I taught school for 30 years, 19 of them at the elementary level. During that time, I usually scheduled a 15 minute “free reading” period right after lunch. The children could choose any book they wished to read, the only requirements being that it had to have more words than pictures, and that they must maintain quiet for the full 15 minutes.
In the schools in which I taught, this free reading time was commonly referred to in lesson plans as “U.S.S.R” which stood for Uninterrupted Silent Sustained Reading. But then someone somewhere pointed out that the initials could also refer to the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics.
Oh dear! O dear! Whatever shall we do?
Consequently, the powers that be changed the silent reading time to “D.E.A.R.”, which stands for Drop Everything and Read. Today, April 12, is National D.E.A.R. Day, chosen to coincide with beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary’s birthday.
All of that is well and good I suppose, as long as the kids are being encouraged to read whatever they choose. I’d hate for anyone to try to limit what they can and can’t read for pleasure…
But that could never happen here, could it?
