Why Read

 

As a child, my parents always stressed the importance of reading.  Reading is a way to experience new things and explore the world.  I can remember my mother sitting by lamp light in the living room, reading her beloved mystery novels.  She would sit for what seemed to be hours entranced in the pages.  I was always so intimidated by the book’s thickness, thinking it was going to take her forever to read it.  My mom picked up on my fascination with watching her read and would sometimes allow me to hear the happenings that had such a hold of her attention.  By sharing these stories with me, she planted seeds in me that developed into my love for reading. 

At first, I wanted to read mystery novels, just like my mother.  I loved trying to figure out the cases before the end of the book.  As I got older, my interest changed to adventures and humor.  Adventure books allowed be to travel to different places.  I read about other geographical locations, and would compare my experiences to the book.  As far as humor goes, who doesn’t love to laugh! What I didn’t know was that reading was allowing me to experience life.  As a child, my mother would say that as long as you can read, you can travel anywhere that you want.  I didn’t truly understand that until I developed my own reading interests.  Through books, I could be anyone that I wanted to be!  I could learn and experience things that I might not have otherwise had an opportunity to.  It was a way for me to relax and escape problems that I thought I had.

In my classroom, I want my students to get a chance to experience this disclosure.  I want to awaken a desire to read that will flourish and open up the flood gates of their imaginations.  Everyone has different interests and desires and I want them to understand that books can open portals to learning.  Reading can bring solace when you’re troubled; hope when you’re in despair; and introduce you to the unknown.