You encourage students to read and teach them to set reading goals because you know it will help them later in life.
But, did you also know it might make them financially well off?
Tom Corley, an accountant and financial planner, researched the common habits of wealthy people for his book Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals. He discovered the difference between self-made millionaires compared to people making less than $35,000 a year came down to seven regular habits. And guess what? Reading tops the list.
Habit No. 1: Make time for reading every day
Of the 233 wealthy people studied over a period of five years, 88 percent of them read for at least 30 minutes daily. Most reported reading biographies, history and self-help books rather than novels for fun, but their love and stamina for reading more than likely developed when they were young. Biographies as well as fictional stories teach young people social-emotional skills and other important lessons for dealing with life. When we hook students on the power of reading at an early age, we give them the tools to apply their skills to be successful in the future.
Billionaire Warren Buffet has said he spends as much as 80 percent of his day reading. When asked about the key to success, Buffet pointed to a stack of books and said, “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”
When students say they are too busy to read, ask them how much time they spend watching television or Netflix on their computers. Corley’s study found that 67 percent of wealthy people watched very little TV, limiting themselves to an hour or less a day, compared to only 23 percent of poor people. Encourage your students to skip the screen and pick up a book instead!
Habit No 2: Set goals and pursue them
Another habit on Corley’s list was “pursuing goals.” Not surprisingly, the survey found that 80 percent of the people who made their own fortune regularly set goals for themselves, including daily and long-term goals. He even emphasized that they were “obsessed” with pursuing their goals.
This aligns with the goal setting I make students do with their reading every week. Each Tuesday students set a reading goal based on the current book they’re reading. They must read 30 minutes, six days a week for a total of three hours of reading each week (combined with in/outside of class time). They figure their goal by reading for 10 minutes at a normal pace. They multiple the number of pages read in those 10 minutes times 3 (to equal 30 minutes), and then they multiple that times 6 (to equal six times a week). For example, if a student reads 4 pages in 10 minutes, that means he can read 12 pages in half an hour in his current book. If he reads all six times, he should be able to finish 72 pages that week.
Since books all have different reading levels and different sizes of type, I make students repeat this process every time they start a new book. At the end of the week, students record whether they met their goal and reflect on why they did (or didn’t). For example, a student who meets his goal might explain that he set aside time each night right before bed to read, or he might say he brought his book when he was dragged to his brother’s soccer practice. A student who failed to meet her goal might explain that she came close but that the plot became more complex, so she slowed down or went back to reread an earlier section. Or, it might be that she didn’t plan her week well with all of her other activities, so she only read two hours.
When students are asked to reflect on the results of their weekly goal, it makes them cognizant of the control they have over their own lives to be successful. They also feel really good when they meet their goals. I’ve even had reluctant readers tell me they were motivated to start reading just to meet their weekly goals.
So what does this all mean for us as teachers? We’re teaching kids good habits that will last a lifetime. I encourage you to share this research with your students as a further motivator. What student wouldn’t want to follow in the footsteps of a self-made millionaire – or billionaire?
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