Reaction to B&B

Hey, folks. I thought I'd try to get this party started. :) What struck me in B&B is their references to the reading/writing connection. We hear this so often, but sometimes it's just glossed over. On page 13, they state, "Students who were exposed to interesting literature improved their writing skills," and then added later, "Students must read literature that speaks to them." These statements hit all the bells and whistles in my head. When students--heck, anyone!--reads something that interests him/her, it will naturally translate into what he/she is writing. When I read some authors, at times I can clearly see the evidence of what they are reading right then.

I think part of the reason B&B lit such a spark with this thread is that Dr. Fox has his class reading NEA's "To Read or Not to Read," which discusses how more and more Americans (especially teens and twenty-somethings--your age group) are reading less and less literature voluntarily. And this decrease is reflected in many elements of society--those people are making less money, thus having a lower standard of living, and are less likely to do charitable work, which is frightening when we consider how much "the poor" in our country rely on charitable institutions to survive (I used quotes because this phrase is becoming corrupted, I think, but I can't think of another term to use right now). Those characteristics are just a few of the negatives. But the real question here is--how as English teachers do we implant within our students not only the reasoning to see the benefits in reading and writing voluntarily but also the sheer pleasure in both acts?

Okay, I feel like I'm starting to ramble (is that symptomatic of blogging or just me--don't answer, rhetorical question), so I hope this makes sense.