Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teachers of Reading

In 1989, Stephen R. Covey introduced us to a book entitled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In the book, Covey challenges readers to change their lives, and subsequently better their lives, by embodying seven primary habits into every day events. As I thumbed through the pages and perused through Covey's advice, I began to see a correlation between his "habits" and the attributes that we as teachers of reading must possess. As a former elementary school teacher and now as an educator of pre-service teachers, I can say with certainty that there is no more important job than that of a teacher of reading. As I read through the habits, I began thinking about the fact that teachers must exhibit strong positive habits and traits in order that their students, year after year, become fluent, independent, and lifelong readers. Without positive habits, reading instruction will suffer and student potential could be wasted. At that moment, questions began to fill my head: What are seven habits of highly effective teachers of reading? How can Covey's insight be used to enhance the teaching of reading? Using the same framework of Covey's seven habits, I started to think about what each habit may look like for those who teach reading skills to children on a daily basis.