Reading Critically

     In Sheridan Blau's book The Literature Workshop, he comments on Schole's theoretical framework in regards to reading.  It is stated that the questions that readers should be asking are: "What does it say?", "What does it mean?", and "So what?".  I find this reading particularly interesting because these are the questions that a group of teachers (including myself) was asked to incorporate into our teaching, primarily looking with regards to informational text.  We went to a professional development on close and critical reading through Wayne Resa, and these were the questions that we looked at implementing within our instruction with one addition: "How do they say it?".  Referring back to Schole's questions,  I think that "How do they say it?" can likely fall under the umbrella of "What does it mean?" however, I think it might be important to make it explicit in student's thinking.
     Students are inundated with media of varying types and I think it is important for them to investigate the people behind a message and what strategies they employ to convey that message.  The political speeches that are delivered are prime examples of why it is important to look at how messages are being conveyed.  For example, Trump has talked numerous times about his need to keep America safe.  This is a message that he conveys to the America public, but how does he convey that message?  He conveys it by continually bringing up numerous atrocities that are occurring on our soil as well as across the globe because that engages the instinct of fear within people.  He summons their fears and nightmares and then conveys the message that he can keep us safe from all of this.  This is called fear-mongering.  Our students need to be able to engage in the ability to understand that fear-mongering is how he is conveying his message and then understand the repercussions of such a tactic.
     We want our students to analyze the message and be able to categorize what Trump literally says, how he says it, which will lead them to many different conclusions about what it all means and then finally decide the "So what" for themselves.  Is the so what that they realize that all he is doing is fear-mongering without a viable plan to back up his message of keeping them safe?  Is the so what that they believe that his fear-mongering brings us to an end that justifies the means, that we need this tactic to realize that his plans are what is best for America?
     I think that the question of "How do they say it?" is crucial in our society.  We need our students to be able to step back from ads and news stories and truly understand the tactics that they use to manipulate the feelings of their audience and to understand how that may change the message that they receive.  Most importantly, all of these questions help our students become critical thinkers and not blind followers of the trends of the moment, and we could use much more of that in today's society.