Hello Everyone,
I've followed this with much interest because of a situation I found myself
in last year.
First of all, our school (middle school grades 6th-8th) uses Reading Counts
and has for at least 8 years. Prior to that, it was AR. At the beginning
of last year our Language Arts teachers and I sat down to determine the best
way to utilize the program. We've tried many different things with some
success here and there. It was decided that instead of having students
read 3 books "on their level" for each nine weeks (which is how it had been
forever), students would earn 25 points for each nine weeks and have the
freedom to read whatever they wanted. I would also offer students the
opportunity to write their own quizzes for books that were not RC books and
they would earn points for that as well. I pushed hard for this change
because I explained that I was seeing kids searching for reading levels
instead of what interested them. It's depressing to see them pass up great
books because they'll "get in trouble" if they check them out. I had quite
a bit of insight on this because I have been at this school for 15 years.
This was only my second year as the media specialist and I spent the decade
before that teaching Language Arts. I'm very much part of the "team"
because of my close working relationship with these teachers.
Well, everything was going great! Kids were reading and enjoying their
library trips and everyone was really getting into the whole "free choice"
idea. One teacher who was afraid kids would pick 25 one-point books to meet
the points goal found that most kids didn't want to spend their time reading
that many "easy" books. Bigger books got checked out because now they had
more time to read them since points weren't tallied until the end of the
nine weeks. It was discussed that teachers would monitor and send home 3
week progress checks that included the number of points earned by each
check. I even did a report to determine the average reading level and kids
were still right on target. By then end of the first nine weeks, only a few
students were not participating. These also were our chronic truants or
ones in trouble most of the time.
However, at the beginning of the second nine weeks things began to change.
We had one new and inexperienced 8th grade teacher who immediately started
the second nine weeks by telling her kids they had to earn 25 points, BUT
they couldn't read anything below a 5th grade level. I had kids running to
me complaining and parents calling me about this rule because in Florida, we
have the Sunshine State Young Reader's Award program which feature 15 books.
Kids read at least three of these books and then get to participate in a
state-wide vote for their favorite. There are many on the list that,
according to RC, don't quite reach the 5th grade level the teacher was
imposing. What a disaster! Of course, add to this, those poor kids who
were not reading higher than a 5th grade level and found themselves trying
to reach an impossible goal!
I spoke with the department head and she and I then talked to this teacher
and explained why her rule was causing major issues. We approached it as
kindly as possible because we didn't want to make her mad or hurt her
feelings. She said, "Ok." and not much more. We left feeling we had
offended her, even though we tried to be very careful about it.
By the end of that nine weeks, everything seemed to be heading in the right
direction again for all of the students. I knew we were making progress
when teachers told me they were hearing kids discussing what books were the
best to read and who had the most RC points. One teacher even witnessed two
kids playfully arguing about who was going to earn the most points! I was
feeling pretty happy about it because we were reading AND it was fun.
The third nine weeks went by and this same teacher didn't monitor her kids
at all with progress reports or verbal reminders about upcoming deadlines.
She simply told them they had to earn 25 points by the end of the nine weeks
and nothing else was mentioned until she ran a progress check three days
before the end of the grading period.
She hit the roof. Most of her kids had not earned a single point! She was
furious at them and suddenly for the next few days, I was getting 10 or more
of her kids each class period. They arrived, announced "Ms. Teacher said I
need to take RC tests." And I would ask, "What book are you going to test
on?" To which they would reply, "Any I can read right now. Ms. Teacher
said I had to earn points today."
So here I was with 8th graders suddenly raiding the Picture Book section
with the blessing of their Language Arts teacher. I also found out she told
them to check for books on movies and take those tests because they "needed
the grade". (Some of my library helpers were in her class and were appalled
at this suggestion, which made me proud of them.)
I was furious! I couldn't believe she was giving them permission to cheat
(even though she never actually called it that). They were being told to
get points any way they could. Suddenly reading didn't matter. It was all
about the grade. I tried to speak with the teacher personally about this,
but she wasn't willing to listen. I had no choice, but to go to the
department head about it. The department head then spoke with the teacher
and the flood of 8th graders looking for picture books stopped, with
exception of those kids who actually needed them.
The fourth nine weeks began.
Eighth graders showed up wanting 5 point books. Nothing else mattered as
long as the book was 5 points.
Her new plan was to make each student earn 5 points every week. It was
their punishment for not earning points the last grading period. And,
points were not cumulative. If a student read a 6 or 7 point book in a
week, those extra points did not carry over to the next week.
I had kids frantically searching for 5 point books or trying to read one and
two point books to earn their points. It was a disaster.
As that nine weeks progressed, I watched the majority of the eighth graders
come to despise RC and reading. They were no longer checking out books like
Twilight by S. Meyers, or Harry Potter books, or Scott Westerfeld books.
Fablehaven sat untouched. The Cirque Du Freak Series piled up on the
shelves for the very first time. The book case full of new arrivals didn't
interest them any longer, unless a 5 point book could be found among them
like a buried treasure. I cringed each time a Junie B. Jones, Geronimo
Stilton, or Magic Tree House book left the library in the hands of a
disgruntled 13 or 14 year old. Kids complained. Parents complained. I
raised cane, but nothing changed. The year was almost over and it was a
lost cause to some. It lingered in me like the worst case of heartburn I've
ever had, constantly eating at me to the point I was loosing sleep over it.
No one was that concerned about it because "at least they are earning
points." It wasn't until I ran a reading progress report on these students
that people began to understand why I was so upset. You see, the eighth
graders who had been subjected to the 5 point a week rule were now choosing
books that were WAY below their lexile. In fact, they were reading on an
average of 300 lexile points below the seventh grade classes! Suddenly
others could see why I was so irate about the situation.
I wish I could tell you that something was done about it right then and
there, eighth graders began to check out appropriate books, and reading
levels soared to new heights, but that only happens in fairy tales. Instead
we suffered until the end. They gladly moved on to the high school and the
freedom to read what they wanted, and I stayed, determined to NEVER let that
happen again.
This year, things are good. At the very first team meeting, the veteran
teachers and I laid down the law to the new ones and explained WHY we did
what we did and why freedom of choice was vitally important. Every single
book in the library should be available to every single child, no matter
their lexile score, and now it is. Reading is fun again and RC is the icing
on the cake. It still counts as a grade, and probably always will at my
school, but. kids see it as a freebie grade, one that is given for doing
something they already enjoy.
This year, I won't be seeing much of Stephenie Meyer, Darren Shan or Scott
Westerfeld, except in passing, and that's just the way I like it!
Sincerely,
Debra Gastelum
Jenkins Middle School
Palatka, FL 32177
http://jmseagles.com
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