Week 3 - Journal Entry #2

Have you ever come across a time where you were asked to read out loud,

then explain what you just finished reading?  Do you remember if you were able to

successfully summarize the story or was it difficult to even remember what the

story was even about?  When I was growing up, I had a really difficult time

comprehending anything I would read silently or read aloud to the class.  I have

been like that since grammar school all the way up till my second year of college.  To

be honest, I really don’t know why I couldn't grasp the material that I read.  But

two years ago, all of that changed in my English 92/1A class with Mrs. Bell.  I was a

pretty mediocre student with basic English skills.  But by the end of the semester I

turned my weakest subject into my strongest subject in school.  My teacher helped

us view stories from another point of view and taught us how to open our minds to

new things and expand our horizon’s.  The more practice she gave us, the better we

became at it.  One thing that I can reflect on is that it helps out so much if you are

reading a book that you are at least familiar with the topic.  For example, if you work

with children, then reading a book about the psychology of a child’s mind would definitely

interest and keep you engaged.  I believe that the first trick in becoming a better

reader and learning how to comprehend the material is by reading something that

interests you.  Once you go beyond reading the text and start asking questions and

making connections, you will be that much closer to understanding the context.

            Now as for me, I need to have a quiet place to read in order to comprehend the

material.  If there are people talking or yelling in the same room as me, then there

is no way I will be able to regurgitate anything that I read.  I am the type to easily

get distracted if I see something else going on.  So that is why I must be in a room

that is completely silent.  Without that, I will have a really hard time concentrating

and lose complete focus.  I have tried reading while there was music playing or

having the TV on.  But I noticed I don’t give my full attention to the book, therefore I

wont be able to thoroughly go over anything I read.  Also finding time to read can be

a hassle as well.  One of the biggest tasks is trying to balance being a full time

student and working part time while still managing time to schedule room for

homework and reading.  It’s not easy but my only option is to do all my homework

and reading on Saturday’s.  And I wouldn’t say it’s difficult for me to read because I

really enjoyed reading Persepolis, but the only challenging thing is trying to manage

time to read and blog by Sunday evening.  Considering that I have a lot of homework

and other obligations to do, I try to put my priorities first and make time to

complete my homework before the deadline is due.