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Re: Reading is just hard for some students
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From: Janeyolen <janeyolen_at_aol.com>
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2011 09:51:06 -0500 (EST)
My youngest son is not a reader. He is very visual and a prize-winning phot ographer and, interestingly enough, an excellent writer. But he reads for i nformation only. And when we work on books together (his photographs, my po ems) he is a good and careful critic. But he does not read for pleasure.
His older brother and sister are avid readers and are always reading severa l books simultaneously. Go figure.
Jane
Message-----
From: Wendy Lanehart To: 'ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.edu' Sent: Tue, Feb 8, 2011 9:42 am Subject:
Reading is just hard for some students
I just want to chime in withwhat Susan said that "reading isn't for abso lutely everyone." I have always been a reader. I read to both of my sons from thetime they were infants. But for my older son, who is 8, reading is just hard& he doesn't enjoy it. He's ADD & in Title I forreading help. H e can read on grade level, but his fluency is verypoor. He enjoys my readi ng to him every night before bed & audiobooksin the car, but trying to get him to read is, quite literally, astruggle. I have certainly tried to find books that interest him &have had to let go of my own childhood favorites that I'd hoped to sharewith him because they didn't appeal to him (Farmer B oy, most recently).
Hehas a great teacher who reads to him in class, which has been the springboardfor our reading. Right now we're reading The BFG because h is teacher read The Twits in class & he loved it. But I don'tknow if he'll ever be a reader because the act of reading isn'teasy for him. I compare it to my own lack of athleticism; I was forced togo to PE in school but nev er enjoyed it & never played sports. It'sjust not in my genetic make-up. My son has helped me realize reading& academic success can be like that, to o. So I'll keep readinghim Encyclopedia Brown eventhough I am so tired of him because he likes the Boy Detective. Whoknows, maybe my son will surpri se me & grow into a love of reading. But I do think there are many people f or whom reading is difficult so they avoidit, a fact that is hard to grasp for those of us who read because it'seasy & enjoyable.
Wendy Lanehart Former Elementary Librarian Children's Library Assistant Central Rappahannock Regional Library
From: Susan Daugherty
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 20113:21 PM To: ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re:
teaming upfor reading challenged students
You are right, Christina, teaming up is essential. The team should consis t of the librarian, parents, teacher, and any specialists who work with th e kid. Easier said than done though, but it is the ideal. Sometimes it w orks well. With the stresses on teachers to get everyone in class to pass the tests at a certain level or possibly lose their jobs or not get a rai se (what I fear is coming down the pike); the stresses on librarians to bo th teach the skills the teachers want taught (to get those test scores), t each computer skills, and, oh yes, do everything else they used to do; the stresses on specialists with their larger and needier caseloads; and the stresses on the parents to work harder for less money and sometimes to be unemployed or underemployed and forced to work more than one job, oftentim es reading just doesn't seem as important as it is. Or at least as import ant as it is to me and you all, I assume.
I think someone has mentioned that often the parents aren't totally keen on reading themselves. Maybe kids sense it when parents don't truly LOVE reading even if their parents go through the motions and seem to be doing what they should. This same criticism actually fits for many teachers an d even librarians. I am amazed at the number of librarians and teachers o f every level I've talked with who don't read for pleasure, or read very l ittle. Since everyone on this listserv is probably addicted to reading (I do it when I should be doing other things!), we don't really understand t his attitude. Maybe we should relax and realize that reading isn't for ab solutely everyone. It makes me sad, but it seems to be a fact.
Another factor is huge and has been mentioned by Meghan, but it bears re peating. Kids are stubborn and do their own thing. I was always surprise d by the large number of young kids (1st and 2nd graders, even kindergartn ers) who came from highly literate, well educated families and doubtless h ad piles of books at home who did not want to check out the wonderful book s we had in the school library. I believe they were feeling the pressure from somewhere (parents, teachers, me?) to read, read, read, and they coul d assert themselves by either not checking out anything or taking some obs cure book from a section of the library that didn't even interest them. W hat is the librarian really supposed to do in this situation? Say no, you must take a book I approve? That's coercion, and I submit that it doesn' t really work. I backed off from pushing things on those kids. When I ex pressed concern to teachers, the answer was invariably, "Oh, don't worry, that family has tons of stuff to read at home." True, but I d oubt if it w as as carefully chosen as my collection.
I could never say no to a little first grader who insisted he check out H arry Potter, even though I knew he wasn't going to read it and I doubted i f anyone at home would read it to him. He just wanted to be in the in cr owd! It's natural!
The success stories sustain you as a librarian. The little girls who ge t into a series and can't get enough and move into more challenging books over time. The little boys who read all the graphic novels and then move on to all kinds of nonfiction. Etc., etc.
