library that receive favorable reviews from industry sources. In some cases, showing parents the literary merit of a book alleviates concerns about the content and provides evidence that the book is well-regarded in educational and literary circles.

• Decide now what you will do if anyone questions a book in your library. What support can you expect from your campus administrator? If a parent challenges a book, what policies does your district employ for responding to complaints? How important is that controversial book to your classroom instruction? What will you say to parents if they express concerns? Do not wait until a complaint occurs before creating a plan.

While public schools and libraries must consider the needs and values of our local communities, we also bear responsibility for representing the values of American democracy. During Banned Book Week (and every week), we honor two foundational beliefs--our rights to speak freely and make our own choices. We must safeguard these rights for children until they can exercise and demand these rights for themselves.

**In serious cases of censorship, teachers, librarians, and booksellers can receive help from The Kids' Right to Read Project, which provides resources and public support.

Posted by Donalyn Miller at 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The Common Core State Standards Initiative released its first draft of college and career readiness standards in English and math. Offer your feedback on the proposed common standards here until October 21st.

Posted by Donalyn Miller at 8:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Looking for tips and resources on how to inspire readers? Read my recent Wire Side Chat with Education World, which posted today.

Posted by Donalyn Miller at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Following up on my last post, Nancie Atwell, author of In the Middle and The Reading Zone and reading workshop queen, responds to the August 30th New York Times article, "A New Assignment: Pick Books You Like". In this video statement, Atwell addresses many of the myths about reading workshop and allowing students to choose their own books to read.

Posted by Donalyn Miller at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

On Friday, PBS aired the final episode of Reading Rainbow, the landmark television show that invited a generation of children into the adventurous world of reading and books. While #savereadingrainbow climbed up Friday’s hashtag rankings on Twitter, my new students happily shared their favorite early childhood books— treasured titles like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Stellaluna, books which, incidentally, appeared on past episodes of the Emmy-winning show. Claiming that “research has shown that teaching children the mechanics of reading should be the network’s priority,” vice president for children’s programming at PBS, Linda Simensky, implies that teaching children why they should read is no longer as valuable as teaching them how. My students are blissfully unaware that their love for books is unimportant, and I intend to keep it that way.

As one more opportunity to spark a love of reading dies over at PBS, the New York Times announces that The Future of Reading is reading workshop. Describing one teacher’s journey to implement reading workshop with her middle school students, the article explores the messy challenges and smalls triumphs of a classroom environment where children choose the books they read. It bewilders me that reading workshop, first introduced to practicing teachers in works like In the Middle by Nancie Atwell (written in 1987), is still seen as groundbreaking or newsworthy. I continually wonder how activities like reading one book as a class, dissecting classics, and presenting book reports become entrenched in reading classrooms for generations while ideas like allowing student choices, reading contemporary literature, and writing authentic reading responses fail to gain a foothold in many English classes. When we do embrace ideas like using real books instead of the basal reader, we rush to fence in independent reading with computer-based tracking programs like Accelerated Reader.

While debating the merit of programs like AR is nothing new, either, it seems that a new voice is finally chiming in—parents. In the essay, “Reading by the Numbers,” (also in this week’s New York Times), author and parent, Susan Straight, denounces the arbitrary application of AR points to the contemporary and classic works her children read and bemoans how the hunt for high-point books restricts their reading choices. Straight writes, “The passion and serendipity of choosing a book at the library based on the subject or the cover or the first page is nearly gone, as well as the excitement of reading a book simply for pleasure.” Using programs like AR shows an inherent mistrust of students’ independence and teachers’ ability to assess what students know.

No matter how much we discover about teaching reading we seem to ask the same questions. Are we really teaching if we do not micromanage every aspect of the reading process, from the books children read to how they respond? Is inspiring students to read more important than sharing a common literary heritage? Does pleasure reading matter anymore? I believe we can create literate, educated citizens who also love to read. I know a lot of you believe it, too. Who decided that these were incompatible or impossible aims?

Posted by Donalyn Miller at 4:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I recently spent a wonderful morning chatting with Mark Blevis from Just One More Book, discussing the need for reading time, read alouds, and funding for libraries and books. Listen to the podcast.

Posted by Donalyn Miller at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My recent radio chat with Dr. Patricia Anderson from Parenting: A Field Guide aired today. Download the podcast and enjoy our discussion about books, children, and reading.

Posted by Donalyn Miller at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Educational tweeters and bloggers across the Internet are sharing this impassioned post from Sandra Stiles, a middle school English teacher. Dismayed by a new reading program implemented in her district, which limits the books students can read and marginalizes "pleasure reading" to an at-home activity, Sandra has taken a stand.

"I decided to become a teacher to teach students. Not to teach them to hate reading. I will do as usual. Against the district I will modify my program and teach them about good books and put good books in their hands and if they keep those books then I will go out and buy more. Until they fire me I refuse to fail my students."

How have we come to this? A teacher must risk her career to put books in the hands of her students?

Posted by Donalyn Miller at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)