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Filip: A Portrait of a Passionate Reader by Tara Smith
Most of my teaching day is spent talking about books: mini lessons, reading conferences, book talks, reading response letters and listening/facilitating/leading discussions about books. I surround my sixth grade classroom with lots of wonderful books, and I am happy if all they do is to become book lovers during the school year – never mind if they don’t love grammar, spelling, test taking, and all that other “stuff” that our sixth grade curriculum is packed with. If they become excited about reading, and if they read a lot and are able to talk about and write meaningfully about their reading lives, I feel as though it’s “mission accomplished.”
Some of my kids arrive at my sixth grade door loving books, and some of my kids need nudging…sometimes, a LOT of nudging. Most of the early weeks of the school year is spent trying to figure out my current bunch of readers, and then devising ways of making this their most reading-rich year ever.
And it was in one of these early conferences that I met one of the most voracious readers I have ever come across, adult or student, Filip.
I knew this the moment he rattled off his summer reading list, and then informed me that his greatest struggle as a reader was finding enough books to read, and asked if I would be able to help him. I just about leapt out of my chair with joy. Of course, I said, I would LOVE to help you! Since that conference in September, Filip has read two to three books a week. Just this week, for example, he read Divergent, Breaking Stalin’s Nose, Bystander, and We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March.
As you can see, his tastes are varied but well developed – he is choosy about what he reads. Of course, I want all my students to read as voraciously as Filip, and so I have kept a list of what I notice about his habits as a reader, and I share this with my other students:
· Be choosy – there are so many wonderful books out there, don’t settle for a boring read.
· But, choose carefully – really take the time to preview the book, ask questions and research the author, time frame or subject. Filip takes his time about choosing his next book, and he keeps a list of my-next-read books so that he is never caught without his next reading adventure.
· Talk about your what you are reading – explore how your ideas connect with your teacher’s, your classmates. Filip is always ready to chat about his book – he says it keeps him interested in what he’s reading.
· Try new authors and genres. Filip is never stuck in a rut – there are authors he loves, but he is always willing to explore new ones.
· Never waste an opportunity to read. Class work done? Get out your book and read! Waiting for your picture to be taken on picture day? Get out your book and read! Waiting for a boring assembly to begin, get over with? Get out your book and read!
But, this list would be meaningless without Filip himself to be a living, breathing example of passionate readership every single school day. He is a gift to my classroom and to my other students. Our reading conferences are eavesdropped upon, and students will later ask me to put them on the waiting list for books that Flilip is in the midst of enjoying. The thoughtful way in which he speaks about books has also influenced his classmates – they want to emulate his degree of seriousness, the way he tries to connect his reading to other books, history and current events. His enthusiasm is contagious, and his delight in a good read is infectious. Many a time he will laugh out loud, sigh deeply or (very discreetly) wipe away a tear. He shows us that we can get lost in the magical world of a story – that reading is bliss.
We have half the school year to go, but I am already thinking about how much I will miss Filip next year. He will be back to borrow books, and perhaps in those brief moments he will be able to share a bit of his reading self with my new crop of sixth graders. But, I will miss him.
Gary Paulsen said this about reading, and the quote has hung on my wall for many years now:
“Why do I read?
I just can’t help myself.
I read to learn and to grow, to laugh and to be motivated.
I read to understand things I’ve never been exposed to.
I read when I’m crabby, when I’ve just said monumentally dumb things to the people I love.
I read for strength to help me when I feel broken, discouraged, and afraid.
I read when I’m angry at the whole world.
I read when everything is going right.
I read to find hope.
I read because I’m made up not just of skin and bones, of sights, feelings, and a deep need for chocolate, but I’m also made up of words.
Words describe my thoughts and what’s hidden in my heart.
Words are alive–when I’ve found a story that I love, I read it again and again, like playing a favorite song over and over.
Reading isn’t passive–I enter the story with the characters, breathe their air, feel their frustrations,
scream at them to stop when they’re about to do something stupid, cry with them, laugh with them.
Reading for me, is spending time with a friend.
A book is a friend.
You can never have too many.”
Well, Filip already has whole libraries of friends…
Tara Smith teaches sixth grade at a middle school in New Jersey. She blogs about her adventures in teaching at A Teaching Life.
Nerdy Book Club 
I sense a publishing professional in the making. Filip reminds me of many editors I’ve been fortunate to know and work with through the years. A career in publishing may be what he needs to satisfy his voracious reading appetite. *wink*
That’s an idea…he’ll never run out of reading material that way!
Hooray for Filip, and hooray for you too, Tara, for this fabulous post.
How did Filip get to be this way? That’s the most interesting question for me. Was he just born with this bookish inclination? Was he nurtured by parents, teachers, librarians, or a combination of them? Are there books galore in his home? Are books rare but cherished in his home?
If we can isolate the variables that help to create rabid readers like Filip, then maybe we could promote those to other students, teachers, parents, and administrators.
At no point in your post do you discuss Filip’s results on standardized tests, and thank you for that. My guess is that Filip does just fine when test time rolls around. More importantly, he will be a reader for life.
I am still trying to sort through what lies at the heart of his reading habit – and I keep coming back to the notion that it is his innate taste for great books: he tries everything but sticks with books that hold his attention and make him think. His parents read, too – but even they are amazed at the pace with which he consumes great books.
Thanks Tara! I have a Filip, but her name is Meher. Every teacher should have a least one student who loves reading. I saved the Gary Paulsen quote for Library Orientation next year.
So true, just one “reading maniac” (as his classmates call him, can change the atmosphere in reading workshop and make a teacher’s year.
Hi Tara, wonderful story of your amazing student, Filip. I imagine you will definitely miss him next year! What a gift to your class to have this reader as a model, and I also imagine you have been a big part in helping to nurture his growth too. I love the way you are celebrating his habits. Great to see you here at the Nerdy Book Club!
He has been a gift, Linda…and I am already missing him when I think of next year. But, my library has had to grow so much, thanks to Filip!
Thanks for this post. I appreciate that you included how Filip’s habits influence other students…I’ve grown to value the power of students inspiring other students as readers.
Tara, such a wonderfully inspiring post. I love the impact Filip has on your community of readers. I remember a little boy I taught four years ago who at that point, was a younger version of Filip. He would read books at his desk oblivious to the rest of us – laughing out loud, gasping, chuckling – he made the love of reading contagious. I love how you really showed us with this post that we are certainly not the only teachers in the room.
Lucky Filip…lucky you!