Aesthetic and Efferent Stances Toward Reading

            It is important to note the difference of aesthetic and efferent reading stances when attempting to turn students into lifelong readers.  On the most basic level efferent reading often encompasses the goal of gaining information from the text.  Readers who employ this stance are often only interested in answering the assigned questions about the text.  On the other hand, aesthetic reading allows the reader to live through the text.  An example of this is being able to sympathize and feel for the characters in a text.  This is not to say that one reading stance is better than the other; both stances should be seen as being on a continuum.  Most proficient readers employ the use of both stances, because they both have their place in the learning process.  Beers asserts that, “by contrast, struggling readers, as well as reluctant readers, often lack this stance versatility…this is particularly a problem when students are reading fiction and literary nonfiction in their language arts classes” (Beers 269).  Thus, it is the job of the educator to encourage aesthetic responses from our students. 

            Beers notes that is it is important to let your students know that reading is about much more than answering questions.  In order for our students to be truly engaged teachers have to conscious to set up the learning process in a way that gets students personally involved in the text.  Framing the questions in a way that elicits reflection and personal response is a much better way to elicit engagement than assigning questions that are simply text based.  Beers confirms that once the questioning is revamped to fit the varied needs of the struggling reader, that they will eventually be able to better utilize the full continuum of reading stances. 

Works Cited

Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do:  A Guide for Teachers, 6-12. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003. Print.