This is the sixth post by FedUp Mom, the mother of a fifth grader. FedUp Mom’s daughter used to attend a public school in suburban Philadelphia, but this year FedUp Mom moved her to a private Quaker school, hoping for a more relaxed environment. You can read her other posts here, here, here, here and here.
I Hate Reading Logs
by FedUp Mom
Every time I think we’ve solved the school problem something comes along to bite me in the rear. This week it’s the dreaded reading log. We found out about it from a letter the teachers sent home:
“Your child will be expected to read every night. We ask that you sign the log each night … We will also check the log regularly, in order to ensure follow through on your child’s part… Please sign the form below and return it to school tomorrow with your child.”
And now, the fun part:
“Thank you for your partnership in your child’s education.” (!)
And how does following the teacher’s directions make me a partner exactly? I feel more like an unpaid employee. Wait a minute — we’re paying them!
There was a little form at the bottom of the letter that said:
“I have read the above letter and agree to help my child by signing his/her log each night.”
I crossed this out and wrote in:
“We trust our daughter to do her reading.”
Then we signed it.
Then we sent the following e-mail to the teacher:
Teacher X: we have chosen not to participate in the reading log. We’ve experienced reading logs before and have these objections:
1.) They turn reading into a chore.
2.) They send a message that we don’t trust (daughter) to do the reading without meddling and micromanaging.
(Daughter) will do the reading she needs to do, but she won’t be logging the pages. Thank you.
I’m hoping that will be the end of it. I’m really tired of conferences and I’m sure we all have better things to do with our time.
Stop Homework 
Wow, Curious Teacher, I don’t think I’ve ever seen different homework given for different kids in the class, in either public or private schools.
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I guess I just don’t see the point of giving kids who have mastered a skill the same work as kids who haven’t. I want my students to love learning. If I give work that is frustrating for some but super easy for others, who is benefiting? My students didn’t all come from the same mold, so I believe their work shouldn’t either.
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Boy am I depressed now! I found this site looking for a beneficial reading log to use with my sp. ed students for the second half of the year. I actually had parents request it again this year so they can use it to get more reading out of their children. What I found instead is stunning – everybody on here can do a better job than all of the teachers busting their butts in the classrooms with no resources and testing out the ear. As a teacher of academically gifted students I know that some of the assignments my girls get at school are not 100% suited to them – but I never say anything in front of them because teaching them to do things that don’t always make sense is important. I can’t imagine what that kid will do in college when an assignment seems a waste of time – mark through it and send it back to the professor? Your boss wants you to put together another report – refuse because it’s a waste of your effort?
Some of the comments here are very disturbing – when do we expect children to be held accountable? Differentiation should be done in the classroom as much as possible – but some teachers and parents confuse that with raising and lowering standards. Don’t get me wrong – there are bad teachers out there, just like there are bad doctors, bad dentists, etc… Please don’t damn the entire profession
Most of us work hard to create meaningful lessons for your children. I use research based methods to overcome reading difficulties and create multiple opportunities for success.
I REALLY don’t get the comments about hating homework or reading logs because you are not on the payroll….. I’m sorry aren’t you the parent? I think assisting in learning is a big part of that job description and there is no over-time.
I think it’s great that parents recognize the strengths of their own children and help to mold a learning experience that best suits them – but please remember two things before you trash the entire system. First, public education serves families that don’t have the insights or resources that you have. Second, your children are eventually going to have to face a world that is not molded specifically for them – will they have the skills to succeed as well then?
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Wow- One the one hand you say sarcastically, “everybody can do a better job than the teachers busting their butts in the classsroom.” On the other hand, you say that parents should be teachers (and do it as well or better than teachers) because that is part of the job description of being a parent. Which is it? Should we leave the teaching to the teachers “busting their butts” or should we take on the task of teaching at home? If the answer is the parents should teach to fill in the gaps because teachers can’t do it all, do you think a better system could be designed that would benefit both teacher and parents (and might not include homework).
Teaching children to do things that don’t make sense doesn’t make sense. To foster critical thinking skills, one should question things that don’t make sense. Looking back, many of the college assignments I had didn’t make sense. I did them anyway because I was motivated to get a college degree to further my earning power as an adult. Sorry to say, but much of what I learned in college wasn’t really applicable to the real world.
In the work world, if you are given tedious, dull tasks, this will become a motivating force to either a. change careers or b. accept more responsibility or c. start a business yourself and be your own boss or d. refine your skill set to advance in your career or e. play the lotto and retire young, etc. etc. etc. My point is that there are many more options in the adult work world and this is a good thing. Teaching your students to never question why they are doing something will lead to unhappy, burned out adults.
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Wow- One the one hand you say sarcastically, “everybody can do a better job than the teachers busting their butts in the classsroom.” On the other hand, you say that parents should be teachers (and do it as well or better than teachers) because that is part of the job description of being a parent. Which is it? Should we leave the teaching to the teachers “busting their butts” or should we take on the task of teaching at home? If the answer is the parents should teach to fill in the gaps because teachers can’t do it all, do you think a better system could be designed that would benefit both teacher and parents (and might not include homework).
