Lunch room and beyond

During lunch duty on Friday I noticed that the vast majority of tables were grouped by gender. A couple tables had boys on one half and girls on the other but they were not interacting. One table however had two boys and 8-9 girls. There was a boy at each end and the entire table was talking to each other. It was this table that made me notice the gender split. I was not surprised at the majority of students sitting with kids of the same gender, it was this table with it's two boys that caught my attention.
Back in the classroom: Today was catch up day again. But let me tell you the thrill I had when kids who were finished asked "Can I read now?" and towards the end of class a students suggested "Lets read now!" seriously- goosebumps. What a different attitude about reading than what I experienced at the High School level. I wonder, is it the age group? the environment? these particular kids? Will they lose this enthusiasm for reading? I hope not! This makes me even more excited to begin Speak with them. It also puts pressure on me to make sure that what we do with the novel is exciting, I don't want to be the one responsible for squelching their love of reading. I have to make sure that my own excitement about reading and this novel comes through during class.