When I was a child, I would always stare in awe at what I considered “big kid
books” at the library. Back then, my perspective was that if the book did not have
pictures and was over 15 pages, it was a novel. I couldn’t wait to grow older and reach
level “Z” in my reading level so that I would be able to reach for the novels at school.
The first book I considered a novel was the first series of Harry Potter, The
Sorcerer’s Stone in first grade. As I first opened the book, I was introduced to many
vocabulary I was unfamiliar with, and had to search up words on Google for nearly every
page. Words like “Chortle” and “Quaver” seemed completely foreign. Frustrated, I
stopped reading the book. When I heard my classmates talk about the book, it felt left
out and disappointed at my attention span. Why couldn’t I understand too?

My perspective changed when my teacher, who noticed how often I would search
words as I read, explained to me that as we read, our comprehension and vocabulary
can only grow further. Her advice to keep reading and improving inspired me to finish
The Sorcerer’s Stone, which is now one of my favorite books. While at the time I didn’t
fully understand the plot or the complex dialogue all the characters seemed to use, I
found solace in knowing that reading would only help me improve my vocabulary and
for future comprehension.

As I continued to read The Sorcerer’s Stone, I began to adopt the vocabulary that I
learned in my writing and speech. I also began to learn more about complex emotions
beyond “happy” and “sad” that the characters in the book felt. I discovered what climax
was, even before I knew the definition of climax. By the end of the book, I was able to
understand the lessons of the book, or the author’s main idea, before I knew what literary analysis was. Before I knew it, I had finished the book and was reaching for the
next one in the series. All I knew was that I really liked reading, and that I could only
check out 7 books at the library, unfortunately. The Harry Potter series remains one of
my favorite series to this day, and is one of the foundations of my literary experience.
(The movies might just be better, but that is a conversation for another time, or subject.)

I noticed that it is sometimes difficult to enjoy literature in a world where it is
commonly standardized as the next exam or test. For children, there is the heavy weight
of increasing reading levels from “A-Z” through the DOE system, which could be
perceived as a measure of intelligence or success. It is strange to find a balance, but I
realized that engaging with pieces of literature that interest your true self, outside of
school and tasks, can be extremely beneficial in self-growth and comprehension.

Up until now, I’ve worked as a phonetics and reading tutor at an elementary
school for a year, and I was able to see the current education system. Just as it was when
I was a kid, there are still reading levels and certain expectations that the children are
expected to reach before they move on to the next grade. While reading levels are not
inherently bad, and even arguably useful to track student progress, I also realized how
they can hurt a child’s self-esteem. As I worked with students, I noticed how they would
ask each other about each other’s reading levels and feel low when they were not on par
with their classmates. I was not surprised when I would ask, “Do you like to read at
home” and many of the kids would respond with answers like only for school or no, “I
play Roblox” when they get home. Perhaps this stems from the educational system or
perhaps it is our own perception of literature as a form of achievement. Now reading as
a pastime is not as common, and can even be perceived as strange, or as my friends like
to call it, “performative behavior”. Unfortunately, this mindset can discourage the
younger generation from genuinely enjoying literature. My childhood experience with
The Sorcerer’s Stone helped me understand why interest in literature is declining among
younger generations. I hope that our education system can improve to encourage
students to explore genres that interest them and promote the love of literature.