Two hundred and thirteen inservice elementary teachers who were enrolled in courses in Early Childhood-Elementary Education at the University of Maryland were questioned to obtain some information about elementary teachers' personal reading, to draw warranted inferences concerning the teaching of reading, and to suggest steps for improvement should any seem needed. All but 19 of the subjects were women. The subjects were given a reading-habits questionnaire consisting of seven categories--popular magazines, professional education journals, books being read, books read in the past year, favorite authors, books to be read next, and time set aside for reading. The author believed that the results showed that the teachers revealed a shocking disregard for one of their highest professional obligations--to be widely read. A teacher who is not reading, he said, is in a poor position to generate enthusiasm for reading and even to teach the basic skills with maximum effectiveness. The author lists several suggestions for ways that he thinks teacher education programs can encourage teachers to read. (NH)