A Response to “How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading” Essay

Summary John Holt is a former t all(prenominal)er who sh argons personal anecdotes in his essay How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading. Holt remembers taking a traditional approach to teaching as a beginning elementary school teacher. He initially thought that quizzing students over assigned readings and requiring them to use a lexicon to look up unfamiliar words was a best practice. However, a conversation with his sister challenges him to think critically about the effectiveness of his style, and he realizes his methods were foolish (359). An avid reader, Holt recalls he never looked up words in a dictionary as a child, but the lack of a dictionary did non collapse him any less intelligent or appreciative of language. He, like many other literate people he met, developed his lexicon by encountering the same words over and over again, in different contexts (359). Holts understanding of what it takes to nurture a love of reading in children from an previous(predicate) age evolv es throughout the essay. He argues that reading would be a more enjoyable experience for children if parents and teachers allowed children to read stories that interest them and not expect them to understand every(prenominal) word or interpret every meaning behind it. Critique I discovered several strengths and weaknesses in Holts argument. I agree with him that it is surrealistic to expect children to look up words in a dictionary to appreciate words.Holt is not against using a dictionary as long as the reader uses it practically to look up words that interest him or her. To look them up in order to fulfill an assignment, however, will not secure vocabulary development. It is possible that forcing words upon a beginning reader will do more harm than good. For most children, larn how to read is similar to scholarship a new language, and this skill set improves with practice and patience. I also agree when he says we must s careful not to embarrass students if they make mistakes this method usually causes the student to give up altogether. However, Holts argument at times seems biased and over generalized. For example, he asserts that for most children school was a place of danger, and their main business in school was staying out of danger as much as possible (360). His implication that children hate reading because they devotion making mistakes is valid, but I disagree that most of them view their teachers as literary predators.Childrens attitudes about reading and education in general are affected by a number of factors such as learning styles, personality, the acquired habits, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. To place the blame on us teachers in his comprehensive comments about how we humiliate and shame children through our teaching methods is unfair because I can think of several examples where this is not always true or was not necessarily true during the time he wrote the essay. His suggestions about how teachers should assess and evaluate student writing contradicts many of the modern teaching guides I have read, which accede that holistic grading includes teacher and student feedback. Application Holts essay allowed me to think critically about my own teaching methods and reflect on what has worked successfully in the classroom and what has not. Many college students take English because it is a requirement and their attitudes toward writing are much like the freshman that Holt describes in the conclusion of the article.They are very anxious about their writing even if they are strong writers, and they seldom write for pleasure rather than for necessity. Holt discourages teachers from using reading as a tool for public humiliation and promotes student-centered learning, which I advocate. While I realize there are students who depend on being told exactly what to do for each assignment they are given, I have observed that most students thrive when they have control over what they learn and discover new ideas indepe ndently and collectively. This is showcase of learning is supported by positive reinforcement. Rather than settling on any one way to motivate students, I realize that effective learning comes from an array of different approaches, and sometimes old-school teaching methods still are useful.Works CitedHolt, John. How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading. The Norton Reader. Eds. Peterson, Linda et. al. 13th edition. New York W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. pg. 358 366.