Research Views: Defining Reading: Freedom of Choice but Not Freedom from Choice.
1985; Wiley; Volume: 39; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1936-2714
Autores Tópico(s)Educational Methods and Media Use
ResumoLong ago, a group of blind people went to investigate a new phenomenon, an elephant. One person, touching the elephant's trunk, thought that the creature resembled a hosepipe; the second felt an ear and concluded that the beast was a fan. The third, feeling a leg, likened it to a living pillar; and when the fourth put his hand on the animal's back, he was convinced that it was some kind of throne. None of the four persons could form the complete picture. Each person could only refer to the part felt in terms of things s/he already knew. No doubt all of us know some version of the elephant story. Yet seldom do we realize the applicability of this story for reading research. Like the elephant, reading is something that exists-it is real, it is a phenomenon. Like the blind persons, we as reading researchers try to capture the essence of a phenomenon; we observe it and create definitions to describe it. Like the blind persons, we observe reading from many perspectives. The result is a variety of definitions of reading: Reading is a hosepipe, a fan, a pillar, or a throne. Scanning through the 1984-85 issues of The Reading Teacher, we would find many interpretations of the reading phenomenon, including the following: Reading is the student's ability to answer teacher questions about what is written in text.
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