Well, not really. Maybe a Reader's Identity Crisis. In teaching we all have to answer the questions: Who are we are readers? What is our identity? How do we discover the "reading identity" of students to effectively engage them? I think it is essential for educators to answer these questions to have a good sense of who they are as readers so that their teaching and their classroom offer a selection of different types of literature. What teacher would want their students to miss out on something they might enjoy because of the teacher's personal perferences?
As teachers, who we are directly effects how and what we teach. Identity is a compilation of everything we believe and is the very fabric of who we are. Our reading habits are tightly knitted into that fabric because what we read is very telling of who we are. As a child I enjoyed reading poetry and humorous books. I was the type of kid that would walk around with 101 Joke books, or a book where you chose your own ending. I tend to be drawn to humor and the human experience. I just read a children's book today; I stole it out of a second grade reading nook about a month ago (Hey- don't judge me). I just got the chance to read it today, it's about adoption. The book deals with the raw emotion of a six year old girl finally understanding what the word "adopted" means and her dealing with her feelings of not being wanted by her birthmother. By the end of the book, the girl has found peace and understands that her birthmother did love her but had to give her up to offer her a better life, and her adopted family will always be there.
These kinds of books are what I usually reach for in a read aloud- but how would this book grab the attention of the seven year old with his fingers in his ears because he's bored to pieces? He would much rather listen to a chapter on Star Wars or some other Science Fiction.
As a teacher I have to recognize my own identity but offer students a variety of genres to choose from, because after all it's not about me. If I recognize my own "Reader Identity" and I'm aware that my students do not all share my identity, then I will not have a genre identity crisis. I am able to get involved with the types of books they like in order to win them to reading as life long hobby.
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