It’s fitting that I’m an English teacher today because that’s what I always loved when I was in school. I’ve always loved to read and write, and when I was in school those were the classes where I did the best. I’m very good at breaking down the meaning of words, and I’m also pretty good at writing. Math befuddled me, and the sciences weren’t much better. But I loved history, and I loved even more getting the chance to write about things I was reading.
Today, I teach both 8th and 9th grade English and I also teach high school journalism. I’m able to continue developing my love for reading and writing, but I also have the opportunity to pass along my love for the written word. That’s a big deal because I’ve found that most students today have fostered a hatred for reading, and it’s only surpassed by their disdain for writing. Our society doesn’t have much of a future if no one wants to read, and it’s complicated by a populace that thinks it can do all of its writing through Chat GPT.
The sciences are important, and I’m glad that the world has focused a lot of energy on getting students to engage in those areas. But if those same students never really learn to read and analyze text, they’ll never learn to think for themselves and they’ll be mindless drones with some aptitude for science. Engage them in science and math, but don’t take your eye off the ball with reading and writing.
