Cultivating life-long readers - preserve readers' choice
I find that Module 3’s topic of cultivating life-long reading habits gets to the heart of why I want to become a teacher librarian. I look upon this as almost a sacred duty to support readers as they discover their interest and enthusiasm for reading. Knowing that being a reader is correlated with success in school and future careers, I don’t take it lightly when I student’s interest in reading is quashed. In the elementary school scenario in Module 3, a Grade 2 reader is sad when he is told he must restrict his reading to level 2.4 fiction rather than the nonfiction books about animals that he enjoys. I would help this student by defending his right to select his own books for recreational reading.
Gaiman states that “libraries are about freedom. Freedom to read, freedom of ideas, freedom of communication,” (Gaiman, 2014) and the AASL’s policy on labeling is that “School library collections are not merely extensions of classroom book collections or classroom teaching methods, but rather places where children can explore interests safely and without restrictions” (AASL, 2016). I believe readers should be able to select their own books. Since we know that this student is already an enthusiastic reader, we must do what we can to keep that spark alive. He has already developed a positive reading identity and he is reading at grade level, so he’s off to a good start. My concern is that since it is not the student’s choice to switch to levelled fiction, he may not get a lot of enjoyment out of reading it. It’s a real issue that we may be extinguishing his love of reading by restricting his options.
In Parrott’s article, librarians are advised to give more choice, not less and Parrott quotes Betty Carter as saying, “Let them take out a lot of books so that somewhere in that pile they find something that satisfies them,” she says. “But we have to keep that process going….When they come into the library the next time, talk about their choices: what worked; what didn’t. They have to learn their own processes for selecting books, and if we keep narrowing the choices by artificial constraints, we aren’t giving them that chance” (Parrott, 2017). I think it is important that students learn how to choose books that are right for them rather than leveling the books and only allowing them to select from a small portion of the library. Kelley and Miller also agree that students need to learn how to choose their own books. They state that “our students must learn how to select books for themselves and that this means forging reading relationships with other readers who support and encourage them (Kelley & Miller, 2013). Instead of getting suggestions from a labeled bin, Kelley and Miller advocate the idea of building a community of readers who share book recommendations with each other.
In the scenario from Module 3, I would like to discuss the issue with both the student’s classroom teacher and his mother. I’m assuming that the mother didn’t guess her child’s reading level from thin air, so his teacher is likely using leveled books in the classroom. I would want to communicate to both the teacher and parent that although reading at or just above reading level is helpful for comprehension, it is important to respect a reader’s interests and support them as they develop their reading identity. I would suggest that we allow this student to continue to check out books that he chooses and perhaps we could find some fiction that he might be interested in as well. I would share that I’m glad we’re all committed to helping this student become a life-long reader and that it’s great to have a parent who cares about her child’s reading. I would take this opportunity to let the parent know that the most important factors in improving reading ability are books and time (Krashen, 2012).
I happened to be at Vancouver Kidsbooks, one of my favourite bookstores, today and browsed the section of early chapter books. I found several series that I might recommend to our hypothetical student including Shark School, Animal Rescue Centre, Battle Bugs, The Adventures of Caveboy, Dino Riders, Dinosaur Cove, S.W.I.T.C.H., and The Magic Treehouse. These books are all about the Grade 2 reading level, have illustrations, and have stories that involve animals, real or imagined. If our student were interested in branching out into fiction, I might show him some of these books. However, if he balked at the idea of stories, I would not push them on him as I believe it is more important to preserve his interest in reading. Eventually, he will likely try out fiction on his own, and it will be up to him to decide whether he prefers nonfiction, fiction, or a mix of both.
In conclusion, I agree with the words of Pernille Ripp, as quoted in Parrott’s article, “So as school communities, we need to start listening to the students and let them read the books they want to read.” (Parrott, 2017). As a teacher librarian, I will work to defend the students’ right to choose their books.
