The phenomenon of practical criticism is central to the subject of English at all levels and this article explores the personal journey of a student who became a teacher but who then took another five years to gain sufficient perspective to see practical criticism in context. This article explores the different interpretations of I. A. Richards' experiment in reading and puts them in a historical and literary perspective, moving from Richards, to Leavis, to New Criticism, finally offering Reader Response theory as an enabling, inspiring and more balanced way of constructing the dynamic between texts, readers and teachers.