Today in class, after a classmate told us that her students were not reading Farenheit 451, someone asked, "is it ridiculous to ask our students to read for homework in their English class?" (or something along those lines, that is not verbatim) This struck a chord within me and I though, Wow, that is so true. I feel so bad assigning my students reading for homework. That being said (or thought in this case) I began wondering why I would feel so guilty about giving a reading assignment for homework. Perhaps it is because I am trying so hard to empathize with my students not wanting to read, I just do not give them any. Maybe it is the size of their text book. Or, possibly, it is because I simply do not think they will read the material.
In reality it is probably a bit of each scenario, but here is a theory that just came upon me: Could it be teachers these days are becoming too soft? They are just coming out of college where they did A LOT of reading and rather confront students with reading they (the students) may not enjoy, they simply read it to them? Thus vicariously living the ultimate dream life we, as teachers, wish we had as students. It sounds kind of crazy, but think about it. And if any part of this is true, can we put partial blame on ourselves for the illiteracy that is overtaking America? If every new teacher, from K-12, assigns less homework than they were given as a student, then logic might dictate that our students are reading less and expecting to not read so much as the cycle continues. Then when they get to college, should we be surprised that the common response is: "OMG, we have to read for this class?"
I am not entirely sure if this entry was a blog or a rant, but take from it what you will.
What I am taking from it is that I should assign (relevant) readings to my students, so be it should they fail.
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