Deliriums_Fish t1_jddqis1 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 5:40 PM

Part of the reason I fell in love with reading was there was more room to have FUN reading in school. Class took a bi-weekly trip to the library with freedom to choose a book and write a few lines about what the book was about. Taught me what I liked and should continue to seek out vs. what I wasn't into.

That joy is taken away when kids are limited - my mom let me read whatever I wanted because she knew I wouldn't understand certain words, was at the limit of my own imagination. I tried reading Stephen King at a super young age because the allure of "mom's books" was so intriguing.

There are also a lot people who insist their kids don't like reading, but then insist that what their kids like isn't "real reading" and admonish choices like graphic novels, video game/movie tie ins that get them to buy in, etc. There are a lot of reasons "kids don't read."

I teach high school and a lot of my kids are also reading, just maybe less "traditionally." A lot of my students love fanfiction, creative writing, etc. It may not be perfect but they ARE reading. To the naked eye, I wasn't reading a lot for fun in high school (and I was a voracious reader too) but I also wasn't going to openly express I was reading horny fanfiction either. Sometimes kids ARE reading but might be a little embarrassed about what they're exploring.

dreamsofaninsomniac t1_jde2o2s wrote on March 23, 2023 at 6:56 PM

> Class took a bi-weekly trip to the library with freedom to choose a book and write a few lines about what the book was about.

One of my first class field trips was to the local public library when I was in kindergarten. I was the one who convinced my parents to get library cards. They were immigrants so they were skeptical of anything being free, but after that, we went there almost once or more a week when I was a kid. Lots of great memories hanging out in the public library.

LordLaz1985 t1_jdeu38u wrote on March 23, 2023 at 9:51 PM

Absolutely. Let kids read what THEY want in the elementary grades! I devoured Magic School Bus books because I loved the asides and funny pictures as much as the actual text. I read Encyclopedia Brown books because it was fun to see how he’d figure things out each time. I read the American Girl books because they were about ordinary kids living through important events in history. I read graphic novels because they were a nice visual “snack” in between more demanding books, and the illustrations made the stories come alive.

The way some states are banning books from school libraries is hurting children and limiting their imaginations.

hkd001 t1_jdfvq2m wrote on March 24, 2023 at 2:20 AM

In highschool I was reading anything about the Diablo franchise from how the game mechanics worked, guides, and lore.

Deliriums_Fish t1_jdiejtf wrote on March 24, 2023 at 4:44 PM

and that's fantastic! ALL READING IS READING! I think so many people get caught up on "kids these days don't read the things like I was reading back in the day" which they then translate as "kids aren't reading."

These are the same people who will lambast others getting their recs from sources like BookTok. Often sources like that are the first way a lot of teens/young adults find a gateway to what they enjoy and then branch off to find other things like it.

hkd001 t1_jdigc54 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 4:55 PM

Yeah gatekeepers are the worst. Like who cares about where you get your recommendations from, what matters is that you enjoy the material.

The metal music community has a ton of them too. Like the "name three songs from that band" or "that band isn't metal" kind. It's best to ignore those people.