There are many teachers out there building independent reading programs, encouraging their students to read, raising money to buy books, and recommending good books to their students.
With all that going on, there’s not very much time left for teachers to invest in one crucial step: making reading public.
Too often, all that reading goodness is cooped up in classrooms. Students talk about their books to their classmates but keep things quiet with their friends. Teachers glow when Danny reads his 10th book of the year but dare not share that accomplishment with colleagues.
This reading bashfulness needs to change. It’s time for a reading revolution. The public needs to know that teenagers like to read. Let’s make this happen!
Take a look at what Math teacher Brandon Barrette is doing with his advisees at City Arts and Technology High School in San Francisco. Here’s what’s outside his classroom:
Sure, this takes dedication and effort, even with Mr. Barrette’s snappy template. But over time, book reviews will line the hallway, and students will take notice, get ideas about what to read next, and see their friends taking on academic identities.
In schools, what’s public is what matters. That’s why I’m happy to see Mr. Barrette taking part in his school’s reading revolution.