For several years I have used Smith et al.\u27s book as the text in a graduate course, Curriculum and Supervision Problems in Reading. They ay:  The reading habits of teachers have been studied enough to validate the suspicion that reading is being taught by teachers who do not themselves turn often to reading for personal fulfillment and enrichment. It is deplorable that many teachers in this country, especially elementary school teachers, are not reading enthusiasts  (Smith et al., 1978, p. 74). Having worked with large numbers of both pre- and inservice teachers for the past decade, I felt that these statements did not accurately reflect the reading habits and attitueds of those teachers; however, I had no data to support this opinion. Hence, I undertook the following pilot study

Searls, Evelyn F.

English

ScholarWorks at WMU

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and 
Language Arts 
Volume 25 
Issue 4 July 1985 Article 2 
7-1-1985 
Do You, Like these Teachers, Value Readings? 
Evelyn F. Searls 
University of South Florida 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons 
 Part of the Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Searls, E. F. (1985). Do You, Like these Teachers, Value Readings?. Reading Horizons: A Journal of 
Literacy and Language Arts, 25 (4). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/
vol25/iss4/2 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by 
the Special Education and Literacy Studies at 
ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion 
in Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language 
Arts by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at WMU. 
For more information, please contact wmu-
scholarworks@wmich.edu. 
DO YOUJ LIKE THESE TEACHERSJ 
VALUE READING? 
Dr. Evelyn F. Searls 
University of South Florida 
Tampa 
IITeachers should be buyers of one of the most impor-
tant products they want to sell to the students: readingll 
(Smith, Otto, & Hansen, 1978, p. 76). This succinct quote 
encapsulates the view of virtually every reading authority 
who has ever wri tten a texbook on methods of teach i ng 
reading. All are agreed that the ultimate goal of reading 
instruct i on is to produce readers who not on ly can read 
but do read, and will continue reading during the rest of 
their lives. Achieving this goal requires that students 
be taught by teachers who themsel ves value reading, as 
demonstrated by their reading habits and attitudes. 
The relatively few studies in the last twenty years 
that have described teachers I reading habits and attitudes 
are d i scourag i ng. Duffey (1973) surveyed read i ng hab its 
of elementary teachers in 1966 and again in 1972. Finding 
Ii tt I e change, he deplored the amount of non-read i ng re-
ported by both groups. Mueller (1973) concluded from 
responses to an open-ended quest i onna ire admi n i stered to 
student interns and graduates (experienced teachers) that 
these individuals did not place a high value on either 
professional or recreational reading. Using a random 
sample of 100 elementary teachers, Cogan and Anderson 
(1977) confirmed that teachers did little professional 
reading; periodicals they did read were ones that con-
tained ideas that could be directly implemented in the 
classroom (Instructor, Teacher, etc.). Finally, Mour (1977) 
surveying 224 graduate students (all working teachers), 
concluded that teachers were not avid readers of non-pro-
fessional materials, and he presented evidence which sup-
ported Cogan and Anderson's findings that teacher's 
preferences for professional reading also favored period-
i ca I s that offered practi ca I ideas rather than those 
dealing with theory and research. 
For several years I have used Smith et al.'s book as 
the text in a graduate course, Curriculum and Supervision 
Problems in Reading. In addition to the quote at the 
beginning of the paper, they say: liThe reading habits of 
teachers have been studied enough to validate the suspi-
cion that reading is being taught by teachers who do not 
rh-234 
themse I ves turn often to read i ng for persona I fu I fill ment 
and enrichment. It is deplorable that many teachers in this 
country, especially elementary school teachers, are not 
reading enthusiasts ll (Smith et al., 1978, p. 74). Having 
worked wi th I arge numbers of both pre- and i nserv i ce tea-
chers for the past decade, I felt that these statements did 
nul dLl.uralely n:flect the reading tlabits and attitudes of 
those teachers; however, I had no data to support th is 
opinion. Hence, I undertook the following pilot study. 
