From: Itsillustration at aol.com <Itsillustration>
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 14:06:13 EDT

I remember reading to get coupons for ice cream and pizza--it was something that we kids did a lot of in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades, as I recall. I remember picking out the SHORTEST books below my grade level to read, just to get the coupon. Of course, ANY reading is better than NO reading, right?

I think it is most important to find books that kids WANT to read. I never liked reading as a child because I had such a hard time doing it--I could reread a chapter 10 times and not comprehend a word of it because I was thinking about something else. I hated most of the books that I was required to read in grade school... I was never that fond of talking mice, talking bunnies, talking toys, or other juvenile things. The only book I LOVED was an adult novel that I read in the 5th grade--a true account of a German woman living out the end of her days in a concentration camp--I ate up every word of it. Of course, that was the only book I read without it being assigned to me--it wasn't on my
"reading lists" so I didn't get credit for it. Perhaps if someone gave me more mature books to read, I would have liked the reading experience more... who knows.

I guess I think that in my case, bribes (motivational products) did get me to read to a certain extent, but it would have been better if someone helped to pick out the books right for ME. Why make reading a competition where the number of books read, as opposed to the content, counts most?

meghan mccarthy
Received on Wed 13 Oct 2004 01:06:13 PM CDT