Slice of Life: When Disengaging From the Text is Really Engagement #SOL19 #TWTBlog

I realize I am holding my breath.

I press pause.

I sit. I think. I feel.  I stay in the moment. I stay in the moment for longer than is comfortable.

I listen to audio books all the time in my car.  I realize there are some things that are more difficult for me when I am listening to a book.  It has taken some time to refine my listening skills, to focus my attention, and to visualize the characters as I listen.  It has taken some time to learn how to fully engage as I listen -- not allow my mind to wander to my to-do list, the person I could call, or the day’s activities.  It has taken some time and now I am an avid audio book reader.  I always have a book I am listening to on my own, with my son, with my husband, and with my family.  It is now a habit in my life.

I never thought I would find any aspect – other than time management – of audio reading more powerful than reading a book, a real book, a book I hold in my hands.  Today I realized there is an aspect of audio reading that is more powerful for me.  When I am listening to a book, I am better at staying in the moment as the moment unfolds in the story.  I stay in the heartbreak, the discomfort, the fear, and the joy just a bit longer.  When the going gets tough in a story, I hit pause and I slow down.

I don’t tend to do this when I am reading a book in print.  I find myself speeding up, reading to move out of the moment, looking for the resolution, and turning the pages as quickly as I can.  In print, I am compelled to move forward.  I don’t tend to linger, to consider, or to feel as deeply.  Now that I have made this realization, I want to transfer what I am doing in my audio reading to my print reading.  How can I cue myself to slow down?  How will I monitor my speed? What will signal me to not turn the page?  How will it feel to take my eyes off of the print to think and experience?

I am thinking about these lessons for myself as a reader and for the readers I meet in classrooms.  I wonder how often I misread a student who is slowing down as disengaged.  I wonder if the students who appear to be off task are actually connecting to the characters at a deeper level.  I wonder if we are teaching readers the power of slowing down rather than speeding up.

I know I plan to create space and watch readers more carefully in the upcoming weeks.  I want to know why they have put their book down, why they are staring out the window, and why they are talking to their partner.  Rather than assuming they are disengaged, I want to listen to how they are engaging as a reader.

Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers, and teachers here.