Teaching children to do things that don’t make sense doesn’t make sense. To foster critical thinking skills, one should question things that don’t make sense. Looking back, many of the college assignments I had didn’t make sense. I did them anyway because I was motivated to get a college degree to further my earning power as an adult. Sorry to say, but much of what I learned in college wasn’t really applicable to the real world.
In the work world, if you are given tedious, dull tasks, this will become a motivating force to either a. change careers or b. accept more responsibility or c. start a business yourself and be your own boss or d. refine your skill set to advance in your career or e. play the lotto and retire young, etc. etc. etc. My point is that there are many more options in the adult work world and this is a good thing. Teaching your students to never question why they are doing something will lead to unhappy, burned out adults.
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I had a whole rebuttal for Wow….but it’s just not worth it.
Wow, you need to read Kurt Vonnegut’s “Catch 22”.
Enough said.
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Oooops…sorry, Catch 22 wasn’t Vonnegut..it was Joseph Heller..
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WOW says:
***
teaching them to do things that don’t always make sense is important.
***
I’m going to put together a post of “teacher’s greatest hits”. Why bother writing satire when the work is already done for me?
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i wish this woman was my mother(:
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Good idea FedUpMom…there have been some doozies.
I had three paragraphs or retort for WOW but it just got to be so ridiculous. I thought better of posting it.
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wow! this is unbelievable! I can’t believe all the trouble over a reading log…. really?!?
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What a lot of crappy whining from a bunch of parents.
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After reading through these posts, I have to admit that I’m disheartened by the lack of support and trust displayed with the relationship between parents and teachers. This isn’t a competition to see who knows best for a child. Parents always want what is best for their children and teachers choose their profession based on that shared desire to help students learn and grow to their full potential.
As a teacher myself I can honestly say that any assignment I give to a child is in an effort to help that child learn. This issue has become more of a power struggle between parents and teachers instead of focusing on what is best for the child. Encourage your children and students to read what they enjoy and to learn from it. It breaks my heart to think that a child is being put in the middle of a situation where they know that their parents and teacher are at odds over a reading log.
Less focus on the power struggle and more focus on finding a happy medium or productive way to encourage children to read.
Any suggestions?
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That would be fine Love2Learn, if our experience as parents weren’t one of being ignored and humoured, at best.
I like my child’s teachers, I like her school, but if I don’t like something about the way something is taught, I get that benign smile. ….. And the teachers continue to do exactly as they wish.
My suggestions would be
a) that principals should ensure that parents know they are welcome to speak with the teacher and the principal at any time if there is an issue.
b)A teacher must be able to present understandable, research backed evidence, as to why a certain approach or method is being used and proof that this method is successful with the child in question.
c)The parents’ experience (concern) must be reviewed and a plan for addressing the concern put in place (i.e. some action taken, and then review in one week, one month etc)
If b and c had been done in the two situations I have encountered with my school, I would have felt listened to and respected. Neither happened. I got placation and no explanation, and no change.
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PsychMom,
I’m sorry to hear that your experience as a concerned parent was not a positive one. Unfortunately there are some teachers that are open to working with parents in order to differentiate instruction and some that are not.
My best advice as a teacher would be that next time you encounter a problem such as the one you listed, be sure to have a few suggestions for what you would like to see for your child. When I speak with parents that have specific concerns I always want to know what it is that they desire for their child as an alternative to what they see now.
It is frustrating for both the parents and teachers when a miscommunication occurs. Personally I have had parents approach me with problems and they are already angry and ready for a confrontation before I show them that I am willing to listen and work with them. Both parents and teachers have their hearts deeply involved in the matter and because of that these situations can become heated quickly.
In response to your 3 requests of the school I have 3 suggestions for parents that increase the odds of being heard and seeing the change you would like:
1. Approach the situation with the teacher first. (some teachers feel betrayed when a parent goes straight to the principal with a concern/complaint which will automatically hinder the chances of peacefully finding a solution)
2. Have a few solutions ready to suggest. As with any situation, your odds of solving the problem are increased when you have possible solutions to recommend.
3. Be sensitive to the fact that a teacher works very hard and studied for ongoing years with the intent to give your child a quality education. It’s hard for anyone to hear unrequested criticism, especially when it involves your profession in which you use much heart.
Don’t forget, teachers are people too!
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Thanks for the thoughtful response Love2Learn…..those are good suggestions. I have high expectations of people who call themselves professionals and I hold them to that standard.
But there is much in education that is based on tradition and habit (reading logs being one of them) rather than research and that’s where I lose patience. If a teacher could sit down with me and show me the evidence for what they’re suggesting aside from, “this is the way I teach”, or “this is what we do at this school”, then I’d have more faith. Asking the question “Why?” should not leave the teacher stymied…and stymied is what I’ve gotten as a response to my issues.
