Reading

This is my third post today, I realize, but I guess I just have a lot to say. Some days I find it hard to write and I think forced writing is worse than no writing so I don't write at all. Forced writing leaves such an awful taste in my mouth that I don't want to write for a long time. I bet most readers can tell the difference between writing that has been forced and writing that came naturally.
I don't really consider myself a writer, nor an artist, nor a movie guru, nor fully anything. I like to dabble. Ever since I was a teen, I have loved trying new things. Many people like trying new things, but they don't get bored of the old things. My very reason for trying new things is because I crave the new and so easily get bored with the old. I attribute this to my Gemini-ness. Gemini's need constant stimulation and I am no exception to this rule. It's why I have trouble focusing on one thing at a time. It's why I don't like reading: that requires focus on one particular thing. You can't read while vacuuming or washing dishes or walking the dog. It's just not practical. I don't mind reading for class if the book is at least somewhat interesting AND if we are going to talk about it. That seems useful to me. I need to talk about things. Reading a book and not talking about it seems a little futile. There are certainly some exceptions but for the most part, I think reading should be done for the purpose of discussion or some other use.
My middle school required all students to take a reading comprehension test each year until they got a satisfactory score, which I believe was reading at a 12th grade level. When I was in sixth or seventh grade, I got either a 12th grade or college level. I think this was a bad thing. I don't doubt that I read higher than most of my classmates but it caused me to not really try. I already read at a high enough level, so what's the point of challenging myself? That was my thought. Besides, most newspapers are written at an eighth grade level and the books I enjoyed were probably at that level or lower. I didn't know where to find college-level books. To my middle school brain, college books seemed like those huge dictionary-sized books that would require a cart just to lug around. No way was I going to read a college level book! So perhaps the score itself wasn't a bad thing, but the school could have done more to follow up on the results.

Like I said, I'm no artist/reader/writer or expert of any sort. But I've dabbled and I have a few drawings to show for it. One that I particularly like is hiding behind the desk right now because I figure there's no point in hanging a picture when I'm moving in six months. Also, I'm not really sure how to hang it or where. But I'm sure in my new place, all those things will magically come to me. Yet another reason I look forward to moving.

On a different note, sometimes lengths of writing assignments peeve me. How can you measure creativity? When I teach high school English, I am going to make at least one assignment with absolutely NO length requirement. If a kid turns in a paper with one paragraph, that's fine. They will understand that lack of length might be detrimental to their paper but if they feel they can complete the assignment in a shorter span, more power to them. Or, if there is a student who loves to write, they can write eight pages if they want. Likewise, the longer length won't grant them any sort of bump in grade. But I think sometimes students get so wrapped up in just meeting requirements that the fun is taken away. I chuckle when students ask how long a particular paper needs to be and the teacher won't give them a specific length. Some students have this desperate need to know a length! Just write a paper. Who cares how long it ends up? So no matter how hard my students push me for a length requirement, I won't budge. It will be what it will be.