Literacy Force-Feeding

We care so much about the state standards, grades, achievements… but what about curiosity? What about that INTRINSIC craving for discovery, critical thinking and questioning?

In school, students are required to read, whether or not they DESPISE it. That of course is my biggest fear, where student X develops an unrelenting hatred towards a skill like reading or writing, and avoid it at all costs out of school.

That’s exactly what happened with X, a student (aged 5) I forced to read and write last year. It was painful for me and for her. She wasn’t ready, and I was simply ruining the experience of this even more.

What I could see was this:

X was already conditioned to view writing and reading as NEGATIVE things. She associated it with something she HAD to do, so of course never in her spare time would she pick up a book or write a short story.

What will happen when she’s older? Sure she may have high literacy skills, but will she have the curiosity and drive to synthesise, unpack and critically analyse text… just cause?

The question is this:

Do we want to ruin a student’s learning experience and encourage sub-par work… or let them ease into something (regardless of timeline) to develop a fundamental LOVE for the subject?