read or die

In Elizabeth McGarr’s article “Plot: 12th grade; reading level: 6th” (http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070225/FEATURES07/702250326/1016/FEATURES07), she talks about the recent implementation of some new series of YA lit for older, but less developed readers.  The main draw for students who struggle with reading to books like The Gun by Paul Langon is that they appeal to students’ interests without “embarrass[ing] them in front of their classmates.” 

The article reports one success story as well as mentioning a number of titles and average reading levels of each of the different series.  The one inclusion that I want to comment on is the quote that “Some educators worry that these books are too sophisticated for the good readers…But most dismiss that reservation and believe the benefits of engaging students outweigh any potential negatives of younger readers being exposed to topics like gangs and alcohol.” 

My mind jumped through three thoughts almost simultaneously after reading: one, engaging students in reading is a primary objective; two, books with subject matter containing gangs and alcohol, for instance, based on our class discussions of challenges, are certainly ripe for challenge from middle school parents for encouraging bad behaviour, even though most of us well know they are exposed to these and other sensitive issues on television and through other formats; and three, these books are apparently a form of introduction into reading, so why don’t we start with books that introduce reading that students can relate to at an earlier age, like, say, elementary school, and then maintain the interest for a number of years until the students are prepared to start reading autonomously?

Another issue with these books is that they take away from reading time that good readers could be further maturing their reading abilities with more “classic”, or conventional literature, but I think an easy answer to that is, if they are already reading, they will be able, or at least more able than the struggling readers, to go outside of school and find their own interests in other books in addition to class requirements.

The biggest realization I had when reading this article is that these books are very similar in ideology to the introductory levels of video games, which we discussed as reading tools a few weeks ago.  They catch interest by focusing on topics and themes that interest kids, they invariably start off easily and with much explicit direction, and then follow with countless opportunities to practice skills that will be necessary later in the story, and perhaps most importantly they are seen as attainable, or do-able by those who immerse themselves in the games and books.

While a far cry from boogers and farts, these books still cater to specific topics.  However, in the case of these books, they address themes that can be found throughout canonical literature– violence, sex, drugs, social discomfort– and, in my opinion, could be used as springboards for other more sophisticated pieces, much like Jake Re-Invented and The Great Gatsby.  I am left wondering, though, where are the theme-specific books for special ed kids who don’t want to read about gang violence, but need something to hold their interest in the arduous task of gleaning meaning.  Perhaps my next investigation will be into the special education reading realm.