Complete Coverage

Getting Real Reading to Work

By Ariel Sacks

Back in January, teacher Dan Brown sparked a fantastic conversation in his Get in the Fracas blog about reading for pleasure as a key ingredient for student success, especially in the case of standardized tests. Dan drew on research by lawyer and education professor Veda Jairrels , who contends that voluntary reading is the crucial missing piece for many African-American youth and accounts for the achievement gap between black and white students.

Dan teaches high school English in the District of Columbia. I’m an 8th grade English teacher in Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Jairrels’s argument really resonates with both of us and our daily classroom experiences.

Intrinsic Motivation