40.1k and 53k

Those numbers are, the number of times that people have, respectively, retweeted and favorited, as of 9:22 this morning, a Tweet by J.K. Rowling. What in the world could she have said that is so important you might ask? Well, here it is:

No, it was not an announcement of a new book, or a new movie.  It was commentary on a book that was released almost a decade ago.  The impact that her books have had on people all over the world is so great, that yearly on this date, people remember the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts….a FICTIONAL battle.

OK, what what’s the big deal?

That brings us back to the title of this post.

“I hate you.” are three words that most people hope never to hear in their life time.

I, however, look forward to hearing it as often as possible….from my students.

The reason?

Well, most of the time, it is caused by a visceral reaction to a book that they are reading. Maybe it is one that I have recommended to them, or simple one they have checked out from my classroom library. Yes, teenagers today, even with the over-stimulation from cell phones, iPads, etc. are still having emotional, gut reactions to books…..BOOKS, PEOPLE!

All hope is not lost!

As a lover of books, an English teacher, and a parent, I desperately want young people to have an emotional attachment to literature. The key is to place the right book, in the right hands, at the right time. That is no easy feat, trust me.  It takes trial and error. It takes patience. It takes a dedication to continuing the search.

However, when you find that “just right book” for a student, it’s all worth it.

As the quote from Colby Sharp nails, getting  a student hooked can be as simple as giving them that emotional, gut reaction the first time.

I recently had a student, a very good student, who is luke warm on reading.  However, this student came to me for a book, because she “had to read one” for a project for a different class. She asked about a specific book.

I had the book, and I reluctantly handed her The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.

Why reluctantly you might ask? Well, honestly, it was for purely selfish reasons.  I was reading the book, and was only about 1/3 of the way through it. However, my policy is that I will always give a book to a student if they request it, even if I am right in the middle.  It is far more important for them to find that “moment” with a book, for I have already had plenty of them.

So what happened with this student?

NOTHING. For two days, this student was on radio silence.

Then, on the third day, just before the bell rang for first hour, she came charging into my room and said, “I hate you.”

Ahhhhh…music to my ears.

“Why,” I asked innocently?

“Because I can’t stop reading this book, it’s SO good.”

YAHTZEE. Win for teacher, and the future of society!

Not only did this student love the book, but finished that one, and had to get the next one on her iPad so that she could read it in the car on the Spring Break car ride. Oh, and the third book in the series comes out at the end of this month.  She made sure to let me know that she would be buying it the day it came out.

So those unforgettable moments that Mr. Sharp referenced are still happening. They are happening in a world where teenagers and adults alike, are an arms length from their phones 24/7, BUT THEY ARE HAPPENING.

So, for the foreseeable future, people will remember the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.

J.K. Rowling will have her tens of thousands of favorites, and retweets.

And I will have students that tell me they hate me.

I think we can all agree; All of those things are pretty great.