Ever since I was a little girl I have always had a fascination with books. When I was in grade two, I remember looking with longing at the book my best friend, Kim, was reading. A real chapter book with a pink cover and an image of a girl on roller skates. Heaven for a little girl in the 70's!I desperately wanted to be able to read that book, but I knew it was above my abilities at the time. Unfortunately I wasn't a child who picked reading up easily.
Books have always held a strong attraction for me. I loved the book catalogues that came home from school. I loved book shops, and buying books even when I knew I probably wouldn't read them because they were too difficult. As a teenager I made sure that my books weren't dog eared, and I read them so that the spine wouldn't crease! My books were my treasures. When I was supposed to be doing my maths homework I would set the textbook, exercise book, and pencil upon the bed covers with the doona neatly folded back so that I could quickly stash my novel under the covers and assume a studious expression if someone approached the door!
When I became a mum I knew that I wanted my children to love reading as I did. With Bilby, I knew it wouldn't be too difficult. The first time he saw a book he was hooked! His face lit up, and his little legs did the happy dance. He LOVED being read too. Unfortunately Koala was the total opposite. He hated being read to and wouldn't stand for it!
Like me, Bilby, wasn't a natural reader, and while he enjoys reading, it's not *yet* his favourite activity! I am firmly convicted that if he had stayed at school he would detest reading as many boys do.When he was in kindergarten he would leave his reader at school and tell me that his teacher didn't want them to read it! Looking back he just wasn't ready to begin the reading process, but the expectations of school meant that he was pushed before he was ready which resulted in him beginning to think that he wasn't good at reading. I believe that many, many boys are turned off reading because they are pushed into it before they are ready, and because the way literature is pulled apart at school, is often enough to turn boys off.
My fondest memory of the short time I was a classroom teacher was when I had the privilege to teach English to a wonderful group of year nine kids. This particular school tried to make the bottom class very small, so that the kids got extra attention. I started with a class of twelve kids which dwindled for various reasons to about eight or nine. I decided that we would begin each lesson with 10-15 minutes of silent reading of a book of their choosing. I wasn't sure how it would go as many of these kids really struggled with reading and writing, but they happily bought along their books each lesson which in itself was an achievement. There was complete silence as each child enjoyed their choice. I was so excited for them, as it was often difficult to get these kids engaged in learning. I was able to sit at the front of the room and enjoy the scene before me. I just loved watching their faces as they read! One boy choose a book about a female wrestler! It was a big book, and at first I wondered if it would prove too difficult for him, but as the weeks passed he kept at at, and I was rewarded with hearing him excitedly comment to one of his friends as he left the room "That's the first book I've ever read." I felt like doing the happy dance and shouting for joy! I believe they learned more in that fifteen minutes a day than anything else I tried to "teach" them.
When I watch Bilby quietly reading I am often reminded of that year nine class. He could have been one of those kids who never picked up a book. But homeschooling has meant he has been able to come to reading in his own time, and enjoy many books without me sucking the joy out of them by making a lesson out of the plot, characters, and so on. In the last year, Bilby has read over a dozen books. Books on World Wars 1 and 2, books about modern day refugees, historical fiction, and a book about a war dog. For a boy who once found reading a chore it makes me want to do the happy dance and shout for joy all over again!
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