A Teacher Asks: Are Readers Made Reluctant By Rigor?
Guest post by Sabrina Crowley.
I have worked as a teacher of English and a Reading Specialist for the past 14 years. In recent months, I have been confronted with the following question: Are we raising a society of potentially reluctant readers as a result of our current educational system and its constant focus on testing and its new panacea, the Common Core Curriculum?
Just yesterday, within the span of three hours, I had multiple conversations with parents who are at a loss for how their elementary school children are reacting to school and school work. Ironically, these parents are the ones who eagerly welcomed the Common Core with its focus on "rigor" at the start of the school year. This "rigor" is now being deemed as another failed attempt in education by these parents, who see their children stifled by another educational mandate.
Currently, the student nearest to my heart is my talented niece, who is a bright, intelligent nine-year-old. She loves gardening, coloring, exploring, and ice-skating; she loves to climb trees, create fairy gardens, explore museums, and entertain her little cousins, my young children. She has her own sense of style and is finding her own unique voice as the youngest of three intelligent, thoughtful children. Gabriella actively