The English faculty began the first of our two recent staff development days by exploring the research on the enduring importance and relevance of reading in our fast-paced, technology-driven, language-dense, and image-laden world. By immersing ourselves in such scholarly research and academic writing, we were able to reflect on and then share our own philosophy, practices and attitudes. In writing our programs for the new English syllabus to begin in Years 7 and 9 in 2024, this focus on reading proved to be critical.

By starting with self, we began by reflecting on our own reading life. The following questions were explored as reflection prompts: Do we read? Do we read beyond the assessment and administrative demands of our work? If so, how often do we read and what kinds of reading do we prefer? What conditions do we require to read? And do we share our reading experiences, practices and preferences with others, including students?

As teachers, our philosophy on reading necessarily includes and influences our beliefs and actions in the teaching of reading in the classroom. Some of the questions we needed to ask ourselves included: Do we make visible regular time in our English lessons for reading? How much of the in-class reading material is selected by the teacher? Do students have any choice in what they read? Do students have the opportunity to read for pleasure and do we explicitly model and encourage this? And finally, what strategies do we have for supporting disengaged, reluctant, or resistant readers?

Emerging research in neuroscience points to the far-reaching, positive impact of reading fiction on brain development, personality, social and emotional intelligence, and decision-making. These insights affirm that reading widely, regularly, and deeply has a profound effect on a student’s life chances. For educators, parents and carers, the message then is to nurture young people’s appetite for reading. It is our task to attentively guide, model and support the development of young people’s sustained reading engagement, enjoyment, and confidence.  And a perfect opportunity to do just that is to participate next week in our Parent Library evening which is being held in the college library on Wednesday 22 November from 6.30pm – 8pm. Come and join the English faculty and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, a chat, and the opportunity to look through the selection of books we have collected. You may take home as many books as you can carry and add them to your own collection. I look forward to seeing you there.

Clare Murphy

English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach