The only good company of books summary
In The Lonely Good Company of Books by Richard Rodriguez shares his learning experience. He talks about factors that influenced his reading passion from the time he was a small boy and his major purpose for reading which was for the honor. With time questioning the significance of his actions since he implies that he did not understand the relevance or the value of reading his only consolation was that it bettered his education. Later he realized his mistake that teachers had failed to pinpoint.
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Rodriguez attended school hardly able to read but developed a passion for books. At first, he read aloud to overcome the loneliness he felt while reading as implied by Rodriguez (173) but changed in the course of being tutored by a nun. His desire to read was greatly influenced by the emphasis placed on the importance of reading as a learning method by the teachers and the classroom environment. He learned from the stickers in his classroom that he was supposed to read to learn getting the impression that he could only learn by reading and that the information from reading was indisputable as stated by Rodriguez (170).
Rodriguez’s key purpose for reading was acknowledgment. He valued the extra credit he received from teachers for reading outside the classroom as implied by Rodriguez (172). Rodriguez rejoiced in crossing a book off his list instead of the satisfaction he got from learning new things since he never read to comprehend the content. He was inclined to reading complicated books as he would ask for their titles and look for them in the library sadly doubting whether simple enjoyable books were books an indication that he did not have any clue concerning the significance of reading.
The notion that books would open doors, introduce him to people and show him places he never imagined existed stuck from the time the nun told Rodriguez and gave him the determination to exploit that possibility as illustrated by Rodriguez (173). Moreover, the belief that reading offered academic success became his motivation factor and he excelled as he had expected which became his source of consolation amid his confusion regarding the relevance of reading, a confusion heightened by his mother’s query regarding what he was in books. Later, he realized reading was unproductive as he felt he was not gaining everything he was supposed to from books.
Response to The lonely good company of books
The Lonely Good Company of Books by Rodriguez exploits the misconception of the meaning and purpose of reading by students that have proved lethal in the long run. Reading can be very productive as a mode of learning as it assists to widen the individual’s scope of knowledge and horizon but futile if done for the sake. The reading of the complicated large volume of books by students without absorbing the content thus failing to learn is a complete waste of time as realized by the author later on since his major purpose for reading initially was an acknowledgment by his teachers.
The concept of reading is the core of classroom activity as dictated by the education system according to the book. However, its effectiveness as a learning method for every individual has raised concern since it appears not all students are benefiting with most students like Rodriguez being victims of quantity pointless reading. As much as he gained academic excellence as he had expected by reading, Rodriguez did not feel like he learned much as he never read to understand indicating that reading was not the most effective learning method for him. Therefore, learners should be exposed to all learning methods and given the opportunity to make their own choices regarding what works best for them and the chance to exploit those options.
Rodriguez’s experience illustrates the weakness in the education system that overemphasize certain concepts like reading but fails to provide proper guidelines concerning the reason for its importance and how to go about it. For instance, Rodriguez in The Lonely Good Company, just knew reading was vital for his success academically but he had no idea why or how just like most students and since academic excellence is the center of the education system they fail to find out instead tug along due to their teachers’ support. Also, most students’ orientation to reading is always poor as they fail to understand from the begging that the information from books act as a guideline in the learning process and can be challenged just like Rodriguez
In conclusion, reading skill as a learning method is good but requires proper directives regarding purpose, the reading method as well as book selections since not all books are productive. Furthermore, the focus on reading ought to be placed on understanding, and students whose satisfaction in reading does not reflect the joy of learning new things should be discouraged early.
Works Cited
Rodriguez, Richard. “The Lonely, Good Company of Books.” The Brief McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.
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