Finding the sweet spot, chapter 4

         This chapter was all about finding the sweet spot, obviously. The author had several examples from baseball to romeo and juliet, but all illustrated the need for a sweet spot of reading instruction. Over teaching a subject results in chopped up reading. When a teacher has the student read a chapter, goes over it for that class period and continues this for weeks on end. This chops up the book and disrupts reading flow. Just as detrimental, under teaching involves throwing the book at kids and expecting them to understand it. There is a sweet spot for reading that keeps kids intrigued but also helps them read it themselves. Only then do they achieve reading flow and learn something from what they are reading.

         This chapter made a lot more sense than many things I have read for this class. I understand the extremes on both sides. I remember classes where the teacher had us read one chapter and then went over it in class and repeated this process for almost a month. I of course read about a page of each chapter, just enough to summarize and make it look like I read the chapter. This wasn't due to the lack of intrest in the book, it was due to the butchering of my reading flow. When I get into a book, like Harry Potter, I will read for up to 4 hours. This is a good thing, and I retain much of the knowledge that I am reading about. I can also play a video game for up to 6 hours without eating or moving much. This is because I have achieved a sweet spot of interest and challenge for my mind. My parents told me so many times, if I could just achieve this with my education, I could have a 4.0 and be in ivy league schools. Now I apply this to my future students, if I can just achieve this with my classroom, I will tap into flow that has limitless potential. Not just because they pay attention to academic material for a couple hours, but because they get interested in the academic material.