Hi-- Thanks to everyone who emailed me about Reading Counts. If anyone has
any final thoughts, please let me know. I will be sharing your feedback
with our elementary teachers in the next few days.
Terry Thomas
School librarian/ Middle school Language Arts teacher
Colegio Internacional Puerto la Cruz
Venezuela
terry.thomas@ciplc.net
Original question:
I need to know what you think about Reading Counts. The elementary
teachers here are thinking of purchasing the software. I am more
interested in a philosophical discussion of its merits (or lack thereof),
rather than a comparison of RC to others like it such as AR (which is what
I found in the archives).
Could you please email me with your ideas about RC OR about "rewards"
types of programs in general?
___________________________________________________
RESPONSES:
First, on the personal side, we homeschooled our three kids all the way
through high school. Two have graduated from college now (one in
December, one in May) and the third will graduate next month. When they
were in grade school we started doing the Pizza Hut Book-It program. The
kids said that that took all the fun out of reading, so we stopped
participating in the program and just let them read. The other benefit
of not doing the program was that my wife and I didn't spend money we
didn't have on our pizza, and we didn't gain quite as much weight as if
we had gone out. The drawback was that she made HER pizza, so we ate
twice as much (but it didn't cost as much) and gained twice as much
weight. Oh well, that's what happens when a good cook (her) marries
someone who likes to eat (me). To this day all three kids still love to
read.
We started RC here several years ago. The plan was that we would
introduce it in the elementary school and then add it in the MS and HS a
grade at a time. We actually got up to 10th grade. Today it is not used
at all after 6th grade. The only reward that I know of is that those
kids who reach their point goals each month get a free can of soda. For
some kids, that's a powerful incentive. For others, the incentive is
simply being with their friends. A few of those kids actually will give
their free soda to someone else.
Like anything else, some kids are motivated only by rewards, and others
will do what they are supposed to do without any external reward.
Given the confusion that there is about the future of RC, I'm not sure
that I'd buy into it just yet.
____________________________
I am opposed to these types of programs. Unless you have an unlimited
budget or a particularly generous parent-teacher organization, the reading
lists become your only collection development tool and, unless your
community and staff are well-informed, in some instances students are
discouraged from reading titles that are not on the list. (I have often
wondered just how those books end up on that list anyway; I would imagine
publishers would go to some lengths to get their titles on such a list.)
?
I am?strongly opposed on a more philosophical level. What happens to
reading purely for the enjoyment?when a?reward system is in place? I don't
believe that lifelong readers can be nurtured and developed through
bribery.
?
Wow! That's pretty clear, isn't it?!
________________________________
Reading Counts is a good program for reluctant but competitive readers.
BUT its strengths are its downfall. When the rewards stop, does the
reading? What if the student isn't competitive and doesn't care if they
earn points through reading?
In many cases if there aren't points, the reading stops. If the student
doesn't care in the first place, they will either learn to cheat or do
what is assigned.
Teachers can rely too heavily on points earned over reading and
learning.
Students can cheat too easily unless heavily monitored.
It has its benefits as well as drawbacks.
It is a lot of work to identify the titles with quizzes and identify
them--then re-identify them when a student peels off the sticker.
If I was in this position when the district purchased RC, I would have
fought it.
______________________________________________________
Personally I'm opposed to RC and AR. We had RC at my school because our
computer tech teacher whose sister is a school librarian, who loved the
program, got the PTO to fund it at a meeting I missed. She knew I was not
in favor of it. The funny thing about that is that after I retired my
replacement contacted me because the c-t teacher was fed up with the
program, especially how much it was costing and the time involved and
wanted
the new lms to take it over. She thinks the way I do and refused. They
really are very expensive to maintain and take a lot of time. Anyway,
kids
wouldn't read perfectly wonderful books, especially newer ones, because we
didn't have tests for them yet. Teachers who used to schedule classes for
booktalks and assigned genre book reports stopped doing that. I had a
parent complain to me because her child had spent the whole quarter
reading
one high point value book and then failed the test so that lowered her
grade
for the quarter. The program led to 4th grade boys asking for Anne of
Green
Gables because of it's high point value which of course they returned
before
the day was out. Poor readers and good readers wanted the highest point
value books so they could get it over with, the good readers so they could
go on and read stuff they liked. When the program started it was
voluntary
(up to the individual teacher) in 4th and 5th grade then it expanded to
6th
thru 8th. I had been chair of the reading committee for our school
improvement program and refused to allow the teachers to require it.
Well,
that term ended and the computer tech teacher became chair and I moved to
the math committee. I was in the process of deciding whether or not to
retire making pro-con lists. When the new reading committee decided to
make
RC mandatory for all grades 1-8 that was added to the pro-retirement side.
The year after I retired I was volunteering for a friend doing inventory
in
her school and she was an avid fan of these programs (her school used AR).
Counselors from the middle school were in the library talking to the 5th
graders about what to expect in middle school. One of the kids asked her
if
they would be doing AR in the middle school and when the answer was "no"
all
of the kids cheered. The librarian had left the room so she missed this
exchange and I never told her. Still haven't and she's retired now too.
_________________________________________________________
Here is alink to our material
This may give you an idea of the software and some of the thinsg we are
doin
http://www.dillon2.k12.sc.us/staff/readingcountsandsriindex.asp
________________________________________________________________
check out Stephen Krashen and his research into how those programs turn
off readers rather than deleoping them
_________________________________________________________________
I purchased the software as an upgrade from AR, but that was because I
knew it was a better testing program as well. I use it in conjunction
with a reading incentive program, Earning By Learning. Up to 100
students per term, Fall and Spring are paid $2 per book, up to 20 books
read and tested on using SRC.
I know there are many different arguments to incentive reading programs,
testing and the like, but we live in the real world. Our kids are
tested incessantly. My kids have become better testers using this type
of program. The problem lies in that all kids are not testing, even
though I opened it to all 1-5th graders this year, instead of just 100,
though only 100 kids are paid for their testing.
Some teachers do not support the program, allowing kids only time when
they are in the library to test, no time in class to test, or will not
allow them to come in and exchange their material so they may continue
reading and testing. I am usually at school until after 5 every night
when testing is taking place, with no compensation, unless you consider
the gears I receive from teachers who see me leaving, who do not
understand this job.
I do like SRC as a testing unit. It allows kids to test and retest if
necessary if they fail the first or even a second time around. You can
adjust your parameters as you like. If you want points only or books
only to be reported, or if you want passing at 80 or 90% that is what
you set your campus up for.
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