Take the time to sit with Rebecca for a moment.

It was in the school library that I sat across from Rebecca. At the end of a long autumn day – for us both – I attempted to spark her into life, nudging her to give her best effort to catch up with her missed reading. Slumped on the desk, with the only sign of life a habitual tugging on the torn cuffs of her school jumper, Rebecca was unresponsive to my apparent urgency and enthusiasm.

“But sir, I hate reading!”

After years in the classroom, hearing this familiar refrain would often spark a well-rehearsed retort. And yet, empathising with Rebecca’s truthful and bitter response, I held off replaying the script about the importance of reading and the many doors it can open in our lives.

For Rebecca, “I hate reading” was uttered with an honest exasperation that is all too common. It was no lazy teen angst. Each day, Rebecca would come to school and suffer countless infinitesimally small losses as she struggled with reading. Every chapter, worksheet, teacher explanation and classroom debate would remind Rebecca of her battle. Each time, she would struggle, question, forget and do so largely hidden from view.

Though important to her school success and more, reading was certainly not pleasurable for Rebecca.

Reading for pleasure in secondary school

TES magazine has released an excellent new article on 'reading for pleasure' by editor, Jon Severs, that has sparked debate:

Why schools should stop pushing reading for pleasure
Reading for pleasure has become central to school literacy strategies, but there are increasing calls to ditch it, with research suggesting it has done little to turn pupils into avid readers
Tes MagazineJon Severs

In the article I am quoting directly as being sceptical of the impact of reading for pleasure. I explain why I don't advocate for it in secondary schools (I think that primary and secondary school are very different contexts to develop reading motivation, habits and 'pleasure' - but that was not the focus of my commentary).

Fundamentally, in secondary schools, I think we should view reading through the lens of students like Rebecca. In doing so, we see 'reading for pleasure' as a hoped-for end goal, but not the means to get there.

For teenagers who struggle to read, the idea of choosing books they'll fall in love with is anathema. It isn't just Shakespeare they dismiss - they don't want to read much at all except the 'job' of reading in school (they don't enjoy school reading much either!). They'll routinely claim to and they'd prefer videos, reels, and similar.

At a simple level it makes sense as we avoid things we struggle to do and it means that we don't find pleasure in those activities.

So, my point in the TES article is that "it feels like it’s the wrong starting point". For teens like Rebecca, I think we need to prioritise curriculum time to address issues with her reading struggles. For many, this means intervention, targeted support, and daily high quality reading instruction.

We should also prioritise the reality that they're reading in 9 or 10 subject disciplines on a daily basis. But we seldom hear of 'reading for purpose' and 'disciplinary reading' in wider reading campaigns (this is mentioned in the TES article by Nisha Tank from the National Literacy Trust - who have excellent resources on 'disciplinary reading'). I think we should prioritise training secondary teachers on reading struggles, alongside reading well specifically in subject disciplines, over a 'reading for pleasure' approach.

The 'reading for pleasure' promoted in secondary school often devolves into one off events, such as form time reading by tutors and similar. I don't think experts on 'volitional reading' likely think these are best practices either, but that is the reality of much of the secondary school reading for pleasure promotions.

I think finding more time for subject specific reading, and reading rich full texts in English is crucial. I think we should read lots of books and not abstracts or pale 'banded readers'. But that is the stuff of teaching reading. For some, it could come under the loose, broad banner of 'reading for pleasure'.

Teachers being positive about their reading habits is a good thing and it requires little curriculum time in secondary schools. But will it transform Rebecca's attitude to reading and her skill? No.

Let's return to Rebecca in the school library.

After the usual complaints about reading, I simply began reading to Rebecca and the quietened class. In a short while, she sat up with her head perfectly still and began listening. After a few minutes, Rebecca sat herself up. Her hand momentarily released from gripping her cuff, she opened the book and began to follow along.

I reckon for a few moments she did find pleasure in being read to aloud.

Reading really matters. In the final miles of secondary school, after years of failure, promoting reading for pleasure is not likely to be the place to start with Rebecca. But we should pursue reading. Lots of reading instruction. Lots of book talk. Interventions may be needed too. With Rebecca, it will be precious time that will require careful priorities.

We should have robust challenges to practices in the name of 'reading for pleasure' as Rebecca has no time to lose.

In the limited time of the school day, we have tough choices about what to prioritise and how best to support young people like Rebecca.