I should probably change the name of these posts to “Library, Library.”
Monday
At the risk of sounding pathetic, I scored major mom points buy securing a copy of the Minecraft Essential Handbook. It’s hard to come by, you know. Oh, you don’t know? Lucky you.
I also bought Nico the first two books of The Notebook of Doom series. He loved them, and I think my reluctant reader found his series! Now to work on Mikey, now who only wants to read books his friends will think are “cool.” Sigh.
Tuesday
Mikey had some playground trouble, and it’s something that has been happening with more frequency. I’m not sure what’s going on. Is it the Mister’s busy travel schedule? Is it Buster? Is it the beginning of tween? Maybe it’s just been a bad month. What’s important is that I was in the library shelving books when he came in, clearly upset about something that wasn’t nearly as horrible as he believed. I didn’t say that, of course, but instead listened to him rant and rage and tell me everything. I’m so happy he felt okay coming up to me, an event I know won’t happen forever. I had a similar experience with the girls in his class the week prior. I was shelving books, chatting with one who gave up recess for Lent when all of a sudden I had 7 girls around my desk, one of them crying, looking to me to say something sage in response to gossip.
I’ve since bought Masterminds and Wingmen, and I think I should pick up Queen Bees and Wannabes next.
Wednesday
The Mister apologized to me after an argument using a new, and very much appreciated, technique.
Later, a student told me that she couldn’t understand her cousin because he hated reading and books. I told her that she should have patience and encourage him gently without making him feel silly/stupid/inferior. Maybe reading is a challenge to him for reasons we weren’t privy to, or maybe he hasn’t found his gateway book. (I didn’t call it a gateway book.) “Yeah,” chimed in one girl holding The School for Good and Evil. “I didn’t like books until I read Wonder, and now I like reading.” Even though I have yet to finish that book (I need more than 30 minutes with these kids!), she liked enough of what she heard in library to ask her parents to buy a copy. All hail the power of read-alouds!
I’ve been holding on to The Politics Book for a 6th grade boy obsessed with politics. We just got it in, and I knew the second I saw it that I would put it aside for him. It’s a really neat book, and he seemed to really like it. He came up to me after a different class to tell me that he read two different sections, “And can you tell me how much this book is so I can just buy it?”
Thursday
I didn’t have to go to school. Not once. Not for library, not to pick up the kids, not to drop off forgotten music instruments or homework. It was glorious.
Speaking of instruments, Mikey is going to switch to a bass clarinet over the summer. The school band needs another player, and Mikey’s teacher believes he’ll make the switch easily. The best part is that we don’t have to buy or rent another instrument because Mikey will play one of the school bass clarinets. This should be something to see. I’m pretty sure Mikey is half the size of a standard bass clarinet.
Friday
Back to the library! After that, I’m heading home to work all weekend long on a report on reading programs I’m preparing for the curriculum committee. I’m pretty excited, though the scope of my research keeps broadening. <----Not how it should go. I started off doing a review of reading programs, smug that research shows AR programs as ineffective as they always appeared to me to be, but then I started researching ALL! THE! PROGRAMS! and reading ALL! THE! LITERACY! BOOKS! and when I spoke with a woman who told me she was worried about her grandson and his learning disability, that got me researching ALL! THE! LEARNING! DISABILITIES! What started off as a simple review of reading programs on the market has morphed into a review of all the reading programs (none look good to me) to developing a proposal for a school-wide language arts program that encompasses ALL! THE! KIDS! regardless of reading fluency. We're also going to a school play later tonight.
The Weekend
I’ll be knee deep in literacy research and loving every minute of it.
What a gift you are to your school�and the kids. I hope that you’ll share the findings of your research???
I think the kids are the gift to me. :)
Of course I’ll share the research! I can tell you that so far, according to everything I’ve read, the best reading program is a passionate teacher and support from the parents at home. It’s as simple (hahahahaha) as that.
That actually is very simple. It just certainly isn’t EASY which is such a shame.
