Rediscovering a love of learning through books: Philippe’s story

It’s no secret that reading can help students improve in any subject. Reading is a powerful and fundamental skill.

To this day, it warms my heart each time I visit the Grade 1 students and see what incredible progress they’ve made. They’re so proud to show me how well they can read!

I’m even more interested in children’s motivation to read than in the act of reading itself. Chalk that up to my background in special and remedial education! After more than 25 years working as an educator, I know that while some students light up at the mention of reading assignments, others go running for the nearest exit.

But believe it or not, I don’t think I’ve ever met a student who didn’t like books! Sure, kids lose interest in reading sometimes, but every student I‘ve known over the years has liked books.

Sound strange? It makes more sense than you think.

Philippe was a student in Grade 3.
He’d gone through more in his life by the tender age of 8 than I’d experienced by age 30. In addition to a difficult family situation, Philippe had an attention deficit disorder (ADD) with impulsivity and a significant language impairment that largely affected his comprehension. Let’s just say he went to school every day with enough on his mind to fill the backpack on his shoulders.

For Philippe, learning required more time and effort.
He had to work extremely hard to keep up with his class. Naturally, when every task feels like an uphill battle, it’s more difficult to stay motivated. We had a number of supportive measures in place to boost Philippe’s morale and give him more manageable goals. But somewhere along the way, he lost the will to try.

Philippe became more and more averse to schoolwork, an indication that we were asking too much of him and moving too quickly. He began to lose focus at the slightest distraction, couldn’t sit still, and refused to cooperate. We’d already adjusted his action plan twice in a short span.

We kept searching for ways to improve his concentration and allow him to feel a sense of achievement every day. But despite our efforts, we were no longer seeing any progress.

One day, after taking Philippe aside to ask about his interests, I got the idea to unlock the library just for him for a special visit. Hoping to pique his curiosity, I said,

It worked!
When I opened the door, it was as if we were staring into Aladdin’s Cave of Wonders. I watched as Philippe’s eyes became wide as saucers. I told him he was free to choose as many books as he liked. He chose nine!

Comic books, seek-and-find books, books with pictures, books without pictures, books he’d heard of (even though they were above his reading level), books about cats—everything that caught his eye!

I can still hear him asking the same question each time he saw a book he wanted:

The answer was invariably yes, but the look of awe on his face never went away. What a joy it was to see his reaction; it was a wonderful reminder of why I do what I do.

I put Philippe’s books in a basket and helped him figure out where he could fit reading time into his daily routine.

It wasn’t a magic fix, but my simple gesture made a big difference in Philippe’s motivation and level of participation at school. He still faced challenges, and the amount of support he needed remained the same. But I’d opened a door. I’d rekindled his desire to apply himself.

Why am I telling this story? In a 2012 reference document on reading intervention for students aged 10 to 15 (French only), the Quebec government identified four factors important to reading motivation and engagement that I see reflected in Philippe’s experience:

• The joy of reading
• The perception of usefulness (value)
• The sense of control (autonomy)
• The sense of competence

I’d spontaneously tapped into these factors with Philippe. I’d focused on the pleasure of reading, Philippe’s need to make his own decisions, and the topics he valued.

I think it’s important to mention that Philippe didn’t read every book he picked out. I’d anticipated that from the beginning. What matters is that the trip to the library got Philippe back on the right track.

From there, the school and I were able to help him take another step forward. It felt like Philippe was looking at school from a new perspective. That’s all I really wanted: to open a door!