That ol' thisness.

I wasn't a reader at school and it was with great difficulty and little enjoyment that I got through any of the prescribed novels.  I only remember actually finishing one and can't actually remember what the name of it was.  It was the autobiography of what seemed a pretty bland existence and the fact that it was so simply written is the reason that I persisted with it at all.  I must admit that through the discussions in class that we had about this book, I came to a greater appreciation of it but still don't feel like I'd enjoyed it or gotten very much out of it. 
Josh's comment about choice really resonated with me:
"It was so much better reading it this time, when I wasn’t being told to read it, it was my choice. Choice is really important.” 1.
I only discovered a real joy of reading fiction after I left school and it has been through me having choice in the matter that makes me cherish reading and getting my own meanings out of books.  My lack of confidence with my reading was part of why I didn't enjoy it throughout school.  I guess if I'd had more experiences like that of the unknown novel about the simple life of a farm boy where I had felt the teachers love for the subject, had some prior knowledge, been helped to find purpose in reading the books, sensed that I was an agent in the learning of others and felt like I belonged to the community of my class that was all reading the same book, I may have thrived. I was pretty resistant to it though, as I felt accepted by everyone, but in my head was still an outsider.
The chord this strikes with me is that specialised attention to all students being engaged in my classes is something to strive for.  I figure that this is an interplay of teaching my subject and teaching the students- both need to come together so that the individual responses to the subject are taken into account.  Prior knowledge and experiences, which undoubtedly vary from one individual student to the next need to not be seen as a hurdle, but as a part of the thisness of the class that is best embraced to get the most out of the subject matter for all participants involved.

1. http://steveshann.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/walking-through-the-barrier-josh-part-3/