I love the library edition of Happy, Happy! :D Like the other comment, you are a gift to those children. I wish our librarian had the flexibility to focus more on reading rather than technology. I did laugh at not having to go to school on Thursday – not once! I have weeks like that and am having to make a conscious point to not show up daily for one thing or another because we all need our space. Have a great weekend!
Technology definitely has its place. I would love, love, love an electronic way of cataloging all the books. I know there are free programs out there, but I can’t remember which one came recommended. And those book trailers that are so popular now–the very same ones I thought were ridiculous last year–do a fantastic job of selling books to the kids. But that’s about it. As for increasing fluency and developing an interest in reading, only modeling, passion, and patience seems to get through to the kids. Kids are far more astute than we even know when it comes to figuring out which adult is a “do as I say, not as I do” kind of teacher.
Librarians have always been the media specialists of the school, but when I was a kid “media” meant the big round filmstrips and the finger-mangling projectors that showed them. Now as schools integrate technology into the learning they need someone to manage it and that, more often than not, is the librarian. It’s adding a second full-time job to an already demanding full-time job. I’m really lucky to be a librarian in a school that has a technology coach. Our jobs overlap (information literacy needs books and tech and the ability to read and comprehend both) and we have a great time working together. Schools need to find other ways to save money besides asking one person to do two challenging jobs. If we value the role of technology in learning, we need to value a skilled professional to make sure it’s implemented thoughtfully. OK, I’m going to hop off my soap box now!
Oh – those Big Ideas books are addictive! I want all of them My daughter is also interested in politics and we bought that one while (appropriately) in DC last fall. Your week sounds amazing – I love that you are spending so much time with these kids and becoming a resource for them. All children should have extra adults in their lives in my opinion. But your weekend? Ugh – never been a great researcher. I love all the reading but not translating it back into something. Fortunately for me my lawyer-ing these days consists mostly of doing and not finding out.
Hahaha! You and I would have been great partners in law. I loved all the research and my friend (former partner) did all the oral arguments and proceedings. :)
I love how happy the job is making you and how you’re reaching out to the kids! Keep it up! :)
I’ve never been happier, truly. :)
Hey,
If you have any questions, while researching, or want to bounce ideas off … email me. Enjoy your research journey.
Kristy :)
http://www.journeyintomotherhood.ca
Thank you. I’ll do that! :)
The school is so fortunate to have as dedicated and committed a librarian as you! Literacy research for the sake of finding *the perfect* reading program? You. Are. Amazing.
And to second Jennie’s request: Please share your report. Even a pdf link would be appreciated!
If every school had a Jules for a librarian – we would skyrocket to the smartest nation in the world. Amen.
Let’s not get crazy. {blush} :)
Does this mean I should abandon my “Jules for President” campaign?
I don’t think the perfect reading program exists. The ideal is having parents and great librarians taking the time to help kids on an individualized basis. None of these programs can do that. I may have mentioned before that we use AR at my daughter’s school – but I’m not wild about the point or the grade-level scales. There are a couple of “below grade-level” books that I think my daughter would still enjoy and would get a lot from but she won’t take the time to read them because they won’t “count”. Also, new material doesn’t get into AR very quickly (IMO) – we found a couple of great new books at the public library – and I have the same issue – they won’t “count”, she won’t read.
And this is *exactly* why I dislike that damn program. It rewards the fluent reader and downplays the importance of self selection in reading. Knowing how to select books–knowing what they like and how to find it–is a tremendous skill for kids to learn. It’s one of the building blogs to become a fluent reader.
The first time I realized what a bunch of bunk AR can be was when a parent came up to me years ago and asked me what I did to get Mikey reading so well at such a young age. I told her all about the Star Wars Omnibus (graphic novel) he read, and how that opened the floodgates for him. It was his gateway book. I told her my theory that once you find that book, kids see reading as more than a means to an end. She came back the next week (baseball practice) and said she looked at the book but it wouldn’t work because her son wouldn’t get AR points for it. ARGH!! She completely missed the point and I wanted to strangle her. She said the school said he wasn’t allowed to read books that weren’t AR. I doubt that, though I wouldn’t be surprised. I think it’s that she now viewed non-AR books as a waste of time.
p.s. You’re right on programs. All the research that I’ve found suggests that, like you said, the best reading program is a passionate teacher and support from the parents.