I agree that more effort should be put into silent reading sessions and reading aloud at the upper elementary, middle school, and high school leve ls. My daughter was read to in college by her favorite English teacher, a gifted man with dramatic flair. (I had been reading to her from babyhood , and she lapped it up. I'll bet there were other students in his class t hat were not as appreciative.) We might have to wait quite a while for th is current accountability fad to prove pointless, but I believe that it wi ll do eventually, and probably some of the traditional love of reading ide as will be seem new again and be resurrected.
Susan Daugherty Retired school librarian
--- On Sat, 2/5/11, Christina Drakos wr
ote:
From: Christina Drakos Subject:
teaming up for reading challenged students To: pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net, "Meghan McCarthy" , ccbc-net@ccbc.education.wisc.edu Date: Saturday, February 5, 2011, 10:59 AM
I think everyone loses out when we carve boundaries too deep between classroom teachers, reading specialists, librarians and parents. They're all playing crucial roles in the development of a reader with reading challen ges (whether it's called a disability, dyslexia, or something else).
ALL of them should be knowledgeable enough to be sensitive to the social and emotional needs of these students, to provide a range of literature to su it that child's current reading potential, and to be informed of best practi ces and effective interventions (although the reading specialist and classroo m teacher would put these into practice more than the librarian).
I'm not sure which situation would be worse - the reading specialist who works at the specific skill level (let's say decoding) and provides appropriate reading text for that, but doesn't offer books that meets all the other needs of a real, live, breathing, multi-faceted reader (includi ng audiobooks); OR a librarian that is unaware of a child's reading challeng es and continues to send a student home with books the child simply cannot access (but might be consistently choosing in order to impress friends).
I'm all for much more communication and collaboration between classroom teachers, reading specialists and librarians, and think there's room for improvement in that area!
Christina
From: Claudia Pearson Reply-To: Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:31:40 -0600 To: Meghan McCarthy ,
Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
IMO, it is not the role of the librarian to help a reader who has a readi ng disability. That is the job of the parents and reading specialists who are trained to help these potential readers develop coping strategies.
______________________________________________________________________
Before you print this or other documents, please consider the impact on t he environment. This email message is intended only for the use of the in dividual or entity named. The reader is hereby notified that any dissemina tion, distribution, copying or other use of this message without the expre ss approval of the sender is strictly prohibited.
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Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2011 09:51:06 -0500 (EST)
My youngest son is not a reader. He is very visual and a prize-winning phot ographer and, interestingly enough, an excellent writer. But he reads for i nformation only. And when we work on books together (his photographs, my po ems) he is a good and careful critic. But he does not read for pleasure.
His older brother and sister are avid readers and are always reading severa l books simultaneously. Go figure.
Jane
Message-----
From: Wendy Lanehart To: 'ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.edu' Sent: Tue, Feb 8, 2011 9:42 am Subject:
Reading is just hard for some students
I just want to chime in withwhat Susan said that "reading isn't for abso lutely everyone." I have always been a reader. I read to both of my sons from thetime they were infants. But for my older son, who is 8, reading is just hard& he doesn't enjoy it. He's ADD & in Title I forreading help. H e can read on grade level, but his fluency is verypoor. He enjoys my readi ng to him every night before bed & audiobooksin the car, but trying to get him to read is, quite literally, astruggle. I have certainly tried to find books that interest him &have had to let go of my own childhood favorites that I'd hoped to sharewith him because they didn't appeal to him (Farmer B oy, most recently).
Hehas a great teacher who reads to him in class, which has been the springboardfor our reading. Right now we're reading The BFG because h is teacher read The Twits in class & he loved it. But I don'tknow if he'll ever be a reader because the act of reading isn'teasy for him. I compare it to my own lack of athleticism; I was forced togo to PE in school but nev er enjoyed it & never played sports. It'sjust not in my genetic make-up. My son has helped me realize reading& academic success can be like that, to o. So I'll keep readinghim Encyclopedia Brown eventhough I am so tired of him because he likes the Boy Detective. Whoknows, maybe my son will surpri se me & grow into a love of reading. But I do think there are many people f or whom reading is difficult so they avoidit, a fact that is hard to grasp for those of us who read because it'seasy & enjoyable.
