Not sure if you’ve seen the readers’ bill of rights from Daniel Pennac which is often used in schools, but I am riffing on that idea as rights for teachers, because you too, Gentle Reading Teacher, have rights. Here they are. You can add, revise, and delete, as you see fit. You know best. There is also an Instagram live video of this post if you prefer to view.
1.The right to not read what your students like.
You hate fantasy? Hate YA? Good for you! Do your research to provide what your students like and build affinity groups of students to recommend books to each other. Then, model what it is to be someone who has unapologetically taken ahold of their literate life and read what you darn well please.
2. The right to donate or throw away (recycle?) books.
I confess to being a book hoarder. Just in case a student would want to read the book someday, but the students never picked up the old books that I knew were good but looked…not so good. Not every book you find should be kept in your classroom library. There is an art to classroom library curation. The library is only as good as the reader’s ability to find anything worth reading.
3. The right to decide how to use independent reading.
When your principal asks what the purpose is, there are lots of other things to show her besides completed worksheets and book projects. You can use it to
- transfer standards to independent practice. It can be assessed through conferences, peer conversations, or student book talks.
- build background knowledge. Students make connections to what the whole class is working on during a whole-class activity.
- develop social emotional behavioral health. Use it as a brain break or transition to class activity. Take the time to check in with students and make connections to the character’s emotional journey in their books.
- use it as an extension activity. Pull small groups of students who don’t want to read to engage with you in a way that will help them open up to the possibility of reading. Let the students who already love it just enjoy it.
4. The right to trust the process.
Let go of trying to control other people through compliance measures. You don’t have to take off points for kids’ pages (or lack thereof), bathroom breaks, talking, or fake reading. You can observe what’s happening and lay down more invitations. Check out my suggestions for motivating students.
5. The right to include independent reading your own way.
Lots of edu-celebs (and randoms like me) have opinions about how you need to do independent reading for it to be “good.” You may have internalized some of these opinions and then shamed yourself when they didn’t work or you were inconsistent. You don’t have to do book talks or First Chapter Fridays. It can be loud during “Silent Sustained Reading.” You can take days off. You can start or end class with it. Like your reason for what you’re doing and refuse to beat yourself up if it’s imperfect.
6. The right to put the right book in the hands of the kid who asks for it.
Gentle Reading Teacher, use your miraculous combination of book knowledge, past experience, and deep knowledge of that student in particular to create magic, one book at a time. This is relationship building at its finest.
7. The right to feel however you feel about states legislating against these rights.
Angry. Depressed. Frustrated. Anything. Or nothing. Whatever your feelings, they are valuable information.
8. The right to choose how to respond to state legislation.
You can sit with, numb, repress, or react in any way you choose. We are all responsible for how we decide to act in response to our emotions. While the legislation may feel (and is) restrictive, there are still so many choices (even if you don’t like them, and it’s okay not to like them). Teachers will make different choices in reaction to the legislation, and that’s okay too. You can
- Quit teaching
- Close your classroom library
- Just keep doing what you’re doing
- Raise funds to pay fines for you and other teachers
- Hide unmarked books all over your school
- Redistribute your library to free little libraries around your town
- Let students read on their phones and bring in their own books
- Have students write and read each other’s writing instead of published books
- Get newspaper and magazine subscriptions
- Hire a lawyer and exploit loopholes
- Teach more historical documents and speeches from the public record
- Use juxtaposition and lens work as employed by the #disrupttexts movement
- When reading a longer whole-class text, amplify the parts that emphasize race or sexuality (spoiler: they exist in every single book ever). Let the students notice and name it.
- Sponsor an anti-censorship club. Let the students lead.
- Do your civic duty: sign petitions, call your legislators, participate in protests, walkouts and boycotts
- Use your radical imagination
Want to Learn More?
If you are feeling more passionate about independent reading than ever, but want support in your next steps, I’ll be sharing details soon about a workshop on independent reading. To be the first to know, join the waitlist.
The topics:
- Creating readers
- Introducing independent reading
- Assessments
- Managing a classroom library
- Fitting independent reading in with every unit
• Done-for-you resources to go with each topic
• Surprise bonuses
