I am a primary school teacher at a rural school in the Northeastern educational district. My teaching experiences have thus far been limited to this educational district. I have encountered many different cases of struggling readers, with the common thread of difficulties in the areas of reading as a result of some deficiency in their reading experiences. Therefore, I recognize the importance of the background and societal experiences of the reader in the reading process. In my not so distant past as a young student I can recall my delight in reading just for the sake of it and losing myself in the pages of whatever I happened to be reading at the time. It is unfortunate that this ‘delight’ is greatly lacking in many students and I am not only referring to struggling readers but also to the students who can be described as independent readers. My desire to become a reading specialist stems from this concern, that reading at any level is becoming a dying art and students are opting to exhibit a-literacy tendencies that is, they are choosing not to read.
I believe that reading development proceeds through the interaction of the individual with print for meaning and the construction of meaning. This occurs through the initial stages of readiness for reading and is continuous in its development. This process begins at the onset of the interaction of the reader with print but is facilitated via the acquiring of strategies and skills that aid in achieving the purpose for reading. The infusion of technology into such a process will enable the reader to become more ably equipped to glean and construct meaning and perhaps once again pique the interest of students to become independent and avid readers.