Identifying Yourself As A Reader

As a Reading Consultant I find books. I find books for students, I find books for teachers and I also find books that change the way I think. My favorite books are the ones that give me a new perspective.

I tell my students that good literature should make you have a feeling even if it is hate for the book you read. Finding out exactly what books you hate to read is as important as finding books that you love to read. This is part of the process of identifying yourself as a reader.

As a high school student (if I can remember way back then) I did not identify myself as a good reader or even a good student. I was one of those kids who compared myself to others. I was plagued by the, “I can’t do it,” phrase swimming in my head. I remember reading something and writing the answers and being entirely off base.

I did not identify myself as a reader. I spent summers avoiding the assigned reading list until I was moved to tears. Here is the scenario. Schools out for the summer. The dreaded reading list is passed out with my mediocre report card. We put the list on the top of the fridge and took it down at the end of the summer. By then it was way too late. I was a reader though. I loved non-fiction books about animals. Books about other countries and even enjoyed my high school history class.

What I hated was the novels that were assigned. I lacked reading stamina and the definition of a good student was narrow back then. Straight As and a student who didn’t struggle was the bar for success. I only began to identify myself as a reader when I was old enough to read Stephen King and other scary stories. I discussed these novels with friends and my motivation grew.

This cautionary tale helps me motivate the kids I work with to identify themselves as a reader. I give them choices, I expose themselves to a wide range of reading materials. Above all I define all types of reading as good reading. Make sure your kid identifies themselves as a reader.