CCBC-Net Archives
RE: Re:Picture book twenty minutes a day
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Steward, Celeste <csteward_at_aclibrary.org>
Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:37:13 -0800
"The key issue is how do you get individuals to change the choices they mak e regarding how they spend their time and money? Likewise with reading, ho w do we get people to value reading?"
Charles, I think you've hit the nail here. Picture books and their use are part of a larger literacy issue, which is a missing link for so many famili es. I can't speak for other countries but I think the educational divide ap pears to be widening in the U.S. And I find it very disturbing that enthusi astic readers are in the minority.
"Until we coach the culture to a higher valuation of the pleasure and rewar ds of reading, there is little that can be done by giving things away or tr ying to coerce people. "
Well, every little bit helps. And I can only speak to library service since that's what I know. In my library, we have a strong literacy program in ou r jails and in the juvenile hall. The folks who work with the inmates and t heir families are fabulous, caring individuals.
I personally feel that library outreach should be much more aggressive than it is. Because they (non-readers) aren't going to come to us. A few years ago, while traveling in the Seattle area, I found a library branch in a mal l. It wasn't fancy and it wasn't the best stocked place, but it was perfect in terms of location. I suspect location and convenience are key elements to the great success of Reach Out and Read and other non-profit programs.
And I do like that many sports teams have begun their own reading programs and are partnering with libraries. I think library/school partnerships are a great way to get the message out. It's too expensive and labor-intensive for organizations to do this as a single entity. Banding together is the wa y to go. Partnering has its own set of problems but in these economic times , I think it's most effective.
Celeste Steward Collection Development Librarian IV Alameda County Library 2450 Stevenson Blvd. Fremont, CA 94538 (510)745-1586
From: Charles Bayless
Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2010 6:42 AM To: 'CCBC Network digest' Subject: Re:
Picture book twenty minutes a day
Excellent conversation on how to foster reading. I produced a report (Grow ing a Reading Culture http://www.slideshare.net/ThroughtheMagicDoor/growing -a-readingculturereport) earlier this year in which I attempted to filter o ut the noise from the signal in terms of what field research indicates rega rding what actually works. While the bulk of the research was from the US, UK, and Canada, I was able to include some components from France, Italy, Germany, Israel, Denmark, and Australia. There were a smattering of findin gs from Mexico, Brazil and Singapore. The interesting thing was that all t he evidence was reasonably consistent. Key findings:
10% of the population does 80% of the elective reading in a year. This pat tern is already in place by the time children graduate from high school. 5 0% of the population will not read any book electively this year. (They ca n read and do read for work or studies, but they don't invest their discret ionary time in elective reading).
The 10% that are enthusiastic and habitual readers consume on average about 2 books a month. The 40% of the population that do read electively but on ly sporadically, consume one book every two months.
Schools make a difference in the efficiency with which children learn to re ad but on average do not have a material impact on whether children choose to read. Please note: average. Individual schools and individual teachers can and do make a difference but when it comes to the macro institution of primary and secondary education, there is not a measurable impact on the a verages.
The average household spends less than $40 per year on books (roughly equiv alent in other countries).
For individual classes of consumer goods, the price of books has had one of the highest inflation rates over the past forty years. There were only a couple of classes of goods that had higher inflation rates. Smoking was on e and I don't recall the other. There was much more that can be found in t he report.
There is a tendency to characterize lack of reading as an income or class i ssue, but it is more than that. While enthusiastic readers are more heavil y represented in the upper income quintiles as one would expect, enthusiast ic readers are a material minority in every income quintile.
What I found could be reliably proved from field studies (rather than advic e that just makes sense) was that persistent and habitual reading is a prod uct of culture and not teaching. The nexus of the issue resides in the hom e, not the schools. Schools can and must do their part but unless we tackl e the home culture, schools will only have a limited impact. The five thin gs that parents can do in the home that are likely to materially increase t he probability that their children will become habitual and enthusiastic re aders (and not all will, even under the best of circumstances) are: Talk t o them a lot from the very beginning; Read to them a lot (average of at lea st half an hour a day broken up over the day); Have lots of books around th e home that are easily accessible and also disparate in terms of subjects, style, age level, etc.; Let them choose what they wish to read; and Be seen reading yourself.
