How to maintain school reading success: Five recommendations from a struggling male reader

Jenkins, Shawyn. (2009). How to maintain school reading success: Five recommendations from a struggling male reader. The Reading Teacher,63(2), 159-162.

Children can teach us so much. In this article, we hear five recommendations from an African- American male sixth grader who struggles with reading. Jenkins, his tutor, gathered these recommendations by talking with “Derek” about the literacy instruction he has received, what worked, and what he’d like to see happen more. All five suggestions seem sound. I wonder how often we see them implemented? In many urban schools, “text mania” and “canned” programs like Success for All may preclude being able to build strong collaborative teams, build on past successes, connect book reading to children’s worlds, involve children in selecting books, topics, and activities, and provide children with a variety of texts on a single topic, all of which “Derek” suggests. The notion of engagement looms large in this set of suggestions. It’s not just student engagement; teachers and families need to engage as well. That is not going to be cheap, in terms of time, energy, or material resources. It is the only way, however.