Monday, December 29, 2008

Happy holidays!

The only way to spend New Year's Eve is either quietly with friends or in a brothel. Otherwise when the evening ends and people pair off, someone is bound to be left in tears.

~W. H. Auden

Monday, December 15, 2008

For the vampire in you...

I was never a vampire-lover growing up. If truth be told, I don't think I ever saw Interview with a Vampire; I wasn't a Buffy-groupie; and Ann Rice did nothing for me. So when a student insisted that I read Twilight, I broke one of my own rules--I ignored her. I hemmed and hawed and claimed that I would...and I didn't.

Rule #4 to building a reader--Take his/her recommendations to heart and give them a shot.

So I finally got around to reading Twilight last spring--actually I listened to it on tape in my car. I liked it. I wanted to find a copy so that I could read in addition to listen (now wouldn't that have been interesting?). I devoured the other two and of course snapped up Breaking Dawn immediately. I've since reread Twilight and seen the movie twice. Right now, I'm listening to the soundtrack. Hmmm, me a vampire-lover. Who woulda thunk it?

So now that I am intrigued by this world and want nothing more than to be bitten so that I too can possess ethereal beauty and super powers, I find myself looking for other fixes. I've had a hard time reading anything to completion since the end of Breaking Dawn. Maybe I'm making bad choices, but I've really struggled. Until now. My struggles are over. I have met Melissa de la Cruz and Schuyler Van Alen.

Melissa de la Cruz is the author of lots of teenage chic lit. But her Blue Bloods series is what has gotten me back in the saddle again. So far, there are three novels in the series and she promises to write at least 6. In the first, the reader is introduced to Schuyler Van Alen, a thrift-store shopping outcast at a ritzy, ultra-exclusive private school in Manhattan. She and her sidekick, Oliver, stick to themselves and try not be trampled on by the elite. However, she soon learns that her fate is intertwined with those that she tries to avoid. Schuyler is one of the 400 Blue Bloods, a vampire who recycles in and out of the Red Blooded world for all of eternity. As they reach their mid-teens, Blue Bloods begin their Transformation and begin to come into their memories--all of them.

The books are fast-paced and easy reads. There is some vocabulary that seems a little extraneous (isn't that ironic?), but for the most part, the reader can skim right over them. I did. The characters are both likeable and detestable. Schuyler makes a great protagonist, even though her fashion sense apparently leaves a little to be desired. Her direct antagonist, Mimi, hates her for not fitting in, but then learns to hate her for many more reasons. The book has the typical teenage drama--puppy love, school dances, and clubbing--but also deals with heavier vampire issues--immortal bonds, the Sacred Kiss, and age-old battles of good and evil. The books mix in a great deal of history--more so than the Twilight saga. Whereas the Cullens were turned, there are only 400 Blue Bloods. And that's it. So if something happens, they decrease in number. Period. No do overs.

I've really enjoyed to books. The only downfall? The 4th one doesn't come out until next fall. Maybe. :(

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Re-Engage Adolescent Readers

No all secondary students who fail to read do so because they can’t read. Granted, there is a certain percentage who lack the basic skills needed to decode. And there is a larger group who do not read because, while they can “sound words out”, they can’t make sense, comprehend, what they read. But the largest majority choose not to read. In fact, their interest in reading lessens with the passing of each school year.

Yet the necessity of reading does not pass with the handing out of diplomas. High school graduates have to be able to read a wide variety of texts. It’s not just about literature and poetry—it’s about charts, ballots, internet information, maps, graphs, applications, warranties...the list goes on and on. Yet many of our students lack the sheer motivation to pick up a book and become a stronger reader.

Motivation can be described as a student’s willingness to read when he/she is not compelled to do so by academic assignments. High school students are not typically readers of habit. There are plenty of programs at the lower-levels that are designed to motivate them to read, but the results rarely last past the end of the program. In order to truly change reading habits, the reader must be intrinsically motivated. Therefore, the opportunities for choice and self-selection play a vital role in in developing a desire to read outside of academic assignments.

In order to generate intrinsic motivation to read, we must offer two things to our high school students: time to read and interesting texts. Providing opportunities each day to read texts of their own choosing can energize readers. This is where SSR fits into the scheme of things and how it can promote healthy reading habits. Students are more likely to finish reading a book that they started at school. Many times, without that chance to read at school, the book won’t get cracked open at all.

Student interest is another factor in creating intrinsic motivation. When it comes to voluntary reading, the subject of the text is critical. A book or article that matches a student’s interest is more likely to be read. In addition to giving the book a chance, a reader is apt to comprehend more when he/she is interested in the text. The interest level causes the reader to attend to the text more closely. A book or article of interest is more like to be read, and more likely to be understood.

Ultimately, the re-engagement of adolescent readers requires that they discover how meaningful reading can be in their own lives. This is only a few books, songs, audiobooks, or graphic novels away.