We are somewhat in the position of those wanting to tackle obesity. We kno w what to do: Eat less (and better) and exercise more. Knowing that doesn 't get to the core of the issue which is individual values and behaviors. It is well and good to harp on processed foods, fast food restaurants, etc. They are not to blame - they are serving the choices made by individuals. The key issue is how do you get individuals to change the choices they ma ke regarding how they spend their time and money? Likewise with reading, h ow do we get people to value reading?
Giving away books to those that already want to read helps keep them readin g but doesn't do much for the home where there is no encouragement of readi ng. The report outlines what individual parents can do. The more that par ents are willing to undertake the obligation to create an environment where children are likely to become habitual and enthusiastic readers, the bette r off everyone becomes.
What can third parties such as schools, teachers, librarians, and other rea ding enthusiasts do? Encourage parents to create a reading culture by doin g the five things identified above. Make sure there are as many books in t he environment of children as possible (from books in the home to books in the classroom to a school library to a public library); to be consistent in the message that children should be able to choose what they want to read, up or down in age, politically correct or not, etc.; to agree that the obj ective of enthusiastic reading takes priority over refinement of reading, i .e. that while we may want them to read Jane Austen, it is OK for them to s tart with Just William or Enid Blyton, or Captain Underpants; to continuall y make the utilitarian case that reading is a gateway skill for a good life (while recognizing that it is intrinsically rewarding). None of these are earth shaking but until we coach the culture to a higher valuation of the pleasure and rewards of reading, there is li ttle that can be done by giving things away or trying to coerce people.
Let me clarify that. Giving books away does help those that already want t o read. It has only a marginal impact on those in environments that are no t conducive to reading.
My two cents.
Charles
Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:37:13 -0800
"The key issue is how do you get individuals to change the choices they mak e regarding how they spend their time and money? Likewise with reading, ho w do we get people to value reading?"
Charles, I think you've hit the nail here. Picture books and their use are part of a larger literacy issue, which is a missing link for so many famili es. I can't speak for other countries but I think the educational divide ap pears to be widening in the U.S. And I find it very disturbing that enthusi astic readers are in the minority.
"Until we coach the culture to a higher valuation of the pleasure and rewar ds of reading, there is little that can be done by giving things away or tr ying to coerce people. "
Well, every little bit helps. And I can only speak to library service since that's what I know. In my library, we have a strong literacy program in ou r jails and in the juvenile hall. The folks who work with the inmates and t heir families are fabulous, caring individuals.
I personally feel that library outreach should be much more aggressive than it is. Because they (non-readers) aren't going to come to us. A few years ago, while traveling in the Seattle area, I found a library branch in a mal l. It wasn't fancy and it wasn't the best stocked place, but it was perfect in terms of location. I suspect location and convenience are key elements to the great success of Reach Out and Read and other non-profit programs.
And I do like that many sports teams have begun their own reading programs and are partnering with libraries. I think library/school partnerships are a great way to get the message out. It's too expensive and labor-intensive for organizations to do this as a single entity. Banding together is the wa y to go. Partnering has its own set of problems but in these economic times , I think it's most effective.
