Chapter 2- Creating Independent Readers

At the beginning of the chapter, Beers talks about a conversation she had with a friend’s daughter named Leah. Leah asked Beers several times what the brass ring on the carousel was. It surprised me that the question “What is it” had so many questions embedded in it. Understanding the subtext of a question is crucial for a teacher to understand because one question can have so many meanings. I can’t count how many times as a student I have heard kids say “I don’t get it” and said this myself, as teachers we will need to know how to answer what exactly “it” is.

What also surprised me is how many types of struggling readers there are. I to believed that a struggling reader typically sat in the back of the class, and when called to read out loud stumbled over the words. As a teacher, I will have to pick up on the many signs that struggling readers demonstrate and understand that a struggling reader is not always going to be the kid in the back with his head down.

Beers also mentions in the text that anyone can struggle over a text. I can see how this applies because I have struggled reading text in some of my classes. When Beers categorizes readers as independent or dependent I grasped an understanding that I did not have before this class. When I struggle with a text, I usually re-read the text and the problem is solved; however, Beers points out several ways in which people help themselves get through a text, which dependent readers lack. What really surprised me was Beers solution for helping dependent readers, which is to teach them how to struggle with a text. I always thought that the qualities of an independent reader were automatic; it surprises me that some students are unaware of strategies which help them get through a text.

Lastly, in Beers reflection she states that mistakes help one learn. This statement definitely holds truth because the more times someone gets something wrong the closer they are to getting it right; which made me realize that as a teacher, I must be patient with the mistakes my students make and at times look at them as a progression towards the right answer.