Reclaiming Pleasure in the Teaching of Reading

Beginning with the premise that pleasure is a driving force in life, this article examines the relationships between pleasure, schooling and society across the past century.  Through the examination of school texts, narratives, and histories of literacy instruction, a case is made that part of the move away from keeping pleasure at the heart of reading is based on the economic role that literacy is perceived as having in contemporary society. Consideration is given to a renewal of interest in rekindling the centrality of pleasure and the positive effects of such efforts. Some of the examples provided are deceptively simple to implement. To conclude, an argument is made that the road to the renewal of reading for pleasure can be embarked upon one teacher at a time.