Celeste Steward Collection Development Librarian IV Alameda County Library 2450 Stevenson Blvd. Fremont, CA 94538 (510)745-1586
From: Charles Bayless
Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2010 6:42 AM To: 'CCBC Network digest' Subject: Re:
Picture book twenty minutes a day
Excellent conversation on how to foster reading. I produced a report (Grow ing a Reading Culture http://www.slideshare.net/ThroughtheMagicDoor/growing -a-readingculturereport) earlier this year in which I attempted to filter o ut the noise from the signal in terms of what field research indicates rega rding what actually works. While the bulk of the research was from the US, UK, and Canada, I was able to include some components from France, Italy, Germany, Israel, Denmark, and Australia. There were a smattering of findin gs from Mexico, Brazil and Singapore. The interesting thing was that all t he evidence was reasonably consistent. Key findings:
10% of the population does 80% of the elective reading in a year. This pat tern is already in place by the time children graduate from high school. 5 0% of the population will not read any book electively this year. (They ca n read and do read for work or studies, but they don't invest their discret ionary time in elective reading).
The 10% that are enthusiastic and habitual readers consume on average about 2 books a month. The 40% of the population that do read electively but on ly sporadically, consume one book every two months.
Schools make a difference in the efficiency with which children learn to re ad but on average do not have a material impact on whether children choose to read. Please note: average. Individual schools and individual teachers can and do make a difference but when it comes to the macro institution of primary and secondary education, there is not a measurable impact on the a verages.
The average household spends less than $40 per year on books (roughly equiv alent in other countries).
For individual classes of consumer goods, the price of books has had one of the highest inflation rates over the past forty years. There were only a couple of classes of goods that had higher inflation rates. Smoking was on e and I don't recall the other. There was much more that can be found in t he report.
There is a tendency to characterize lack of reading as an income or class i ssue, but it is more than that. While enthusiastic readers are more heavil y represented in the upper income quintiles as one would expect, enthusiast ic readers are a material minority in every income quintile.
What I found could be reliably proved from field studies (rather than advic e that just makes sense) was that persistent and habitual reading is a prod uct of culture and not teaching. The nexus of the issue resides in the hom e, not the schools. Schools can and must do their part but unless we tackl e the home culture, schools will only have a limited impact. The five thin gs that parents can do in the home that are likely to materially increase t he probability that their children will become habitual and enthusiastic re aders (and not all will, even under the best of circumstances) are: Talk t o them a lot from the very beginning; Read to them a lot (average of at lea st half an hour a day broken up over the day); Have lots of books around th e home that are easily accessible and also disparate in terms of subjects, style, age level, etc.; Let them choose what they wish to read; and Be seen reading yourself.
We are somewhat in the position of those wanting to tackle obesity. We kno w what to do: Eat less (and better) and exercise more. Knowing that doesn 't get to the core of the issue which is individual values and behaviors. It is well and good to harp on processed foods, fast food restaurants, etc. They are not to blame - they are serving the choices made by individuals. The key issue is how do you get individuals to change the choices they ma ke regarding how they spend their time and money? Likewise with reading, h ow do we get people to value reading?
Giving away books to those that already want to read helps keep them readin g but doesn't do much for the home where there is no encouragement of readi ng. The report outlines what individual parents can do. The more that par ents are willing to undertake the obligation to create an environment where children are likely to become habitual and enthusiastic readers, the bette r off everyone becomes.
What can third parties such as schools, teachers, librarians, and other rea ding enthusiasts do? Encourage parents to create a reading culture by doin g the five things identified above. Make sure there are as many books in t he environment of children as possible (from books in the home to books in the classroom to a school library to a public library); to be consistent in the message that children should be able to choose what they want to read, up or down in age, politically correct or not, etc.; to agree that the obj ective of enthusiastic reading takes priority over refinement of reading, i .e. that while we may want them to read Jane Austen, it is OK for them to s tart with Just William or Enid Blyton, or Captain Underpants; to continuall y make the utilitarian case that reading is a gateway skill for a good life (while recognizing that it is intrinsically rewarding). None of these are earth shaking but until we coach the culture to a higher valuation of the pleasure and rewards of reading, there is li ttle that can be done by giving things away or trying to coerce people.
Let me clarify that. Giving books away does help those that already want t o read. It has only a marginal impact on those in environments that are no t conducive to reading.
My two cents.
Charles
---Received on Mon 08 Nov 2010 09:37:13 AM CST
