Broccoli and Reading

After being around children for a while, I have noticed that it has become a chore instead of a pleasure for some children to do their reading homework. Who ever told them that reading was not fun? Who ever told them that it was not cool? I do not know the answers to these questions but I think someone needs to stop spreading rumors. The same feeling some children get when they see broccoli is the same facial expression they get when their teacher asks them to read 20 minutes a night. 20 minutes... that is all! With my students, I really do hope to instill a love for reading. When I am talking about children not wanting to read, I am not talking about all children. I know one little girl who would rather read all afternoon than do anything else. Every so often she will pop up and tell me about a wonderful part in her book or the occasional outburst of laughter will tickle all who are near. I believe she is a wonderful example for her fellow students, and she definitely gets noticed. I remember when I was doing my five days of pre-teaching and I was placed in this fifth grade classroom for reading. Every day the students would have quiet time where they would read to themselves. While they were doing so, the teacher was catching up on her planning for the rest of the day. Even though the teacher expressed how much she absolutely loved to read, her actions do not say so. What I believe would have been better to do was read along with her students and show them your love for reading rather than just telling them. Actions speak louder than words don't they? Anyway, I really believe that it is the responsibility of the teachers to show their students that being able to read and discovering so many things from books is the bomb! Teachers need to be an example and show their love for reading rather than just tell about it.