Learning to Read and Write The Need to Improve Your Reading
Elementary School: Learning to Read
We learn to read as children. As the years go by, we read simple material effortlessly, almost unconsciously. We seemingly strip meaning from the page, sentence by sentence, like tearing tape from a box. We don’t necessarily know how we read, we just do it—as you are doing now!
As we go on in school, reading becomes more difficult. The vocabulary of discussion becomes increasingly technical. Sentence structure is increasingly complex. Most people find reading no longer effortless. Others continue to read effortlessly, but fail to understand as much as they would like to—or are expected to.
High School: Reading Facts, Opinions, and Beliefs
Early in our schooling, most of us think published texts offer an accurate view of the world,—”the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” To know about a topic, we have only to read a single source. Studying usually means memorizing.
Sometime around high school, our view of reading changes. Questions no longer have single, or even simple, answers. Authors draw finer and finer distinctions. We must recognize diverse perspectives, and distinguish between, social, political, and economic factors, or between personal, social, and institutional concerns. Whereas once we discussed American Indians as a group, we now recognize the diversity of the cultures and the individual concerns of the various tribes. Studying now involves a deeper understanding. We must recognize and appreciate alternative understandings and perspectives. We must distinguish between fact, opinion, and belief.
College: Reading for Underlying Meaning
As we go on to college, teachers no longer ask us to “read and remember.” Now they ask:
• How does the author view the topic?
• What is the underlying thesis of the book?
The goal of reading is not simply to seewhatis said, but to understand the bias, assumptions, and perspectives underlying the discussion. We no longer see the worldthrougha text; we now see how the world is portrayedbya text. Reading comes to mean understanding one writer’sportrayalof reality.
Many students make the transition from reading for facts to reading to interpret quite smoothly. Others can benefit from specific instruction. In either case, the more you know about how ideas are conveyed by the written word, the more you can apply those principles when the going gets tough. This site is dedicated to that effort.