As an assignment in one section of my course, I asked 
my students to give the following questionnaire to five ele-
mentary classroom teachers in their schools (located in 
four area counties). My students were also to fill out the 
questionnaire; all to be done anonymously. I received 64 
usable questionnaires divided as follows among grade levels: 
kindergarten (7), grade one (16) , grade two (8) , grade 
three (10), grade four (4), grades four/five combined (2), 
grade five (6), grades five/six combined (2), and grade six 
(9). The questionnaire is presented below, complete, with 
the results given in terms of response percentages as well 
as comments on open-ended questions. As you read, try 
answering the questions yourself. 
* * * * * * * 
1. Which of the following do you read regularly? 
Newspapers 77% Professional 
journals 52% 
Magazines 91% 
Novels 68% Nonfiction 
books 36% ----
2. Do you read for information other than that required by 
your job or studies? Yes 94% 
If so, what do you read? 
Newspaper 22% Magazines 42% 
Nonfiction books 28% 
3. Do you read for pleasure? Yes 95% 
If so, what do you read? 
Fiction 68% Magazines 44% 
Nonfiction books 16% 
4. Have you read a novel in the last year? 
Yes 80% 
--last six months? Yes 75% 
--last month? Yes 61% 
rh-235 
5. Have you read a novel that you enjoyed so much that you 
recommended it to friends? Yes 72% 
If so, what was it? (Almost all "yes II respondents 
provided the name of the novel.) 
6. Do you feel "uneasy" if you don't have an ongoing reading 
project? 
Yes 43% 
7. Do you always carry reading material with you when you 
expect to be in a waiting situation (doctor's appoint-
ment, barber/beauty shop, etc.)? 
Yes 60% 
8. Do you always carry reading materials with you on a 
journey that lasts an hour or more? 
Yes 74% 
9. Could you accept the loss of your hearing easier than 
the loss of your sight? 
Yes 87% 
10. What do you like to do for recreation? 
II. 
12. 
The three activities mentioned most often were: 
reading (87%), sports (73%), and sewing (26%) 
If reading was included, where does it rank? 
First 40% Second 32% Third 15% 
Rate yourself as a reader: 
Excellent 35% Good 53% 
Fal r 6% Poor 0% 
Do you feel the need to make any changes in your reading 
behavior? Yes 42% 
If so, what? The three changes menti oned most often 
were: spend more time reading (46%), read a 
variety of materials (22%), and read faster 
(18%) 
(Answers to the next four questions are reported separately 
for teachers in kindergarten-grade two (N=31) as opposed to 
teachers in grades three-s i x (N=33) in order to exami ne 
possible differences between the groups.) 
13. Do you read aloud to your students? If so, how often? 
Yes 
Every day 
4 days per week 
K-2 tchrs 3-6 tchrs 
97% 82% 
67% 44% 
03% 
3 days per week 
2 days per week 
1 day per week 
rh-236 
10% 11 % 
03% 19% 
11 % 
14. Do you havp a reriod of Sustai npo Si lent Reading in 
yuur classroom? If so, how of ton? 
Yes 
Every Day 
4 days per week 
3 days per week 
1-2 days per week 
K-2 tchrs 
39% 
50% 
08% 
17% 
17% 
3-6 tchrs 
55% 
67% 
17% 
15. Do your students see you reading for pleasure or infor-
mation (not related to your instructional duties)? 
K-2 tchrs 3-6 tchrs 
Yes 61% 61% 
16. "A fondness for reading is something that a child 
acquires in much the same way as he catches a cold--by 
effecti vely being exposed to someone who al ready has 
it" (Johnson, 1956, p. 123). Do you think reading can 
be taught effecti vely by teachers who do not love 
reading themselves? 
Yes 
K-2 tchrs 
29% 
3-6 tchrs 
33% 
It is difficult to compare results across question-
naire studies because the questions are different and 
resu 1 ts are reported in diverse ways. Other invest i gators 
have summarized their data and drawn pessimistic conclusions. 
I here present each quest i on wi th its percentages for two 
reasons--the first is that you should draw your own conclu-
sions; personally, I am encouraged by these data. The 
second reason is that I hope readi ng the quest ions caused 
you to think about your own reading habits and attitudes. 
