The Ups and Downs of a Reading Life

As I was going up the public library stairs to pick up my son, another district staff member was coming down. He had a stack of books in his hands. He later shared with me that he had not been reading as much as he would like to lately. “It’s sometimes hard when you are working 50 and 60 hours a week.” I agreed as I thought about the two books I am behind in my own Goodreads Challenge.

These ups and downs in our reading lives are typical for most of us. When our students experience something similar, what should be our response? I think our typical first reactions are judgment - ‘How can I help them get back on track?” or “What I should do differently?” But maybe our students don't need our help. Maybe they just need us to listen and learn.

A more mindful approach to these findings might be curiosity. We could inquire with a student who is experiencing a lack of affect toward literacy, such as “What are you thinking about when you don’t feel like reading?” Getting curious opens our minds to possibilities. Judgment tends to do the opposite. This thinking applies when our students feel successful and when they don’t.

Try it: The next time a student encounters a challenge, how might we reframe it?

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