Happy D.E.A.R. Day!

Drop Everything And Read

Sometimes, I wish I could just drop everything and read. I think there is a big misconception that every teacher loves to read. I know this is not always true because, I never grew up as a reader. For the longest time, the best sleeping pills for me were reading books in bed. I really used this strategy one time when I couldn't sleep at night during high school. It worked like magic.

I always felt puzzled by why I never liked to read. Both of my parents are humongous readers. My dad is a professor in a university in China. He loves to read about philosophy and think about questions that tend to have no answers. My mom read hundreds of books from all over the world even as a teenager. She loves novels and autobiographies. In fact, she got in a lot of trouble for reading novels under her desk during school. From a genetic perspective, if you believe in it, I should have an advantage or at least a predispositon for reading simply by being born into a reading family. But it wasn't the case with me. I really didn't enjoy reading, any reading. In fact, this became such a strange phenomenon to me, I attempted to trace back my memories for reading as a child. Even more strangely, I realized that I don't remember having a single book as a child. Were there no picture books or any kinds of children's books in China during the time frame that I grew up? The only books I can remember were the text books that I got in first grade. But this can't be true. How could there be no leisure books for children in China in the late 1970's?

Just a few months ago, the answer finally came to me during a conversation with my mom and my sister-in-law about the books that my mom loved to read. It turned out, my lack of interest in reading was the result of a deliberate decision. Because my mom got into so much trouble for her uncontrollable love for reading during her childhood, she didn't want me to repeat the same path again. Therefore, she 'discouraged' me from reading as a child. And that probably explained why I don't remember having any books growing up. It is ironic that in my graduate classes, we learned all about how to develop literary beings, yet there I was, realizing that I was raised with the conscious effort of a lack of literacy. As much as I love my mother, I must say, this was probably one of the most silly and daunting things I've ever heard of!

Fortunately, right around the time when I started graduate school, I finally began my journey of appreciation for books and reading. Although still a turtle-speed reader, I love seeking out the beauty, enrichment and peacefulness to be found in reading.

Believe it or not, one of my favorite and most memorable and touching moments with reading was a gift from a 4th grade student. While I was student teaching in his class, he read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein to me as a rehearsal for his buddy-reading with his little kindergarten buddy. His voice was filled with emotion and sincerity. It felt as if he was the Giving Tree himself. Both, his tender heart and the beautiful storyline had brought tears out of my eyes and out of my heart. I will always be thankful that he introduced me to my favorite children's book for the first time, even at adulthood!

Thank you Rene for the gift of giving!


Thank you Martin, my colleague, for the inspiration of this posting!