Asking Questions and the "So What?" of Reading

 Asking Questions and the "So What?" of Reading

A major takeaway from reading the Cris Tovani text was the need to let students know why they are being asked to learn specific material.  She gives educators a plethora of strategies to employ that will help to ensure that this process has the ability to take place.  Tovani summarizes her reasoning behind this belief” by eloquently proclaiming that, “My job isn’t about raising test scores or getting kids to the advanced reading level on someone else’s scale. My job is about teaching kids how to read in meaningful ways that help them better understand the people around them" ( Tovani 16). She further goes on to explain the importance of answering the question of “So what?” as an integral part of the learning process.

Although the inquiry of “So what?” may seem like an elementary one to some, I agree with Tovani that it is crucial in order for truly substantive learning to occur.  As an educator, it is my responsibility to ensure that each and every one of my students leaves my class with the ability to read and decode literature on a more sophisticated level than when they arrived.  However, in order for this to occur educators must first spark an interest in the material that is being presented to the class.  Encouraging students to ask questions about what they are being taught, equips them with a roadmap to navigate them to the ultimate destination of intellectual advancement—instead of them wandering mindlessly with only hopes of finding it. 

Tovani also encourages her students to use questioning as a strategy to help propel her though her readings.   She clarifies that, “I emphasize that the questions have to be questions that I really care about.  I can’t ask any old question—it has to be one that I truly am curious about" ( Tovani 3).By asking questions that you are genuinely curious to find the answers to, you allow yourself to read the text more actively then if chose to abandon this technique.  This strategy is a great way to engage students in subjects that may have never intrigued them in the past. 

Works Cited  

Tovani, Cris. Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?: Content Comprehension, Grades 6-12.  

              Portland: Stenhouse Publishers, 2004. Print.