Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do about It

By Kelly Gallagher and Richard L. Allington

Book Overview

Read-i-cide: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools. Reading is dying in our schools. Educators are familiar with many of the factors that have contributed to the decline, poverty, second-language issues, and the ever-expanding choices of electronic entertainment. In this provocative book Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It, author and teacher Kelly Gallagher suggests it is time to recognize a new and significant contributor to the death of reading: our schools. Readicide, Gallagher argues that American schools are actively (though unwittingly) furthering the decline of reading. Specifically, he contends that the standard instructional practices used in most schools are killing reading by: Valuing standardized testing over the development of lifelong readersMandating breadth over depth in instructionRequiring students to read difficult texts without proper instructional support and insisting students focus on academic textsIgnoring the importance of developing recreational readingLosing sight of authentic instruction in the looming shadow of political pressuresReadicide provides teachers, literacy coaches, and administrators with specific steps to reverse the downward spiral in reading-;steps that will help prevent the loss of another generation of readers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1571107800
• ISBN13: 9781571107800
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great Teaching Resource!

Everything by Kelly Gallagher is a fantastic teaching resource! But this specific text, is a fantastic job of problematizing the hatred of reading for many students that ends up stemming from the American Public School system. This book gets educators thinking about how to cultivate life long readers starting in their classroom. I highly recommend this read for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to know how to encourage reluctant readers without killing their drive for learning.