S/O (sorta) - Children's Summer Reading Program & What I Overheard at the Library

[trinchick]

Like a PP, my library participates in the Dig Into Reading program. For every five books read, they get a sticker on their card and the opportunity to guess how many toys are in a big jar. At the end of the program, they host a party and the child who guesses closest receives a prize of some sort (though of very low value). What counts as a book depends on the child's age - DD just finished 2nd grade, so she gets credit for a book for every 40 pages she reads. Read alouds and audiobooks count.

 

DD loves this program. While she is a strong reader, she is not an enthusiastic one. Like a pp mentioned, the external validation of doing well makes her devour reading material of all types. I love that when I come home from work I find that she has spent the entire day reading and is begging me to take her to the library that evening so that she can log her books and get her stickers.

 

Last summer, I was a total stickler for the rules and I ran everything by the librarian - for instance, should Amelia Bedelia books that are 42 pages still count as two books (for finishing-first graders, 20 pages equaled a book) even though the text was only on half a page and there were lots of pictures? She said who cares? They're working toward stickers; it's not competitive; there's no unfair advantage over other children. The purpose of the program is to get kids excited to read over the summer when many backslide. 

 

For what it's worth, DD does a combination of independent reading, partner reading, and read alouds, and we count them all. For instance, I am currently reading her Anne of Green Gables in anticipation of our trip to PEI at the end of August. Frankly, she's not enjoying it as she finds Anne a bit verbose (which is the point of Anne, but to each her own). However, my assurance that the book will "count" as six books has helped keep her motivated enough to stick with it.

[vonfirmath]

But the thread is about summer reading programs.  In the greater scheme of things these small incentive programs are just not that important, especially to homeschool families where books of all kinds and formats are usually central to their lives.  I would like to think that there a few kids out there who, thanks to these programs, do discover the joy of reading, whether it is through a print or audio version of a book.  

 

It certainly has made a difference for my son!

 

I wasn't expecting that. He already liked to read and would read anything put in front of him. But he's started actively reading some harder books, as well as picture books. Not for everything he reads, but for some.  And he's started going to the bookshelves in his room and pulling a book off the shelves and sitting back there to read it! Without being told to or anything!

 

I discovered he liked poetry! (well, at least, funny/comic type poetry).

 

I'm absolutely thrilled.

 

[ThisIsTheDay]

I asked our local librarian that once (innocently, I was trying to remember the author of a book I had liked and couldn't even remember the title) and she and the woman behind her both noisily sucked in air and then started shaking their heads and declaring that no way, no how did they have access nor kept any of those records except for fine purposes.  Your state may vary.

 

 

Anyway, I actually posted to comment on the record-keeping aspect. Our library keeps track of which books you've read. They can look up for you if you've checked out a particular book before. Every few years they change their library software & lose the list, but I know they have the record since their last software change. Local law enforcement can come in & with the proper legal documents, get a copy of your checkouts (and they'll hand over computer records the library keeps of who was sitting at which computer when if necessary). I think the state where we used to live made sure their library software didn't keep track of what you'd checked out once it was checked back in so they wouldn't have to hand it over. Obviously not the case in our current state.  :tongue_smilie:

 

 

I'm shocked that any library keeps patron records of books checked out like this.  The very reason they are NOT kept is to protect the First Amendment rights of the person checking out materials in case the issue of a subpoena ever arose.  Seriously--there shouldn't be a list kept of what you've read in the off chance that the gov't can use it against you in the future.

 

 

Oh, and LOTS of libraries collect summer reading program info because they want more funding.  They are trying to prove to the state that the libraries and reading programs are important and beneficial.

 

We report, but the only thing we report to our state is the actual number of children who sign up.  (Not children who complete the program.)  This year, we are keeping a loose tally for the school each child attends, but IF that is used, it will only be to target certain schools for information or programs. The child's name is not connected to the school, and there is certainly no communication between the schools and the library.

 

 

She said only that they would be sharing the information with the schools to see if those children who participated had improved literacy scores. That doesn't sound generic to me. 

 

It sounds illegal to me.

 

Do audio books cultivate one's love for literature? You bet they do. Do Summer Reading programs cultivate one's love for literature? This is highly debatable.

 

So what's the problem then?

 

Is the problem that the child and the mother wanted to be done with the program faster? Well, maybe they were assigned to complete the program by the school. Maybe the child resents needing to read for a "pencil" and wanted to mark it as "done". There are many ways to interpret their little conversation, and not all of them negative.

 

Summer reading programs are nothing compared to Accelerated Reader programs.  Talk about killing any love of reading. I can't tell you how many kids I've seen turn down a book they initially liked because there wasn't a test available for that book.  It's all about points and pizza parties and stupid tests with simple answers that require no thought or engagement.  :rant:   Uh, sorry.  ((blush))

[RootAnn]

I'm shocked that any library keeps patron records of books checked out like this.  The very reason they are NOT kept is to protect the First Amendment rights of the person checking out materials in case the issue of a subpoena ever arose.  Seriously--there shouldn't be a list kept of what you've read in the off chance that the gov't can use it against you in the future.

 

...

 

Summer reading programs are nothing compared to Accelerated Reader programs.  Talk about killing any love of reading.

 

Yep & yep.

 

But true (in both cases) nonetheless.  :driving:

[nmoira]

I'm shocked that any library keeps patron records of books checked out like this. The very reason they are NOT kept is to protect the First Amendment rights of the person checking out materials in case the issue of a subpoena ever arose. Seriously--there shouldn't be a list kept of what you've read in the off chance that the gov't can use it against you in the future.

 

Our system offers this option on its new website, but it's opt-in only.

 

ETA: But that's nothing to do with Summer Reading. No logs are kept by the libraries, and participation data is aggregated.

[PachiSusan]

Update: I talked to the librarian at the library who said she was a little "fuzzy" about how it worked, but apparently the kids sign up and are given a number. They do not keep track of the name of the books, just how many they read. That list is given to the school, who ties the child into a group of "read during the summer". They follow up with those kids by their number, not name throughout the year and see if they do better than the other group, who did NOT read through the summer reading program.  As soon as they hand the information over to the school, the library has nothing more to do with it and the records are given to the school, never to be seen again by the library. She said she has no idea where it goes from there but she's happy she doesn't have to do the math and keep track. 

[SKL]

I think our library does allow credit for read-alouds, but I take that as an accommodation for children who can't read much on their own.  My kids are 6 and they are doing all their own reading.  I have not mentioned the read-aloud option to them.  (They do hear read-alouds, but I consider this entertainment for them, not a chore.)  We don't do audiobooks much, but I wouldn't count that either for this purpose.

 

Our library this year is counting based on each half-hour of reading vs. number of books.  My kids are very bummed about this as they found I would not let them claim 12 hours of reading since last night, regardless of how many books they read, LOL.  I must say it's pretty nice to see my less-motivated reader crank away now that she realizes she could win a coupon for Chipotle.  ;)

 

Ultimately it's an honor system anyway, and unfortunately, there are parents who don't have much in the way of principles.  I don't plan on losing any sleep over that.

[SKL]

I would add that I don't believe our libraries provide info to our schools.  My kids' progress is not logged into the computer unless I decide to log it in.  They can still get their prizes if they go in person and show their paper chart to the librarian.  I signed my kids up online but have not kept up with the logging in.  It would not please me if they send our blank record to the kids' school.