Wendy Lanehart Former Elementary Librarian Children's Library Assistant Central Rappahannock Regional Library
From: Susan Daugherty
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 20113:21 PM To: ccbc-net_at_ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re:
teaming upfor reading challenged students
You are right, Christina, teaming up is essential. The team should consis t of the librarian, parents, teacher, and any specialists who work with th e kid. Easier said than done though, but it is the ideal. Sometimes it w orks well. With the stresses on teachers to get everyone in class to pass the tests at a certain level or possibly lose their jobs or not get a rai se (what I fear is coming down the pike); the stresses on librarians to bo th teach the skills the teachers want taught (to get those test scores), t each computer skills, and, oh yes, do everything else they used to do; the stresses on specialists with their larger and needier caseloads; and the stresses on the parents to work harder for less money and sometimes to be unemployed or underemployed and forced to work more than one job, oftentim es reading just doesn't seem as important as it is. Or at least as import ant as it is to me and you all, I assume.
I think someone has mentioned that often the parents aren't totally keen on reading themselves. Maybe kids sense it when parents don't truly LOVE reading even if their parents go through the motions and seem to be doing what they should. This same criticism actually fits for many teachers an d even librarians. I am amazed at the number of librarians and teachers o f every level I've talked with who don't read for pleasure, or read very l ittle. Since everyone on this listserv is probably addicted to reading (I do it when I should be doing other things!), we don't really understand t his attitude. Maybe we should relax and realize that reading isn't for ab solutely everyone. It makes me sad, but it seems to be a fact.
Another factor is huge and has been mentioned by Meghan, but it bears re peating. Kids are stubborn and do their own thing. I was always surprise d by the large number of young kids (1st and 2nd graders, even kindergartn ers) who came from highly literate, well educated families and doubtless h ad piles of books at home who did not want to check out the wonderful book s we had in the school library. I believe they were feeling the pressure from somewhere (parents, teachers, me?) to read, read, read, and they coul d assert themselves by either not checking out anything or taking some obs cure book from a section of the library that didn't even interest them. W hat is the librarian really supposed to do in this situation? Say no, you must take a book I approve? That's coercion, and I submit that it doesn' t really work. I backed off from pushing things on those kids. When I ex pressed concern to teachers, the answer was invariably, "Oh, don't worry, that family has tons of stuff to read at home." True, but I d oubt if it w as as carefully chosen as my collection.
I could never say no to a little first grader who insisted he check out H arry Potter, even though I knew he wasn't going to read it and I doubted i f anyone at home would read it to him. He just wanted to be in the in cr owd! It's natural!
The success stories sustain you as a librarian. The little girls who ge t into a series and can't get enough and move into more challenging books over time. The little boys who read all the graphic novels and then move on to all kinds of nonfiction. Etc., etc.
I agree that more effort should be put into silent reading sessions and reading aloud at the upper elementary, middle school, and high school leve ls. My daughter was read to in college by her favorite English teacher, a gifted man with dramatic flair. (I had been reading to her from babyhood , and she lapped it up. I'll bet there were other students in his class t hat were not as appreciative.) We might have to wait quite a while for th is current accountability fad to prove pointless, but I believe that it wi ll do eventually, and probably some of the traditional love of reading ide as will be seem new again and be resurrected.
Susan Daugherty Retired school librarian
--- On Sat, 2/5/11, Christina Drakos wr
ote:
From: Christina Drakos Subject:
teaming up for reading challenged students To: pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net, "Meghan McCarthy" , ccbc-net@ccbc.education.wisc.edu Date: Saturday, February 5, 2011, 10:59 AM
I think everyone loses out when we carve boundaries too deep between classroom teachers, reading specialists, librarians and parents. They're all playing crucial roles in the development of a reader with reading challen ges (whether it's called a disability, dyslexia, or something else).
ALL of them should be knowledgeable enough to be sensitive to the social and emotional needs of these students, to provide a range of literature to su it that child's current reading potential, and to be informed of best practi ces and effective interventions (although the reading specialist and classroo m teacher would put these into practice more than the librarian).
I'm not sure which situation would be worse - the reading specialist who works at the specific skill level (let's say decoding) and provides appropriate reading text for that, but doesn't offer books that meets all the other needs of a real, live, breathing, multi-faceted reader (includi ng audiobooks); OR a librarian that is unaware of a child's reading challeng es and continues to send a student home with books the child simply cannot access (but might be consistently choosing in order to impress friends).
I'm all for much more communication and collaboration between classroom teachers, reading specialists and librarians, and think there's room for improvement in that area!
Christina
From: Claudia Pearson Reply-To: Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:31:40 -0600 To: Meghan McCarthy ,
Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
IMO, it is not the role of the librarian to help a reader who has a readi ng disability. That is the job of the parents and reading specialists who are trained to help these potential readers develop coping strategies.
______________________________________________________________________
Before you print this or other documents, please consider the impact on t he environment. This email message is intended only for the use of the in dividual or entity named. The reader is hereby notified that any dissemina tion, distribution, copying or other use of this message without the expre ss approval of the sender is strictly prohibited.
______________________________________________________________________
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