I Read It, But I Don't Get It

First and foremost I want to say how relevant this title is to anyone who has ever taken a difficult class. Even in college now, there are times when I read things for classes over and over again, and I just don't get it. I hate it.

But then again, let's be honest with ourselves. How many times have you waited to do the assigned reading, and instead skim through and b.s. your responses? Often. In high school that was the competition in our senior AP English class. Though we were all intelligent kids, we were lazy and faked our way through most assignments, be it reading or writing. This "fake reading" is exactly the kind of thing Tovani discusses in these chapters.

I have always been a great reader and loved reading most everything I could. I don't think I have ever truly "fake" read anything, except for maybe textbooks. It's hard for me to comprehend why some people do not like reading. I never would have believed that a lot of it has to do with students not making a connection. For myself, a math book or a dry science or ed book have been hard for me to just skim through. I can't do it. But when I really sit down, i generally gain some sort of knowledge from it. So how do you help your students who are legitimately trying but not understanding?
I enjoy that she really tells a story as she goes along, and that this isn't just another dry textbook. I feel like she understands that we need to not only see examples on how to better our teaching, but also that it needs to be communicated in a better way.