I realize that this sample is probably biased in 
favor of reading, due to the selection procedure for the 
participants. However, in light of the pessimistic conclu-
s ions of ear 1 i er stud i es (and, for that matter, the "bad 
press II that educat i on in genera 1 is rece i v i ng these days), 
rh-237 
I welcome some favorable bias. Naturally, as a reading edu-
cator, I wou Id have preferred teacher responses i nd i cat i ng 
that they a 11 read aloud to the i r students every day, and 
that they all provided a daily SSR period in their class-
rooms; nevertheless, the percentages reported here are 
encouraging. 
The response to the 1 ast quest i on was the on ly one 
that disturbed me somewhat. Approximately one-third of the 
respondents thought that reading could be taught effectively 
by teachers who do not love read i ng themse 1 ves. However, a 
number of teachers quest i oned the mean i ng of the word lIef-
fectively.1I I believe that, if the question had been worded, 
1100 you think that students will learn to love reading when 
taught by ... 11 the responses might have been different. 
More important than the data presented here are the 
poss i bl e effects that the quest i onna i re had on those who 
participated and may have on readers of this article. As 
Mueller (1973) stated: 
The point is not that teachers II should ll value reading 
more highly than they do, but to urge teachers to 
confront, acknowledge and clarify their own values in 
this important subject. If a teacher finds, for example, 
that he himself views reading simply as a tool which en-
ables him to follow written directions, pass exams, or 
read the headlines, he may be able to lead his pupils 
to value reading at least as a necessary ski 11 to be 
mastered. If he finds that he has a resistance to 
reading anything not required, he may be able to better 
empathize with the reluctant reader in his classroom. 
Or the teacher who real izes he prizes reading, or who 
learns to appreciate reading through self-study, can 
also apply this knowledge to teaching. In any event, 
the teacher who has clarified his own values can help 
his pupils understand, accept, or possibly change their 
reading values (p. 205). 
It is hoped that reading this article encouraged you to con-
front and clarify your own values with regard to reading. 
REFERENCES 
Cogan, John J., and Doug 1 as H. Anderson. IITeachers I Pro-
fess i ona 1 Read i ng Habi ts. II Language Arts, vol. 54 
(March 1977), pp. 254~258, 271. 
Duffey, Robert V. IITeacher as Reader.1I The Reading Teacher, 
vol. 27 (November 1973), pp. 132-133. 
rh-238 
Johnson. Wende II I). YOllr ~ost Enchanted Li stener. New York: 
Ha rper and Row-, -C95"6. 
Mour, Stan I ey 1. "Do Teachers Read?" The Read i ng Teacher, 
vol. 30 (January 1977), pp. 397-401. 
Mue II er , Dor is L. "Teacher Att i tudes Toward Read i ng. " 
Journal of Reading, vol. 17 (December 1973), pp. 202-205. 
Smi th, Ri chard J., Wayne Otto, and Lee Hansen. The School 
Reading Program. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. 


Do You, Like these Teachers, Value Readings?

