Reading for Fun

When I was nine or ten years old, I read hour after hour, transporting myself most often to River Heights to solve the mysteries of the The Clue of the Broken Locket and The Secret of the Old Attic with Nancy Drew, George, Bess and Ned. I remember my mother telling my sister and me, “Put down those books and go outside and play!” So we went outside and built a fort out of quilts thrown over the clothesline and …. read.

Reading was and still is my favorite leisure time activity. I love to travel to exotic places, make new friends and learn something new and can do those things everyday when I read a good book. But most reading for children and young adults, especially in schools today, is not tied to “fun” but to lexile levels (see link below for definition) comprehension, and Accelerated Reader points.

A major component of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is reading. In order to be a “passing school”, schools must meet minimum state standards that increase yearly toward a goal of 100% of students demonstrating proficiency in reading and language arts by the year 2014. As a result, schools are spending more time and money on reading intervention programs to help struggling readers become better readers. But do they enjoying reading and are they becoming literate? What can a parent do to help?

A 2004 study by the National Endowment for the Arts found that less than half of the adult American population reads literature. (The NEA survey asked respondents if they had read any novels, short stories, plays, or poetry. A positive response to any of those categories is counted as reading literature, including popular genres such as mysteries, as well as contemporary and classic literary fiction. No distinctions were drawn on the quality of literary works. “Reading at Risk”, NEA, pg. 2) Not only has reading declined in all groups, but the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young. The first step in students enjoying reading and becoming literate is at home. Evaluate your own literary efforts by answering the following questions.

Do my children read for fun every day?

Do I have three or more different types of reading materials in my home (newspapers, magazines, books, encyclopedias)?

Do I discuss with my child their studies and books that they are reading?

Do my children participate in less than 3 hours of television/video games/Internet activities per day?

Do my children do at least an hour of homework daily?

Do my children see me read daily?

Do I read for fun every day?

These questions are based on findings about reading habits from the 1999 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term reading assessment of 9, 13, and 17 year olds. In every case, students who: 1) read for fun every day, 2) have access to three or more types of reading materials at home, 3) discuss literature and homework with parents, 4) participate in less than 3 hours of electronic media, 5) do at least an hour of homework, and 6) see a parent read (and read for fun daily) have higher reading scores than students who don’t. A parent’s example cannot be replaced by any number of software programs, reading specialists or any amount of money.
Life seems faster and more complicated than ever before. How can parents find time to read and help your children to read, especially for fun?

1. Unplug! Turn off the electronic media. Set time aside when home is an Internet, phone, video game, and television free zone.
2. Read the scriptures. Reading scriptures with the family requires discussion for comprehension. My experience has been that students who read the scriptures together with their families have more extensive vocabularies, higher-level thinking skills and better reading comprehension than students who do not.
3. Learn together. Read school-required novels, plays, poetry and other literature with your student.
4. Subscribe to your local newspaper and a magazine. Not only will you get the news but you get grocery coupons too.

Grab your newspaper, Harry Potter, Romeo and Juliet or the scriptures. Last one to the clothesline is a rotten egg!

References:
http://www.scholastic.com/schoolage/experts/learning/9_12_lexilelevels.htm

http://www.nea.gov/pub/ReadingAtRisk.pdf

http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/NAEP.html

Booklists:
The following websites offer numerous young adult and children’s book titles in a plethora of genres.
www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists
http://nancykeane.com/rl/

Get Your New Gear for School

Gum. Chewing gum. It was a distraction and cause for stern looks and tight voices from teachers until the gum was disposed of in a trash can. Ah, the good old days. What a teacher and administrator wouldn’t give to return to the days of gum being the major educational distraction. In August, several businesses ran advertising campaigns with slogans like, “Get your new gear for school” or “Be the envy of your school” and these advertisements were not for notebooks and pencils but cell phones and backpacks with speakers. Distractions? Those are major educational distractions!

In my experience as an administrator, cell phones accounted for more discipline visits than all other discipline categories combined. In one year alone, the recorded number of students needing to see a school administrator for disrupting class with a cell phone quadrupled. Cell phone problems at school range from random ringing during class to text message bullying and threats, pictures of students (unwanted and inappropriate), and pictures of test items.

As parents, how can we keep our children focused on learning and exercising good judgment and etiquette when they use cell phones or other electronic devices? The following questions provide a guide.

Does my child need a cell phone? Why?
Do I want them have one? Why do they want one?

Honestly, children do not “need” a cell phone at school. For years, schools and families existed by land lines and messages left at the office. Perhaps it’s inconvenient but it’s much less disruptive to the learning environment. The United States has one of the shortest school years in the world and students and teachers need every minute of it. Cell phones are an inconsiderate and annoying interruption.

Distinguishing “needs” from “wants” is not an easy exercise but it is a good one to do periodically. We need to check in with ourselves and our families to ensure that our personal and family activities match our short-term and long-term goals. I wonder how the family budget accommodates all of the technology that is often determined a “need”. Can our family/our child afford a cell phone monetarily and educationally?

Have we discussed who, where, when, what, why and how cell phones are to be used by our family?

1. Who uses it? Who pays for it?
2. Where do you use it? –Not in class, not in a review session, not when people are talking to you.
3. When do you use it? Anytime or restricted? While driving? Are there limits on minutes of talk and text?
4. What do you use it for? Calls to parents, text messaging friends?
5. Why? So parents can reach children and vice versa? Friends?
6. How? How do we use it appropriately? What is proper cell phone etiquette?

Family home evening and family councils are good times to discuss these questions. A piece of wise advice from a friend is to:

Always set the rules in advance of the anticipated event

If the rules are set before the cell phone is purchased, a thoughtful, not emotional, discussion can occur and wise decisions made as a family team. When decisions are made together, children will feel an ownership and responsibility with parents. If the rules are not discussed before the purchase, later discussions typically focus on what the child cannot do-which they did-and degenerate into a battle of control. (This is also a great method to use before the dating years begin. A family discussion of dating and expectations when the oldest child is 12 years old will be quite different than when that child is 15 and ¾ years old!)

If your child has a cell phone, what role does it play in the following?
Is he/she learning responsibility or irresponsibility?
Is your relationship improving or disintegrating?
Is he/she exercising self control in regards to minutes used and the number of text messages?

Cell phones can cause a lot of stress in family relationships. Usually that is precipitated by a child’s irresponsible behavior regarding the use of minutes and number of text messages. It is our obligation to teach our children about budgeting time and money and cell phones involve both. Many families choose to add a “family” phone for use by any family member when needed. Other families allow children to pay for their phone and usage on a family plan and still others let children purchase their own phones and plans. Each decision is personal and has its pros and cons but each will work if the plan is understood by all family members.

Self control and mastery is a lifelong quest that can begin with a cell phone. Fifteen hundred minutes of time equals 25 hours of talk time and that is almost an hour per day per month. Most parents set limits on TV watching, and video game playing. Although many plans may allow unlimited minutes and text messages, is that prudent or wise? In our prosperity and abundance, seemingly limitless amounts have become the norm such as, purchasing on credit, super-sizing the combo meal and surfing the Internet, but all of these come with a price and so will unlimited cell phone use. Perhaps the greatest price will be less family solidarity and a greater influence from friends. Buyer Beware-no child I know needs any more influence from friends.

From working with teenagers I have learned that when I need to contact them, a text message will always get a reply. That was not usually the case when I called them at home or emailed them. I love the ease and convenience of cell phones. They are an asset, not a distraction, when used intelligently and wisely. Let’s help our children and students harness them to their advantage both socially and educationally.

Does any one have a piece of gum?