“Catch the
The rationale behind the reading program is pretty easy to fathom. Kids who are out of school for the summer need to be kept reading to avoid mental atrophy. So the library provides them with fun, a list, and prizes for a certain number of books read. But I think there may be some underlying messages that the library doesn’t really intend, that are being handed out with the stickers and prizes.
First, the very theme suggests that kids need to start to do something they aren’t already. That for the duration of the summer, they’re going to engage in an abnormal activity sponsored by the library. Second, the list and prizes say that what is in each book is not why you’ll read them. Rather, you will read to amass titles and win a prize.
At the beginning of the summer, I took my children to the library and discovered that the summer reading program had begun. I signed them up and got two blank lists. We're already reading so much, I thought, we’ll simply keep track and get a prize on top of it. Everyone wins.
I procrastinated starting the lists. We didn’t read any less. But a few weeks later we were attempting to abolish the bead system in our house. The bead system was a setup wherein we gave beads for chores or tasks done, and the beads were redeemable for cheap knickknacks or candies. I began to be leery of the bead system when the children began to define everything in terms of how many beads it would earn them. “But why won’t you give me a bead for going to church?” “How many beads will I get if I eat my breakfast?” And so on.
So we sat down and talked about why we eat breakfast, why we go to church, why we clean our rooms, why we do everything. And I said to my son, “Well, what if somebody gave you a bead for…” here my mind scrabbled for something he enjoys doing and came up with the lame finish, “for reading a book?”
He snorted. He rolled his eyes. “Why would anybody give you a bead for reading a book?” He did a headstand on the couch. “That would be silly. You already LIKE reading books.”
Click.
After our conversation, I slipped into the next room and quietly threw the reading program lists away. Somehow, and I don’t understand how or why, the placing of a price on any activity sends a neon message that we are bribing them to do something they (don’t/shouldn’t/wouldn’t) want to do. And my children, who can smell hypocrisy a mile away, respond by being completely human. They rebel.
So I wonder. We wring our hands and worry and try so hard to “get kids to read more”, and wonder why “kids these days don’t read”. And we set up programs to accomplish this task, with prizes and games to trick them into doing it…and maybe they don’t, at least in part, because we want them to so badly. I’m not saying that the library is intentionally doing anything wrong, but the whole program shows our underlying beliefs about children and reading pretty clearly.
After all, why do you eat breakfast?
2 comments:
I eat breakfast because if I don't, I tend to want to throw up about an hour after I get up. But maybe that's not what you meant -
While I started reading early and in giant amounts, I do remember my mother finally explaining to my dad that the reason I didn't care about being sent to my room was that I could just sit and read, thereby being "punished" by being nearly forced to do something I loved. I'm pretty sure he responded with one of the first times I heard him call reading "lazy," and the love of reading was firmly cemented. And thus, I married a readin' man, and we have a 2 year old that will sit in bed and read herself to sleep.
I saw this quote today and thought of you. It's by Anna Quindlen. "I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookcases."
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