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy andLanguage ArtsVolume 25Issue 4 July 1985 Article 27-1-1985Do You, Like these Teachers, Value Readings?Evelyn F. SearlsUniversity of South FloridaFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizonsPart of the Education CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the SpecialEducation and Literacy Studies at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has beenaccepted for inclusion in Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy andLanguage Arts by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at WMU. For moreinformation, please contact maira.bundza@wmich.edu.Recommended CitationSearls, E. F. (1985). Do You, Like these Teachers, Value Readings?. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 25 (4).Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol25/iss4/2DO YOUJ LIKE THESE TEACHERSJ VALUE READING? Dr. Evelyn F. Searls University of South Florida Tampa IITeachers should be buyers of one of the most impor-tant products they want to sell to the students: readingll (Smith, Otto, & Hansen, 1978, p. 76). This succinct quote encapsulates the view of virtually every reading authority who has ever wri tten a texbook on methods of teach i ng reading. All are agreed that the ultimate goal of reading instruct i on is to produce readers who not on ly can read but do read, and will continue reading during the rest of their lives. Achieving this goal requires that students be taught by teachers who themsel ves value reading, as demonstrated by their reading habits and attitudes. The relatively few studies in the last twenty years that have described teachers I reading habits and attitudes are d i scourag i ng. Duffey (1973) surveyed read i ng hab its of elementary teachers in 1966 and again in 1972. Finding Ii tt I e change, he deplored the amount of non-read i ng re-ported by both groups. Mueller (1973) concluded from responses to an open-ended quest i onna ire admi n i stered to student interns and graduates (experienced teachers) that these individuals did not place a high value on either professional or recreational reading. Using a random sample of 100 elementary teachers, Cogan and Anderson (1977) confirmed that teachers did little professional reading; periodicals they did read were ones that con-tained ideas that could be directly implemented in the classroom (Instructor, Teacher, etc.). Finally, Mour (1977) surveying 224 graduate students (all working teachers), concluded that teachers were not avid readers of non-pro-fessional materials, and he presented evidence which sup-ported Cogan and Anderson's findings that teacher's preferences for professional reading also favored period-i ca I s that offered practi ca I ideas rather than those dealing with theory and research. For several years I have used Smith et al.'s book as the text in a graduate course, Curriculum and Supervision Problems in Reading. In addition to the quote at the beginning of the paper, they say: liThe reading habits of teachers have been studied enough to validate the suspi-cion that reading is being taught by teachers who do not rh-234 themse I ves turn often to read i ng for persona I fu I fill ment and enrichment. It is deplorable that many teachers in this country, especially elementary school teachers, are not reading enthusiasts ll (Smith et al., 1978, p. 74). Having worked wi th I arge numbers of both pre- and i nserv i ce tea-chers for the past decade, I felt that these statements did nul dLl.uralely n:flect the reading tlabits and attitudes of those teachers; however, I had no data to support th is opinion. Hence, I undertook the following pilot study. As an assignment in one section of my course, I asked my students to give the following questionnaire to five ele-mentary classroom teachers in their schools (located in four area counties). My students were also to fill out the questionnaire; all to be done anonymously. I received 64 usable questionnaires divided as follows among grade levels: kindergarten (7), grade one (16) , grade two (8) , grade three (10), grade four (4), grades four/five combined (2), grade five (6), grades five/six combined (2), and grade six (9). The questionnaire is presented below, complete, with the results given in terms of response percentages as well as comments on open-ended questions. As you read, try answering the questions yourself. * * * * * * * 1. Which of the following do you read regularly? Newspapers 77% Professional journals 52% Magazines 91% Novels 68% Nonfiction books 36% ----2. Do you read for information other than that required by your job or studies? Yes 94% If so, what do you read? Newspaper 22% Magazines 42% Nonfiction books 28% 3. Do you read for pleasure? Yes 95% If so, what do you read? Fiction 68% Magazines 44% Nonfiction books 16% 4. Have you read a novel in the last year? Yes 80% --last six months? Yes 75% --last month? Yes 61% rh-235 5. Have you read a novel that you enjoyed so much that you recommended it to friends? Yes 72% If so, what was it? (Almost all "yes II respondents provided the name of the novel.) 6. Do you feel "uneasy" if you don't have an ongoing reading project? Yes 43% 7. Do you always carry reading material with you when you expect to be in a waiting situation (doctor's appoint-ment, barber/beauty shop, etc.)