Kelly Gallahger, a high school English teacher for more than twenty years, defines readicide as “the systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools.” I found much to think about in this slim book.  Here is a list of points that I will continue to ponder as I teach:

• Ray Bradbury says, “You don’t have to burn books to destroy culture.  Just get people to stop reading them.”  I know from my own experience teaching 8th graders that many, if not most, of them come into my class saying things like, “I don’t read.”  “I hate reading.”  “Reading is boring and and waste of time.”  Survey after survey confirm that more and more adults choose not to read as well.
• The over-emphasis on multiple choice reading assessments does more harm to developing skillful, thoughtful readers than good, especially when too many standards are crammed into too short of time.
• The over-emphasis of testing hurts both students who are headed to college and students who are trapped in poverty.
• “Let’s wee whether we have this straight:  we immerse students in a curriculum that drives the love of reading out of them, prevents them from developing i nto deeper thinkers, ensures the achievement gap will remain, reduces their college readiness, and guarantees that the result will be that our schools will fail.”  Does this sound familiar?
• Students need broad background knowledge in order to comprehend difficult texts.  Students do not have this broad background knowledge.  How many of my eighth graders can name our current vice president?
• Schools are doing less and less reading in school, especially reading of novels in class or during SSR in favor of doing more test preparation.
• Sometimes teachers overteach books by interrupting the reading flow to cram in too many standards.  Would you like to read if someone stood over your shoulder and required you to add a sticky note or write in a journal or discuss at the end of every page?
• On the other hand, underteaching is also a danger.  It is not enough to assign students to read Romeo and Juliette or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn without helping them to frame the book and why it matters. 

The news is not all bad.  Gallagher offers many suggestion of ways teachers and schools can both foster a lifelong love of reading and encourage deep thinking about reading and writing. 

• Schools can provide students with a “book flood” of high interest novels and nonfiction.   Have you seen my classroom lately?  I have books spilling off my shelves.  Stay tuned for book talks, book reviews, and book trailers to entice your interest.  I am lucky to teach with teachers who also fill their rooms with books for students since too many of my students come from homes where there are no books or even magazines and newspapers.
• Teachers can expect–and require–students to read for pleasure, to find their own “reading flow,” that point where a reader is so caught up in the story that you forget where you are.  The payoff is huge.  Students who do more “reading for fun” score higher on standardized reading tests.  Don’t expect those reading logs to go away anytime soon.
• Reading for fun needs to be balanced with a variety of academic reading.  Students don’t have to “like” any particular piece, but they should understand why the writing matters and find some value in it.  Students need help entering classic texts with a “guided tour” from the teacher, but should learn the skills to finish it with the “budget tour.”
• Teachers should balance reading large chunks of text with close rereading of smaller chunks within it.  Teachers can help students activate background knowledge and set a purpose before reading. 
• Teachers can help students become aware of what good readers do without constantly interrupting the reading flow.
• Teachers in all content areas can expose students to real world reading–blogs, editorials, news articles–on a variety of subjects to increase much needed background knowledge. 

What do you think we can do to foster a love of reading in our students and help them to develop into thoughtful, critical readers?