I hopped in my car after school today, and pushed "play" on the audio cassette. I'm listening to Bailey White's novel Quite a Year for Plums. I love White's eye for details; her sweet, scratchy southern voice; and her delight in the absurd.
Reading ... well, it immediately calms me. I set aside the worries of today, and more importantly, the worries of tomorrow. No panic over ungraded papers. No anxiety about visitors. No self-recriminations for not going for a run this morning.
The same thing happens in my classroom. I take out a book to read out loud, and my students calm. Bodies slouch in desks, mouths hang open, and eyes half shut.
Why is this so?
I don't know why reading calms ... but I am grateful.
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