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I love the way the author describes that love of reading that I would imagine most of us as librarians have. As a girl, I had many of the same experiences that the author had in discovering stories and characters that resonate with me today - 34 years after graduating from high school. She is absolutely right that the endless testing we do now to gather data has killed the love of learning, and the accumulation of points in AR kills the love of reading. We are one of the few high schools in our city who use AR, and I love it. I'm fortunate that in having a supportive principal and English teachers who are willing to be guided by my strong desire to instill my love of reading in their students, that I can use AR as a tool and not as a bludgeon. I recognize that English teachers must have a way of quantifying grades, so that the points reflected on the AR books are a necessary evil. There are ways, however, to use those points in a way that students are forced to read, but they are not penalized for not reaching some arbitrary number. Obviously at the high school level, there are plenty of other assignments that go into a grade. But, what is most important to me is the STAR testing to help us get a feel for the level at which a child can read. The basic concept that if the book is too easy, the child becomes bored and doesn't progress, and if the book is too hard, the child becomes frustrated and doesn't progress, is a solid concept. If they read a lot because they're reading within their range, they get more practice and develop more fluency. If an individual student has that sense of competitiveness that drives them to accumulate points, they're still reading extensively, and maybe they'll discover that joy along the way. Have those all important reading scores, upon which a school lives or dies, been increased also, that they have. That said, I absolutely won't allow those levels to dictate what our students must choose to read, and I won't let a teacher do it either. The student MUST enjoy the story they're reading, and I hope they feel that connection and relevance that the NYT author describes, because they want to experience that again. I work hard at helping them find that book. If a student feels more comfortable with an easy read, and subsequently devours every book I have in that range, I say "go for it". If a student becomes really invested in a book that is at a higher reading level than their STAR test indicates, I say "go for it". If the students have come from elementary or middle schools who were rigid in their application of reading levels, I have to really work at it to make them comfortable again with choosing books freely. When I'm successful with that, they keep coming back for more and tell all our friends. So basically I feel that it is not AR itself that is the problem, it's in how it's used. -- JJ Stratton, Librarian/Media Specialist North Canyon High School Phoenix, Arizona stratton.jj@gmail.com On Fri, Aug 28, 2009 at 2:43 PM, LIZANELL BOMAN <lizanellb@msn.com> wrote: > Everyone's fave topic! (Okay maybe not) Accelerated Reader! > > An interesting article in the New York Times about Accelerated Reader > > Reading by the Numbers > > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/books/review/Straight-t.html > > Lizanell Boman > > lizanellb@msn.com > > not currently in a library > > Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know, > Are a substantial world, both pure and good. > Round these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood, > Our pastime and our happiness will grow. > William Wordsworth > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. > You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings > by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. > To change your LM_NET status, you send a message to: > listserv@listserv.syr.edu > In the message write EITHER: > 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET > 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL > 3) SET LM_NET MAIL > 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST > > * LM_NET Help & Information: http://lmnet.wordpress.com/ > * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ > * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/join.html > * LM_NET Supporters: > http://lmnet.wordpress.com/category/links/el-announce/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. 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