The Importance Of Reading

Reading is an opportunity for students to relax and move away from reality. There are students who are not able to read at the level they are supposed to. Fifty percent of adults in the United States cannot read above a fifth grade level. As a young student, I was not a strong reader. Now, reading is still my weakest subject. Although, reading is a way to free people and create ways to escape. Frederick Douglass, a runaway slave, and Sherman Alexie, a Native American who found peace in reading, are both men who had positive experiences by reading, unlike mine. As a kindergartener at Pleasant Hill Elementary, I was filled with excitement to learn. As the oldest child in my house, my parent’s were inexperienced in helping me learn to read while the school year progressed. Mrs. Asberry, the new kindergarten teacher, was ready to teach the young minds. She was planning on using tips her mother, a former kindergarten teacher, had given her. These tips had worked for students in years past. Therefore, Mrs. Asberry

My parents were having me read out loud or read auto books. In my English classes, there were guided reading packets to fill out. Reading with my parents made doing the packets easier. It was still tough. Many times, I did not comprehend what I was reading and would have to re-read passages over and over again. Now starting my senior year in high school, I am a better reader. My peers can read just as well as I can. I am still not as confident as I would like to be, but I am working on it. Reading out loud makes reading it class easier. It has also helped me learn and create an alternate reality when I need to escape. Teachers will assign reading homework that will still take me longer than it should, but I manage. Not starting out as a strong reader has taught me life lessons, while learning to work around reading. Being able to read has made my school life easier and more