In a recent Radio 4 broadcast called ‘Hot Gossip’ , historian Polly Putnam describes how much the Georgians loved gossip, and it is almost indisputable that this is still the case today. This led me to think about how we can channel this love. We could re-evaluate approaches to reading, and as a consequence develop the independent reading of our students.The current generation of students need to develop independent reading skills to enable them to access to the new linear examinations. Without developing these skills they risk under achieving in their GCSEs. You will need to motivate students and encourage independent reading, and using magazines could provide you with a perfect solution to this!
Encouraging reading, particularly independent reading is an age old problem in education. There are numerous techniques to employ, these include: silent reading at form time, book boxes of appropriate books, author visits to inspire students to both read and write, competitions for book reviews, rewards for well read students. This is all in addition to more formal approaches like Accelerated Reader, and Nate’s Rooted in Reading programme. This is all brilliant for your motivated students, but, how do we get the more disaffected students to read?
Magazines
The most straightforward way is to give them access to magazines. Magazines make independent reading a possibility for even the weakest of students. They includes lots of images to aid with the understanding the language, they are age appropriate and give weak readers an opportunity to read about celebrities, fashion, hobbies and music – all topics that relate to them. Probably the most important point is that they can access articles that actually interest them! It is also an opportunity for shared reading – pair a strong reader with a weaker student and they can share the gossip from the magazines, but also aid understanding. In some articles the text is not so dense, therefore it does not intimidate a weaker reader. Magazines offer a mix of articles, some short, and some more in depth articles, allowing for elements of differentiation. Once students have gained more confidence in their reading, they can move onto the denser articles.
Is Gossip Low Culture?
Some educationalists would argue that this is low culture and does not set the bar high enough for students to make progress. Nevertheless, if we are to develop independence in reading and comprehension, we need to engage students, and raise their interest, and most importantly, their self esteem. What many magazines offer in various forms is an element of gossip. Gossip comes in many guises, it can be about film stars, music artists, football, celebrities, historical figures – and it has been proven many times over, people love gossip. It doesn’t have to have negative connotations, it can be encouraged as a sharing of information, as well as an opportunity to discuss current affairs and relevant social topics. When it is based on the revelations of someone famous, and not the personal behaviour of students it gives us all an opportunity to discuss issues in a less personal way.
In a recent Radio 4 broadcast called ‘Hot Gossip’ historian Polly Putnam describes how much the Georgians loved gossip. This is confirmed because it was the start of the free press, and any gossip was widely documented by the newspapers, and their is evidence of it in print. She acknowledges that gossip existed before this era, but because it is so well documented, we KNOW for definite how much the Georgians loved, and relied, on gossip. In this era ‘gossip was the news’. The magazines ‘Tatler’ and ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ are described as being the equivalent of ‘Hello’ magazine. In our world of 24 hour news, many gaps in our constant newsfeed are now filled with what is, in essence, ‘gossip’ about the many celebrities who in this digital age are popular across the world.
The Georgians also recognised ‘gossip as a commodity’, wives would be sent on missions to ‘gossip’ and find out as much information about peoples’ lives to report back to husbands so they could use this for business or political motives.
In addition, England saw the rise of the country house, and impressive villas where people felt under pressure to ensure their houses were impressive enough to attract the biggest and bests guests – and consequently generate the best gossip. I suppose our modern interest is the wealth of property programmes and magazines, where we don’t even have to leave our own homes to nose around the properties of the rich and famous – and in the case of OCD Cleaners, some of the most horrendously dirty houses too. Ultimately, our desire to see how other people live has never wavered, we are just given a different avenue to pursue our interest through TV, and home magazines.
Read Read Read!
Ultimately, if you do want to engage reluctant readers, give them access to something they WANT to read, something they are interested in. This can act as a springboard for more complex text, or it can act as an opportunity to ensure students read regularly. If they are looking forward to the latest issue of a magazine, this is a very promising and positive approach to reading. We can’t afford to take the moral and cultural high ground – the most important element is to get them reading, and if gossip is the hook, gossip it has to be!