Writing About Texts: Development Strategies...

I have used both active reading & outlining in the past, though one I only started doing when I got my AA degree back in 2005. Before ever having gone to college, I had never properly learned how to read actively. Had I read a TON of books, essays, etc. throughout high school?  Absolutely. Did I understand the general basis of the stuff I had read? Sure. But I never really learned about active reading and critical thinking until I started college in the fall of 2005. To me, this was extremely unfortunate.

Because of my short attention span and the fact that people would have to repeat things to me in order for me to fully understand, I always felt dumb. When I got to college it was like a slap in the face! I felt like everybody was soooo much farther ahead than I was, and it seemed like some of the professors were just sadists who liked to bombard us with confusing questions and assignments.

When I was in 5^th grade, my teacher used to have us read out loud in class, but she would time us and reward those of us who could read the fastest. I wanted to be the fastest reader. I’ve always loved to read, so it was no problem for me. As my schooling progressed, everybody would constantly tell me how I was such a good and fast reader. Therein lies my problem: I was so focused on reading as fast as possible, that I didn’t focus on WHAT I WAS READING. It wasn’t until I got to college, where critical thinking and active reading came into play, that I realized I had spent most of my scholastic career doing it WRONG! I had to read things several times AND take notes just in order to get the general concept of what I was reading. And then the analysis came later. It was much more time-consuming, and a lot more work to do in general.

Thankfully, once I realized my mistake, I immediately started retraining myself how to read properly. It was extremely frustrating at first. Even now, I catch myself reading too fast every once in a while. But now my focus is ALWAYS on active reading, and taking notes as I read so I can examine them later if I need to. 

It's kind of funny, really. I always thanked my 5th grade teacher for doing that, because I was happy I could read so fast. It was something I was really proud of. Now, I just wish I could track her down & tell her to never do that again, unless she can teach the kids about active reading too.