Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder.

Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.

Take that, Science of Reading*! Read books.

Up yours, Achieve 3000**! Read books.

Forget your shortcuts, Cliff Notes and the online/digital knock-offs! Read books.

As for you, Sal Khan*** … read books.

Read books.

Several years ago, my district decided to change the ELA curriculum. They bought a boatload of paperback novels for teachers to use. Because of budget restrictions, they only bought enough for each teacher to have a classroom set.

The students did not read the novels in full. They read excerpts and then tried to answer questions as the Common Core had taken hold and reading a full book for the enriching experience was something schools no longer had time for. The district specialists who designed the program couldn’t understand why children would want to read a whole book.

BUT THEY DID. The selected books must have been interesting because the ELA teachers reported in team meetings that the kids were begging to take the books home so they could read the entire story.

Nope, nope, nopity, nope. The teachers couldn’t let them borrow the book, not even overnight. Maybe it was some of the language. One teacher reported that her students loved the F-bombs in the text only to be told she was supposed to direct the students to read around those parts.

Out of touch doesn’t begin to describe it. That’s why the best instructional coaches tried to teach summer school–they wanted to keep the actual classroom experience real. The district of course had other ideas. They did not look at summer school as an educational experience for teacher and student; they thought it was a reward for teachers to give up their summer break to earn a few paltry dollars. The district showed their true colors when they cut fully funded positions because the enrollment did not meet projections.

Back to the point. Read books in their entirety. Let students read a full book; require it. Immerse them in the text, the story, and their imagination.

If you don’t, stop griping about falling performance. Do the right thing. Read books. Let the students read books and you will get back to the rest of the lesson that everyone of us, including students, needs to develop our own voice.

That means reading, but not scrolling down the social media feed.

That means reading, but not posting the funny meme that five thousand people have already shared.

That means to read books and then, in your excitement, share quotes or takeaways.

Read books.

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*Science of Reading is a movement to teach elementary school children using phonics as the primary and sole method. For background information, read Nancy Bailey or Tom Ultican.

**Achieve 3000 is an online test-prep program for middle and high school students in which they read excerpts and answer questions.

***Sal Khan created Khan Academy, an online edutech program and product. He might have had the best of intentions when he started it but has since fallen into a reformster mode, particularly in steering the program toward participation in College Board exams and the use of AI.