My literacy experiences in middle and high school were largely positive and widely varied. I read on my own in the early portion of that time. This was due to a combination of factors. One being that my family did not own a TV and two being the existence of a strict bed time curfew lifted only by the presence of a book, and only then by 30 minutes. I read a wide bit of fiction on my own. I enjoyed the Cirque du Freak series and others by Daren Shan. Code Orange was a memorable read about an alternate reality in which small pox was entirely eradicated save for samples at the CDC that fell into the hands of terrorist and a high school boy (of course) was the only thing standing between them and seeing through their evil plot. I also remember inhaling a Series of Unfortunate Events as well as Harry Potter, several mystery series, things like that. I loved survival stories like those in Hatchet too. I read through a fair many abridged classics also, but that was mainly to game the AR system if I'm being honest.
I do not think of any of these texts as being individually impactful, but I think maybe as a whole they contributed to my general sense of wonder and constant biting that there is more than lies on the surface in any given situation. I can certainly be over imaginative and find myself in my own world at times. I read what my teachers asked me to read generally, but I did not always enjoy it. Maybe it was about being told what to read. I always enjoyed reading because I could totally immerse myself in what I read and escape reality around me. Maybe subconsciously I was rebelling against my teachers directing my adventures by displaying a general disinterest in the adventures they would have for me instead. I did enjoy theatre for six years, but that also had the immersive aspect to it.
I think what I take away from this is the impact of student choice. I was always much more motivated to read something that I choose to read, even if I was not able to select from an infinite range of texts. I would like to experiment with giving students a few options of what to read when possible. They can select which passage or article interests them the most, and by doing so will have done all the convincing that the article was interesting to begin with.
