The drive which has motivated me to train as a Reading Specialist chiefly lies within my working environment. Daily I am faced with students who are struggling with their academic performance, lack the required levels of intrinsic motivation to succeed and are disengaged from their academic pursuits. In the institution where I currently teach, approximately 80% of the student population is deficient in the areas of reading and writing. Most of these students are unable to activate vocabulary knowledge; decode unfamiliar words; use comprehension strategies and read fluently to extract meaning from reading materials. Moreover, these struggling readers also experience a persistent sense of failure in the different content area subjects. It is apparent to me that this high failure rate is due to the high levels of illiteracy among the students of my school. When I consider the needs of the learners in a typical 21st century classroom, I realise that these pupils are ill-equipped to deal with the present far less for the future. This situation is further compounded by the high levels of poverty in their community. In considering all of these factors, I felt moved to render any assistance that I could afford to them. Therefore, when the opportunity presented itself for me to be trained as a reading specialist, I immediately seized it since I realised that this would be the most effective way to assist these students.
According to the International Reading Association, reading skills and strategies are essential in order to function productively in society. I believe that students need to be literate in order to cope the flood of information that surrounds them and permeates their daily existence. These students need to be taught the value of being able to read in order to function efficiently and effectively in their adult lives. I strongly believe that functional literacy is not sufficient. Students must be able to extract meaning at higher levels of comprehension. In other words they need to be able to read not only what is stated but what is unstated as well, " reading between the lines", since this is a skill that is often required in real life. It is my aim, upon completion of this course of study, to be able to teach the students of my school how to acquire such skills. I know that the training that I will receive will enable me to fulfil this desire.
