Discovering the Why

I am compelled to begin by sharing one of my worst moments as a younger teacher. Years ago, I attended a lecture by the author of a book my students were reading. The author stated that people who do not continue reading throughout their lifetime do not truly grow as individuals. I exuberantly entered class the next day and announced these words to my students. While I expected a revelatory moment, they were appalled. They were defensive, they were critical, and I clearly resembled a fish out of water in attempting to explain the nuances behind the declaration I delivered.

After some time passed, I began to understand my students’ reactions. Many of them didn’t enjoy reading, so my statement was insulting to them. After completing their education, they probably didn’t have plans for continuing reading. What they currently read was mainly an avenue to pass classes and receive diplomas. And I clearly had not given them reason to think otherwise.

Fast forward about ten years to when I am older and (somewhat) wiser, but where I still revisit that earlier moment in my classroom and am confronted by the same question: why read? Here is what I would tell those students now.

Reading has taught me there is usually always a reason for why individuals behave the way they do, a realization that laid the groundwork for me to be able to develop a more empathetic response toward others. This doesn’t always mean I like the actions I see or that I ever fully accept them, but seeking to discover the why enriches my life and allows me to offer forgiveness and understanding when emotions run high.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein forged this new rivelet in my reading life although my younger self could not put this into words. Through first-person narration, we are given insight into the creature’s thoughts and motivations. How ironic that my reading epiphany concerning empathy centers on a novel where a character has been perpetually misunderstood and misrepresented in our culture. The creature, who clearly develops empathy while observing the cottagers, never receives the same consideration, never has opportunity to explain how he was abandoned. How different would things have been if someone had lent an ear to his newly acquired words?

The empathy developed through reading not only allows us to enhance our own social acumen, but can create peace for those who crave understanding. The creature laments: “I, like the arch-fiend, bore a hell within me; and finding myself unsympathised with, wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and destruction around me, and then to have sat down and enjoyed the ruin.”

When my own children struggle with relationships, I encourage them to examine what might have shaped other people and caused them to behave this way, which almost always leads to some form of understanding; tempers are soothed, solutions are sought, and healing begins.

I hope my former students discovered these truths about reading somewhere along the way.