The Rewards Outweigh the Challenges of Effective Reading Instruction
Adults must persevere to provide children with the freedom literacy affords.
Teaching children to read proficiently can be tedious and challenging. However, similar to other complex skills we teach them, those challenges pale compared to the freedom and rewards they reap later in life. I can vividly recall such times in our own family. Although I regularly babysat for as long as I can remember, two things caught me off guard when I had four children. I anticipated the difficulties of the sleepless nights with newborns, the helplessness of trying to soothe a teething toddler, and the frustration of “negotiating” with a stubborn three-year-old. No one prepared me for potty training and teaching a child to ride a two-wheel bicycle. Both brought some of the most challenging times for me as a mother.
Potty training was messy, inconvenient, and not a linear process. Teaching my children to ride a two-wheel bicycle was frustrating, physically and emotionally draining, and a little scary. I am pretty sure tears were shed by all parties involved throughout the “teaching sessions”. As challenging as both were, we persevered. I knew that being potty trained meant social freedom for my children. They could attend a preschool program, meet new friends, and go to a friend’s house to play once they were out of diapers. Mastering a two-wheel bicycle meant freedom for our family as we enjoyed longer, more adventurous rides and freedom for my children once they were old enough to venture independently in the neighborhood. Both potty training and bike riding opened up opportunities for them they would not otherwise have.
Many of the same statements can be true of teaching children to read. While some children will quickly catch on to the sounds of letters, the patterns and meanings of words, and the ability to comprehend stories, others will struggle, get bored, or stubbornly refuse even to try. There may be moments or days of great successes and tremendous breakthroughs followed by days and weeks of stagnation or backsliding. There may even be some tears shed along the way. I taught all four of my children to read and experienced all of it. Imagine a room full of twenty-four students from various backgrounds and situations. The challenges are real, but the rewards for persevering far outweigh those.
Frederick Douglass, the self-taught accomplished abolitionist, and statesman, believed, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Just as potty training and mastering a bicycle opened up opportunities and a new level of freedom for my children, reading opens a whole new world and unlimited access to knowledge, adventure, and imagination for all children. While it is likely that my children would have eventually figured out potty training on their own, it is probable that at least a couple of them would not have taken the risk to learn to ride a bike without instruction, prompting, and encouragement. Expecting children to “naturally” attempt and master the skill of literacy is unrealistic and unscientific. Instruction must be intentional, focused, and direct.
I do not recall anyone telling me in college that every day as a teacher would be fun. I am sure nobody said every day would be easy. I often heard from mentors and fellow education students how amazing it was to watch a child learn and master the skill of reading. The frustrating days, exhausting repetition, and moments of stagnation all disappear when you see the figurative lightbulb come on and watch students progress from learning to read to loving to read. It’s the reward for perseverance and persistence.