As an elementary school aged child, I was taught two things: if you read books you were smart, if you didn’t read books/didn’t like to read books, you were stupid. This wasn’t a direct lesson, it was more or less taught by people saying “books make you smart.” And since I thought I didn’t like to read, I must have been stupid. And, I later understood that the lessons they taught us were very harmful ones:
Instead of teaching us that reading something you love is important, teachers shamed me and permitted me from reading books below my “grade’s reading level.” But I fell in love with books below my reading level. When I was forced to stop reading them, I stopped reading.
Every spring would be reading season where you had to, I’m not kidding, read 25 books in a few months. I read mostly picture books for this but they didn’t count. I was punished for reading slow. Instead of being able to go on a field trip to a baseball game, me and one other kid were labeled “lazy” and had to sit in the same science lecture the whole day.
I could keep going on and on. There were reading comprehension tests we had to take where we read a short story and had to sit in the hallway with a teacher who asked us questions about it. But instead of asking us about the meaning of the story or deeper questions, we would be asked “how many apples did John pick?” and when I couldn’t remember these hyper specific things, I would break down crying and I was told my reading level was far below the rest of my class’s reading level.
No wonder people quit reading later in life. No wonder I talk to people about a great book I’ve read and they say “I don’t read, I’m not smart.”
It’s sad, it’s traumatic, it’s toxic. How do we fix this so kids never have to feel ashamed to read? How do we teach adults to love to read after this childhood trauma?
Former English major and library worker here, I’m so sorry your experience was so negative. It sounds like the educators you worked with were overly prescriptive and used punishment in areas where it probably wasn’t appropriate. I do think a lot of the reason people become reluctant readers is shame both around what they read and how they read, as well as a lot of people only reading things specifically assigned to them in school.
So, how to start towards remedying this . I agree with others saying that starting reading to and later with kids as early as possible is crucial. Encouraging kids to explore and find stories that they enjoy in combination with books that are culturally important and that work to build their reading level is also important, but a lot of people only focus on one. From what you said about liking picture books, it probably would have been more appropriate for your teacher to have encouraged you to slowly transition by mixing in middle grade graphic novels and chapter books rather than scorning you. Books are, after all, a form of instruction and entertainment just like movies or art. You can’t only consume junk food books that aren’t challenging you or promoting growth, but at the time if you never read anything you actually enjoy there is a high probability you will lose interest in reading. There also needs to be more awareness and sensitivity towards kids with diverse learning styles or disabilities who may struggle with reading.
I think there has historically been a lot of elitism and judgement surrounding reading that needs to be set aside. I think some of the mentality you mention has also fueled anti-intellectualism among people who struggle with reading. It seems to have gotten better in recent years, but overall adult literacy rates are stunningly low, and that is only damaging to society as a whole.