Works Cited
AASL Admin. “Position statement on labeling books with reading levels.” (2016, March 4). American Association of School Librarians (AASL), Retrieved from: www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/resources/statements/labeling
Gaiman, N. (2013, October 15). Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming?CMP=twt_gu
Kelley, S., & Miller, D. (2013) Reading in the wild: The book whisperer’s keys to cultivating lifelong reading habits. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. p.88-128 (Book Excerpt)
Krashen, S. (2012, April 5). The power of reading. The COE lecture series. University of Georgia. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSW7gmvDLag
Parrott, Kiera. (August 28, 2017). Thinking outside the bin: why labeling books by reading level
disempowers young readers. Retrieved from: http://www.slj.com/2017/08/feature-articles/thinking-outside-the-bin-why-labeling-books-by-reading-level-disempowers-young-readers/#_
Gaiman states that “libraries are about freedom. Freedom to read, freedom of ideas, freedom of communication,” (Gaiman, 2014) and the AASL’s policy on labeling is that “School library collections are not merely extensions of classroom book collections or classroom teaching methods, but rather places where children can explore interests safely and without restrictions” (AASL, 2016). I believe readers should be able to select their own books. Since we know that this student is already an enthusiastic reader, we must do what we can to keep that spark alive. He has already developed a positive reading identity and he is reading at grade level, so he’s off to a good start. My concern is that since it is not the student’s choice to switch to levelled fiction, he may not get a lot of enjoyment out of reading it. It’s a real issue that we may be extinguishing his love of reading by restricting his options.
In Parrott’s article, librarians are advised to give more choice, not less and Parrott quotes Betty Carter as saying, “Let them take out a lot of books so that somewhere in that pile they find something that satisfies them,” she says. “But we have to keep that process going….When they come into the library the next time, talk about their choices: what worked; what didn’t. They have to learn their own processes for selecting books, and if we keep narrowing the choices by artificial constraints, we aren’t giving them that chance” (Parrott, 2017). I think it is important that students learn how to choose books that are right for them rather than leveling the books and only allowing them to select from a small portion of the library. Kelley and Miller also agree that students need to learn how to choose their own books. They state that “our students must learn how to select books for themselves and that this means forging reading relationships with other readers who support and encourage them (Kelley & Miller, 2013). Instead of getting suggestions from a labeled bin, Kelley and Miller advocate the idea of building a community of readers who share book recommendations with each other.
In the scenario from Module 3, I would like to discuss the issue with both the student’s classroom teacher and his mother. I’m assuming that the mother didn’t guess her child’s reading level from thin air, so his teacher is likely using leveled books in the classroom. I would want to communicate to both the teacher and parent that although reading at or just above reading level is helpful for comprehension, it is important to respect a reader’s interests and support them as they develop their reading identity. I would suggest that we allow this student to continue to check out books that he chooses and perhaps we could find some fiction that he might be interested in as well. I would share that I’m glad we’re all committed to helping this student become a life-long reader and that it’s great to have a parent who cares about her child’s reading. I would take this opportunity to let the parent know that the most important factors in improving reading ability are books and time (Krashen, 2012).
I happened to be at Vancouver Kidsbooks, one of my favourite bookstores, today and browsed the section of early chapter books. I found several series that I might recommend to our hypothetical student including Shark School, Animal Rescue Centre, Battle Bugs, The Adventures of Caveboy, Dino Riders, Dinosaur Cove, S.W.I.T.C.H., and The Magic Treehouse. These books are all about the Grade 2 reading level, have illustrations, and have stories that involve animals, real or imagined. If our student were interested in branching out into fiction, I might show him some of these books. However, if he balked at the idea of stories, I would not push them on him as I believe it is more important to preserve his interest in reading. Eventually, he will likely try out fiction on his own, and it will be up to him to decide whether he prefers nonfiction, fiction, or a mix of both.
In conclusion, I agree with the words of Pernille Ripp, as quoted in Parrott’s article, “So as school communities, we need to start listening to the students and let them read the books they want to read.” (Parrott, 2017). As a teacher librarian, I will work to defend the students’ right to choose their books.
Works Cited
AASL Admin. “Position statement on labeling books with reading levels.” (2016, March 4). American Association of School Librarians (AASL), Retrieved from: www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/resources/statements/labeling
Gaiman, N. (2013, October 15). Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming?CMP=twt_gu
Kelley, S., & Miller, D. (2013) Reading in the wild: The book whisperer’s keys to cultivating lifelong reading habits. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. p.88-128 (Book Excerpt)
Krashen, S. (2012, April 5). The power of reading. The COE lecture series. University of Georgia. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSW7gmvDLag
Parrott, Kiera. (August 28, 2017). Thinking outside the bin: why labeling books by reading level
disempowers young readers. Retrieved from: http://www.slj.com/2017/08/feature-articles/thinking-outside-the-bin-why-labeling-books-by-reading-level-disempowers-young-readers/#_
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