? Yes 60% 8. Do you always carry reading materials with you on a journey that lasts an hour or more? Yes 74% 9. Could you accept the loss of your hearing easier than the loss of your sight? Yes 87% 10. What do you like to do for recreation? II. 12. The three activities mentioned most often were: reading (87%), sports (73%), and sewing (26%) If reading was included, where does it rank? First 40% Second 32% Third 15% Rate yourself as a reader: Excellent 35% Good 53% Fal r 6% Poor 0% Do you feel the need to make any changes in your reading behavior? Yes 42% If so, what? The three changes menti oned most often were: spend more time reading (46%), read a variety of materials (22%), and read faster (18%) (Answers to the next four questions are reported separately for teachers in kindergarten-grade two (N=31) as opposed to teachers in grades three-s i x (N=33) in order to exami ne possible differences between the groups.) 13. Do you read aloud to your students? If so, how often? Yes Every day 4 days per week K-2 tchrs 3-6 tchrs 97% 82% 67% 44% 03% 3 days per week 2 days per week 1 day per week rh-236 10% 11 % 03% 19% 11 % 14. Do you havp a reriod of Sustai npo Si lent Reading in yuur classroom? If so, how of ton? Yes Every Day 4 days per week 3 days per week 1-2 days per week K-2 tchrs 39% 50% 08% 17% 17% 3-6 tchrs 55% 67% 17% 15. Do your students see you reading for pleasure or infor-mation (not related to your instructional duties)? K-2 tchrs 3-6 tchrs Yes 61% 61% 16. "A fondness for reading is something that a child acquires in much the same way as he catches a cold--by effecti vely being exposed to someone who al ready has it" (Johnson, 1956, p. 123). Do you think reading can be taught effecti vely by teachers who do not love reading themselves? Yes K-2 tchrs 29% 3-6 tchrs 33% It is difficult to compare results across question-naire studies because the questions are different and resu 1 ts are reported in diverse ways. Other invest i gators have summarized their data and drawn pessimistic conclusions. I here present each quest i on wi th its percentages for two reasons--the first is that you should draw your own conclu-sions; personally, I am encouraged by these data. The second reason is that I hope readi ng the quest ions caused you to think about your own reading habits and attitudes. I realize that this sample is probably biased in favor of reading, due to the selection procedure for the participants. However, in light of the pessimistic conclu-s ions of ear 1 i er stud i es (and, for that matter, the "bad press II that educat i on in genera 1 is rece i v i ng these days), rh-237 I welcome some favorable bias. Naturally, as a reading edu-cator, I wou Id have preferred teacher responses i nd i cat i ng that they a 11 read aloud to the i r students every day, and that they all provided a daily SSR period in their class-rooms; nevertheless, the percentages reported here are encouraging. The response to the 1 ast quest i on was the on ly one that disturbed me somewhat. Approximately one-third of the respondents thought that reading could be taught effectively by teachers who do not love read i ng themse 1 ves. However, a number of teachers quest i oned the mean i ng of the word lIef-fectively.1I I believe that, if the question had been worded, 1100 you think that students will learn to love reading when taught by ... 11 the responses might have been different. More important than the data presented here are the poss i bl e effects that the quest i onna i re had on those who participated and may have on readers of this article. As Mueller (1973) stated: The point is not that teachers II should ll value reading more highly than they do, but to urge teachers to confront, acknowledge and clarify their own values in this important subject. If a teacher finds, for example, that he himself views reading simply as a tool which en-ables him to follow written directions, pass exams, or read the headlines, he may be able to lead his pupils to value reading at least as a necessary ski 11 to be mastered. If he finds that he has a resistance to reading anything not required, he may be able to better empathize with the reluctant reader in his classroom. Or the teacher who real izes he prizes reading, or who learns to appreciate reading through self-study, can also apply this knowledge to teaching. In any event, the teacher who has clarified his own values can help his pupils understand, accept, or possibly change their reading values (p. 205). It is hoped that reading this article encouraged you to con-front and clarify your own values with regard to reading. REFERENCES Cogan, John J., and Doug 1 as H. Anderson. IITeachers I Pro-fess i ona 1 Read i ng Habi ts. II Language Arts, vol. 54 (March 1977), pp. 254~258, 271. Duffey, Robert V. IITeacher as Reader.1I The Reading Teacher, vol. 27 (November 1973), pp. 132-133. rh-238 Johnson. Wende II I). YOllr ~ost Enchanted Li stener. New York: Ha rper and Row-, -C95"6. Mour, Stan I ey 1. "Do Teachers Read?" The Read i ng Teacher, vol. 30 (January 1977), pp. 397-401. Mue II er , Dor is L. "Teacher Att i tudes Toward Read i ng. " Journal of Reading, vol. 17 (December 1973), pp. 202-205. Smi th, Ri chard J., Wayne Otto, and Lee Hansen. The School Reading Program. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. 

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Do You, Like these Teachers, Value Readings?

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