This is the sixth in a series of posts about Maryanne Wolf’s Reader, Come Home. You can read the introductory post and find links to other posts in the series here.
Before getting to Marynne Wolf’s final point in Reader, Come Home, I wanted to share some practical takeaways from the book. These are my own personal takeaways and I’ve divided them into two categories:
- Examining My Own Reading Life, and
- Imagining My Children’s Reading Lives
Examining My Own Reading Life
Since reading Reader, Come Home I’ve been ever more aware of my shallow reading tendencies. I experience continuous partial attention when I read on my phone, and that bleeds over to my reading of long articles or books. I find that if I go too many days without reading before bed I have a hard time falling into a story, or following an author’s train of thought.
So here are steps I’ve taken to nourish my own deep reading ability:
- Schedule reading time. Or more specifically, schedule certain kinds of reading times.
There was a time, in the distant past, where chunks of reading time presented themselves to me. Public transportation, waiting rooms, evenings without internet. But those days are gone, so I make plans to read certain things during certain times.
Challenging books are read in the evening with no children around. Shorter form reading (news magazines) can be read here and there throughout the day.
2. Keep a Commonplace Book
I’m new to the commonplace book game, and my system is basic: I highlight as I read, then go through (usually after completing the book) to summarize the argument, copy down quotes and write brief reflections.
Since beginning the commonplace book, I feel like I’m able to really engage with what I’m reading, rather than glossing over it. Also, the act of writing down quotes and summaries helps me to really think through and remember the information. Colorful pens aren’t necessary, but they don’t hurt:
3. Find Fellow Readers
Everyone I know is a reader, but that doesn’t mean we’re always reading the same things. Wether it’s a formal book club or reading a friend’s recommendation, having someone to talk to about a specific book adds to my engagement and understanding.
Imagining My Children’s Reading Lives
The other day, my 10 month old crawled over to my husband and held up a board book to him. My soon-to-be three year old has several stories built into his daily routine (plus spontaneous reading). This sums up my main strategy which is:
- Make (Print) Reading a Part of Daily Life
Our kids aways have access to books, and we’ll read the same book over and over on end.
2. Encourage Long Form, Imaginative Play
In the book, Maryanne Wolf talks about the “shared gaze” of parents and young children. When it comes to attention, kids take their cues from us. So (boring as it can sometimes be), I try to spend time with my kids, on the floor, while their imagined worlds develop around them.
The tricky part is, they don’t really need my participation, but they do seem to need my presence. So if I’m sitting there, hands empty, they’ll play away. If I sit there, and take out my phone, the jig is up.
“One of the most salient influences on young children’s attention involves the shared gaze that occurs and develops while parents read to them.”
–Maryanne Wolf, Reader, Come Home
I can’t cite a source, but I think it’s safe to say that attention developed through play has implications for reading focus.
3. Limit Digital Media
Mornings are for play…period. A few times a week, some limited screen time is allowed after nap. We try to take a balanced and livable approach.
“The devices can be present the way stuffed animals are present, neither outlawed nor ever used as a reward.”
–Maryanne Wolf, Reader, Come Home
4. Introduce Digital Reading Intentionally
Because our kids are young, we haven’t really gotten to this step yet (beyond limiting screen time). In the book, Wolf points out the difference between teaching things like computer programming and passive screen time. One is beneficial, one isn’t.
So while I don’t have a hard and fast plan for the future (though I’d love suggestions if you have them), our main goal is to develop media literacy in ways that don’t compromise memory, attention, and focus. Eventually, digital reading will be in order, and we’ll help our kids figure out how print and digital reading make different demands and require different approaches.
None of this is surprising or revolutionary–it’s what most teachers and parents know. But after reading Reader, Come Home I’m reminded of the urgency of these seemingly simple commitments.
“In children, the convergence of more information and less time to process it may well pose the greatest threat to their development of attention and memory with…consequences on the development and use of more sophisticated reading and thought.”
maryanne wolf, Reader, come home
The next and final post in this series is over my favorite topic in the book: reading as contemplation. Here, Wolf explains why deep reading doesn’t just increase our cognitive capacities, but has the potential to enrich our characters and nourish our souls.
