Helping kids become readers

When it comes to reading, kids learn the mechanics and how to interpret what they read—but they don’t necessarily learn to enjoy it, says Jennifer Wolf, a senior lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education and director of UP@GSE, an office at the GSE focused on undergraduate students and programs.

She joined GSE Dean Dan Schwartz and Senior Lecturer Denise Pope on this episode of School's In for a discussion on reading and young adult literature, including banned books, the importance of reading for pleasure and what makes young adult literature so appealing.

Wolf says parents often ask if reading on a tablet is as good as a paper book. "Light reading is okay; iPad reading is okay; listening to a book on audio is okay; reading comic books; reading the same book over and over again," she said. "Free agency is very important in pleasure reading."

She also says it's important that kids have role models. "One of the single most important factors influencing a young person to grow up to be a person who reads independently and for pleasure is that they see an adult they care about reading for pleasure."

You can listen to School's In on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and the School's In web page in GSE News and Media.