On Sun, 1 Sep 2002, Brook Berg wrote:
> Regarding the restriction of areas.....
> I think it is so important to review the mission of your center.
>
> My personal mission as a media specialist is to teach students and teachers
> to be wise consumers of information. With this in mind I decided to level
> the books in my prek-6 media center. I was a reading specialist before
> becoming a library media specialist and the most important part of a child's
> ability to "consume" information is to be able to read and understand what
> they read!
I think making it easier for patrons to identify reading level on books
is just fine. It helps me help patrons too. There are countless good
reasons to provide plenty of books for reading practice.
What concerns me here is the possible presumption about our relationship
with books and, in turn, the sometimes unidentifiable influences that
lead us to become readers. One certainly can't argue against helping
children to become good consumers of information. But I believe we
sometimes get too wrapped up in the mechanics of reading and forget the
little things.
I was luckier than most kids I've worked with. I grew up in a home that
was wall-to-wall books. Our home oooozed books. There was a time when I
could read none of them. But no one stopped me from climbing up on the
chairs to take books off the shelves to "read" them. No one stopped me
from pulling all the books out of the end tables and spreading them
out across the floor as I "read" through each one carefully - time
and time again. In the process, I eyeballed a few I knew I'd come back
to later when I COULD read. Will James' "Smoky the Cowhorse" was one.
That one called me from the second shelf for many years.
And then, as I have mentioned before, there was my mother's old copy
of "Alice in Wonderland." That's the book I returned to most often
over the years. I knew the story by heart so "information" was not
my goal. It was the book itself I fell in love with.
It was my mother's hand scribbled name on the inside cover. It was the
dusty but sweet smell. And it was the illustrations, few but delicious.
They were black and white photos protected by thin sheets of delicate
onionskin little fingers had to handle carefully; black and white photos
with a ghastly Victorian feel that gave me shivers. The Queen of Hearts looked
hideous. And Humpty Dumpty looked convincingly real...
And it was the dream of being able to read it myself. I knew when that day
came, I would have come of age. I would be as good as grown-up.
This book became my goal. It became my measuring stick. It was the book
that piqued my senses and whispered to me at night, "Try again. Maybe
you can read me now...."
And it's the book that is the reason I do not restrict student access to
books by reading level. I've wanted my children to have an opportunity to
find their own "Alice in Wonderland." We, as adults, cannot make that
choice for them. We cannot predict what book that might be - or why.
But we can open the door and set the children free to explore. And
if we're lucky, some of our children will find the magic that is the
heart and inspiration of many a reader.
J. Rathbun, Librarian | "You may say I'm a dreamer,
Mojave High School | but I'm not the only one..."
Clark County School District |
Las Vegas, Nevada | John Lennon
Email: jrathbun@orednet.org |
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST, etc.) send email to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER:
1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
4) SET LM_NET MAIL * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.shtml
See also EL-Announce for announcements from library media vendors:
http://www.mindspring.com/~el-announce/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=
LM_NET
Mailing List Home