Unlocking Doors

Creating a Skeleton Key: Unlocking the Doors for All Readers

 

"Aw, Miss, do we have to read ANOTHER book?" As several students continue yet another chorus of the "same old song", my mind wanders back to a cold winter's night, several months ago. The wind outside my window howled with the frigid night air, but under my warm downy comforter and snuggled in my cozy over-stuffed chair, I basked in the sun on the island of Oahu with my favorite detective, solving yet another mind- boggling mystery. Recalling the warmth of the hot chocolate's steam tickling my nose and the richness of its flavor teasing my taste buds as the story unfolded, I couldn't imagine life without reading another book.

So other than the obvious fact that as individuals our interests differ, why do some students seem to truly dread, and often ignore, reading? Could it be that as individuals our learning styles also differ? And could it be that when forced to learn like "everyone else" because "this is the proven" (the newest?) method of teaching
everyone to read, many do not learn. And if some don't learn (while others do), these students often begin to feel incapable of learning or determine that it is just too much effort, just too hard. If this is the case, reading becomes a struggle, an opportunity to fail (yet again), and definitely not a means to further learning or pleasurable entertainment.

Instead of perpetuating the problem, my desire is to become part of the solution as a teacher who not only appreciates the learning differences of my students but personifies the idea of life-long learning by continuing my education in a manner that will enhance theirs. I would like to become, in essence, a skeleton key – one that would open the varied learning style doors. If I can grasp and communicate those methods available to assist all students with reading, maybe I can help others discover the unbelievable beauty in reading and understanding the ideas, stories, and instructions of others, ultimately, perhaps, even guiding each individual to the wonders of scripting their own ideas or beliefs for posterity.

Whether fiction or nonfiction, instructional or entertainment, attitude changing or thought enhancing, reading – the ability to truly comprehend and experience the written word – changes lives, strokes imagination, stimulates potential to change the world, individually, providing for each student more richness and flavor than the steaming cup of cocoa often accompanying my newest adventure into the excitement of the imagination or the mysteries of our real and ever-changing world. Reading unlocks doors to new worlds; my hope is to help create the appropriate key meant for each individual. And hopefully hear, "Hey Miss, when do we get to read another book?"