How I learned to read: An interview

After reading this post by Dr Peter Gray I was curious how the boys saw their own experiences with reading
**I tried to be objective by writing down their answers exactly as they spoke them.  My questions or further inquiry is in italic.  

When do you think you learned to read?

SEAMUS
"Like full on read? I believe it was around when I was 9.  That is when I started reading novels not just books. "
What do you mean by "not just books? "
"Just books that are thin"

LIAM
"Probably 4 or 5"
.I wasn't aware you could read at that age.  When do you think you let people know you could read?
"Probably 8."
What made you keep that a secret from people?
"I didn't think I was good enough quite yet."

EOIN
"Probably when I was 8. I am still not as good as I would like to be"

What motivated you to read?
SEAMUS
"The requirment that it has in life and I really enjoy it."

LIAM
"I just wanted to start reading."

EOIN
"Wanting to read.  I would like to know what is happening in a book. And I would also like to know what people are saying in video games if it is just spelled for you. And sometimes in movies they are speaking a different language and spell it on the screen. "

Did you ever feel pressure to learn to read?
SEAMUS
"No"

LIAM
"A little "
Where did you feel the pressure came from?
"From myself"

EOIN
"no never"

How would you describe how you learned to read?

SEAMUS
"You read to me when I was little. I eventually picked up a book on my own, asked for help, was able to to do it alone, then I picked up bigger books. I kept getting bigger books until I got where I am today."

LIAM
"I just started to try. I started to sound out words." 

EOIN
"By practicing.  By looking at the words and trying to sound them out. 

What do you like to read?

SEAMUS
"Fantasy, mostly fictional books, Sci fi.  I don't know about the book I am reading, what category the book I am reading right now would be." 

LIAM
"Graphic novels and stuff"

EOIN
"I like to read graphic novels and manga books and such.  I also  like listening to books on cd."

Were there any books that you felt helped you with reading more than others?


SEAMUS
"The Jack Sparrow kid's series.  They were easy to read but they were more of a reading book than the other books I read.  They were the same size but more like mini novels.  The Baby Blues comic strip books helped with reading but not necessarily with reading novels because they are comic strips, and novels and comic strips are different.  One is just a sereis of short, small little clips of pictures and some words, and novels they tell a story whereas comic strips have a bunch of different stories that are sometimes connected." 

LIAM
"Not really I just started reading one book after another"

EOIN
"Not really.  Well some of the Graphic Novels that my brothers have been reading have made me want to know what is happening because sometimes they don't tell me."

Do you feel reading is something you were taught to do?

SEAMUS
"No. I learned to read on my own. I had help but I wasn't taught. "

LIAM
"I guess.  It was kind of self taught actually."

EOIN 
Probably self taught because even now I sit down with a book and tried to read what I can.

Do you think you would have learned earlier if you were taught?

SEAMUS
"No I think I would have lost interest.  Being taught and learning yourself are two different things.  Learning yourself you can control how much you do it and freely learn and have fun with it.  Whereas being taught you are told to read a book and it is just not as fun really."

LIAM
"Not really"

EOIN
"Maybe I don't know. "

How did learning to read make a difference for you?

SEAMUS
*laughs*  "I don't really know.  It's just, well it helps be able to read because you are stuck in life if you can't read.  For one thing there is the factor that a lot of video games have an only reading system instead of voices telling you what to do.  And then there is also that it is a really good pastime and a lot of things in life require you to read, emailing , getting a job *laugh*. Even in drawing you need to read some things.  So the ablitiy to read has had a lot of influence on my life."

LIAM
"It helped pass time faster. Plus it is kinda fun.  It is alot easier to go on the computer, play games on my own."

EOIN
Being able to read and look in a book and actually understand what is going on.  Just being able to read things that are on billboards, signs, pictures makes things much easier