Learning Focus

I taught my first class at NLPS back in 2011. I came in as a bright eyed graduate teacher with grand expectations of how I would have all of the students in my class reading amazing books. High quality literature + high quality discussion = improved learning outcomes… or something like that. It didn’t take long for me to realise that this wouldn’t be the case. I remember so clearly that a couple of boys in my class were obsessed with this book. 

And it really annoyed me. 

Surely there was something better that these twelve year olds could be digging into - something that didn’t have ridiculous spelling mistakes and storylines filled with toilet humour. I tried - so you want something funny, how about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? 

No thanks. That book is too long.

Something adventurous? I bet you’d enjoy Treasure Island. 

Is this book even written in English, Mat? 

I have also had this conversation with many parents over the years - what can I do? My child doesn’t like reading.

Unfortunately, our data backs this up as well - according to our baseline Resilience Project data, only 43.5% of our Year 3-6 Boys and 53% of our Year 3-6 Girls read for enjoyment. There is (not surprisingly) a lot of research out there that supports the importance of children reading for enjoyment - some research even going as far as suggesting that students engaging happily in reading is a factor more important than their socio-economic background when tracking success in education.

So was I right to be annoyed at the boys for reading The Adventures of Ook and Gluk Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future?

No. 

Quite the opposite, actually. Or, as author Neil Gaiman put it (much more eloquently than I could…)

Snobbery and foolishness. 

Thanks Neil, now I feel really great about taking Ook and Gluk out of my students’ hands all those years ago. 

But it shouldn’t have taken a scolding quote from a world-renowned author to make me reflect on my teaching practice. I should have just thought back to what I liked to read when I was a kid. And the answer is… not much. 

Unlike my brother who would devour tome-like novels one after the other while I complained about the light coming from his side of the bedroom, I struggled to climb onto that literacy ladder. It wasn’t like my teachers and parents didn’t try. Goosebumps, Paul Jennings, Enid Blyton… nothing hooked me in.

But all it took was one book.

For me, it was a fantasy book by Emily Rodda that ignited my imagination. Once I had worked my way through the Rowan of Rin series, I sought other books with similar themes. I also started writing stories inspired by what I read, and although my teachers probably grew tired of the narratives of dragons and heroes saving the world and the small collection of books I read and re-read, I had started climbing the ladder. 

So, if you find it hard to get your children to read, you are not alone. But please keep trying. Go to the library, get them excited by books. Send them up to see me at the office to ask for a book - I’m certain I have something that I can talk them into taking home and loving (and if I don’t get it right the first time, we can try again with a different book. And again).

The weather is starting to turn. We will soon be experiencing those biting cold evenings and longing for the springtime. Maybe the joy of reading can bring some warmth and light to the cold winter evenings. And maybe it’s time for me to finally crack open The Adventures of Ook and Gluk Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future and see what engrossed those boys all those years ago. 

Mat Williamson

Acting Assistant Principal