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Cheating: In order to get the grade for the “reading,” kids cheat.
- Inauthenticity: Is a student really reading something they love? Does counting pages read mean there’s a true connection?
- Competition: Measuring students’ success by minutes read=factory-made, robotic readers
- Parent accountability: Reading logs put a lot of the responsibility on parents’ shoulders. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a hundred times: My mom never had to sign math homework sheets or reading logs, and she was STILL an excellent mother. I sure would hate to see how she would have coped raising three little girls while her husband traveled 5 days/week on business AND helped her daughters remember to have her sign a reading log.
- Student accountability: Oh, so it’s the kids’ complete responsibility? So, what if the parent isn’t available? That’s teaching responsibility, or just a reminder that your parent is working 3 jobs to put food on the table. More reinforcement of “you’re unworthy, irresponsible” labeling.
- Distracting: Why does a book need all of these “flags” to make it more enjoyable?
- Epic fail: You don’t do your reading log, even if you read all the time, you fail.
- Resistance: Puts a damper on the whole “love of literature” thing
- Time waster: See number 6.
- Annoying: For everyone involved.
Talk to me about the books you’re reading; tell me why you love them. Write me a note in your composition book, or send me an e-mail. I’ll teach you about plot, irony, paradox, and punctuation in class, okay? And why I love books, too.