So fun to hear such wonderful happy updates (well except for playground drama, etc). I too read the Notebook of Doom because Troy Cummings, the author of the Notebook of Doom, is a college friend! I shared your facebook post with him – he says he can’t write/draw fast enough to keep up with the ‘reluctant’ readers :)
GET. OUT! That’s awesome!!!! Tell him I said thank you very, very much. I’m going to buy the series for the library, too. :)
Oh please, please, please share your research and opinions on the reading programs. My students enjoy doing AR for the points, etc. But I have my doubts about the program. Also the company doubled their prices for our district, so my principal is on the fence about renewing.
I just got the price quote last week and I was all “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH!!!!”
The only thing AR does, according to the research I have found, is increase spelling proficiency. That’s a damn expensive spelling ap.
I have a reluctant reader. What worked for him was listening to audio books. Knowing the plot and characters in advance has made him really interested in reading the books for himself. He’s jumped from not reading much at all to Rick Riordan. His reluctance is based in perfectionism, he’s always waited until he’s really good at something before being willing to do it in public.
My son had a very enthusiastic fourth grade teacher who dedicated a corner to reading. Big couch, throw pillows on the rug and a papasan chair. The kids got to wander over whenever there was down time and of course when she shared stories with them. The worst thing for him were the sheets sent home in other grades meant to detail what they read each night, how long it took and how many pages. He now resents any assigned reading which is a battle now that he’s in sixth grade. I’ve made a point of letting dishes go, etc so we can read at home after dinner. He’s enjoying a 10 lb Harry Potter book and I’m rereading The Secret Garden, one of those pretty reissues I bought for my daughter. Feels like such a luxury when we mostly spend our time rushing to soccer and music lessons…trying to model that behavior. I also have a kindergartener watching!
I know I’ve said it before, but I don’t think I can say it enough: I LOVE your library posts.
(And my class list goes live on Monday, now I just need to decide if I want to to take two or one classes this fall!!)
I cracked up when you mention renaming the Friday post Library, Library. Where we live, there are road signs when you’re near a public library pointing you in the right direction. Every time we pass one, I happily say Library, Library! and clap my hands. (I guess I’m a book geek)
Hello! I love reading your blog, but don’t often comment. I am a teacher who specializes in dyslexia, which is estimated to effect 1 in 5 people and is BY FAR the biggest reason why kiddos experience unexpected trouble reading, writing and (especially) spelling. For your research, I highly recommend checking out Bright Solutions for Dyslexia (a website created by Susan Barton for families and professionals dedicated to sharing information and research). Dyslexia is the most common language LD by far, but is often misunderstood/not addressed in the vast majority of school settings.
Good luck in your research! And I’d be happy to help answer any questions you might have. :)
Renaming Friday’s posts to “library, library” IS ‘happy, happy’! I’m not involved in curriculum or the choices made at my daughter’s school (other than normal PTA stuff) so I can’t help there. I do love reading all of your thoughts & suggestions (and all the comments) for ideas though. I’m fighting an uphill battle with glittery fairy/princess covers (!!!) and recently we’ve made the turn & she is seeing that she’s never very satisfied with those (totally a ‘don’t judge the book by its cover’). I continue to read aloud to her at home for several reasons, even though she reads above grade level in English and at/slightly above in Spanish (she’s in a bilingual immersion), and one of the top reasons is to encourage her to read things that she otherwise had discounted. Keep all the great ideas and comments coming- I’m making notes ;)
The young adult librarian at our town library often had a stack of books set aside for me whenever I stopped at the library (we were there often :) ). I loved that the librarian would pick out books that she thought I would like, so I really enjoy reading about how you set aside books for your students.
I switched from trombone to tuba for one year in high school (though I stayed with trombone for marching band and in college). For some reason, at 5ft-2in, I gravitated toward the largest instruments (my arms are short enough that I can just barely reach the trombone position where the slide is fully extended).
I love reading about the JOY you’re getting, from your library work.
Jules, your school is soooooo blessed to have you!!!!