Aliteracy Poem
Mrs. Thompson's second graders are amazing!
The principal says they can comprehend anything--
Even a medical textbook.
Mrs. Thompson's second graders are incredible!
The superintendent says their oral reading is completely seamless--
Like the gentle flow of an eternal spring.
Mrs. Thompson's second graders are fantastic!
The PTA president says they finished the reading workbook and
the phonics workbook before the end of the Third Quarter.
Mrs. Thompson's second graders worry me.
You see, I'm the aide who works in Mrs. Thompson's classroom,
And I know something that the others don't.
Mrs. Thompson's second graders don't like to read.
From Life's Literacy Lessons: Poems for Teachers by Steven L. Layne. Copyright 2001 by the IRA.
This poem is found on page one of Igniting a Passion for Reading. Layne defines "aliterate" people as those with the ability but not the desire to read. I think most of us would agree that students come to us with a desire to read and to learn how to read, but they unfortunately lose that somewhere along the way. In your opinion, what are we doing that contributes to our children losing their love for reading?
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I agree with the author that fostering a motivation for reading is missing in lesson plans. However, I think this comes intrinsically from the teacher. The teacher has to be enthusiastic about reading or be a great actor/actress.
ReplyDeleteI love this poem. I had never thought of the term aliterate in describing reluctant readers. An aliterate society can be more dangerous, and (I think) is much sadder than an illiterate society. I love Dr. Layne's quote on p. 9, "People who don't read make all of their future decisions on what they used to know...Old Knowledge is all they have..." He also quotes Jim Trelease as saying, "If you don't read much, you don't really know much. You're dangerous." How true.
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