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hahahahaha this blog is really interesting ive spent three seperate days reading it like a book. now i believe its time to throw my story in there, you see im 17 (just turned) and in high school.i have had to deal with a ridiculus county called henrico they are seriously in need of better teaching skills they still have reading logs in some of the class’ for HIGHSCHOOL!!!!!! and its really kinda stupid anyway that isnt the worst of it. i barely have time to do any homework in any class because of my work schedule but im really smart so i ace the tests and quizzes and classwork and ive gotten by for awhile but suddenly my teachers are giveing me failing grades because i found a way to beat the system so anyway henrico is really trying to be a bootleg beverly hills with tough work in school so i dont know what to do but this is a taste of the life of a funny sort of student……..
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I have found that sometimes, the difficulty is not a stubborn teacher, but a dedicated teacher stuck with a program dictated from above. My pet peeve this week is the Saxon math, which the District prescribes, and has some absolutely horrible and frustrating homework worksheets. Not only could my 2d grader not answer some of the questions, neither could her parents. I wrote comments about what was wrong with the questions on the worksheets. The teacher, I expect, will let it slide, because she’s stuck with the district- mandated programs.
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So, I wonder how many of you that hate reading logs, homework, etc. are from families whose children qualify for free and reduced lunch. I ask because research and my experience teaching in low income public schools tells me it is a luxury to hate the practice teachers assign as homework. I teach students whose families do not always have the time, money, or language (school with over 50 home languages) to model reading. Reading logs are a way for students who do not already know good-reader strategies to practice them explicitly (something else research says is good for reading). I have also seen a lot of students (from all economic backgrounds) that don’t really get the idea that in life there will be times that they will need to do things they may not want to do. I often make reference to their future bosses that may expect them to do a part of their job that is not their favorite activity. For example, I don’t love staff meetings, but I go to them. Should I refuse? Get a staff-meeting waiver because I believe I already know everything I could possibly learn from them? No, because I live in reality. So I hope along with instilling a love of reading in your children, you also teach them or allow them to see that their life may not be always be rainbows.
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S,Teacher
I think a big part of this blog is that the parents are seeing their children dislike reading because of the reading logs. They seem to be parents of children who enjoy reading. Their children are beginning to dislike reading and are actually reading less due to the logs. I believe they are just asking for teachers to be aware of the different needs in the classroom. If a child doesn’t need a reading log because they already read at home, why assign it?
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Curious Teacher
I would ask parents to consider the idea that just because a parent does not see the value in the log (or any particular assignment), doesn’t mean there isn’t value in it. Just like, I may not see the value in not giving antibiotics to my child for every ear infection so that we don’t completely overrun our environment with antibiotic-resistant bugs, but I place trust in my pediatrician, a professional who trained for his job, just like a teaching professional trained for theirs. I would also ask parents to consider the many things our children don’t like to do or don’t find value in, but that we see value in (brushing their teeth, taking a bath, etc.). Do we allow them to give these up because they lose interest in it when it is a requirement? Or do we try to explain the value in it and expect them to still do it? Perhaps parents should consider that there is value in the log for the teacher to know what the student is reading and to know if the student is understanding what the student is reading and at what level so that the teacher can teach more to that child in the classroom. There is also value for the student in articulating what he/she is reading and sharing that with the teacher (research based). Perhaps parents could help frame this value for their student (just as teachers do for many subjects at school) and thereby avoiding the decrease in the interest in reading. Maybe the parents acquiescence and attitudes are the root of the decrease in reading interest (the child has found a way to control the parent) rather than the logs.
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S,Teacher
I think we need to ask ourselves what the purpose of the reading log is. If it’s to get children to develop good reading habits, why does the log need to be given to students who already have good reading habits?
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Curious Teacher
Developing good reading habits is one purpose of reading logs. If a student already has good reading habits, it can help them develop summarizing techniques, literary analysis skills, critical questioning techniques, metacognitive thinking, just to name a few. Like any other lesson, it can be differentiated. And as I already mentioned, it can help teachers know where students are and differentiate more in other lessons. If a teacher gets no or very little feedback it makes it difficult to differentiate for them, something I’m sure these parents also expect from their children’s teachers. So I’m curious because I am really trying to understand the people that question teachers so much, do you question other professionals you deal with in your life to this extent: i.e. doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc.? If not, why not?
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S, of course I question my doctor and dentist. You should too.
You keep coming back to this issue of parents questioning teachers. It’s all about control for you.
What would school look like if it was about helping kids learn, instead of about teachers being in control?
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I think it would be ideal if the teacher looked at the reading logs and got a sense of what the child was reading in order to assess their progress and needs. But I was just informed by my child’s teacher that due to the large class size, she doesn’t have time to look at the homework packets and that it’s the parents’ responsibility to know how their kids are doing on their homework. Excuse me – I know how much my kid is reading. In fact, I deliberately don’t put down some reading on the log just so it stays “fun”. But if the teacher isn’t even looking at the homework, how does she know, and how can she do the assessment?
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Having just had a weekend of dealing with hospitals and health care for a family member, damn straight I ask alot of questions and challenged what revolving doctors seemed to decide about my loved one’s diagnosis. Just because someone thinks that they have the power, doesn’t make it so. And just for the record, the challenge wasn’t well received by the doctor either…”Well, you have every right to take your loved one home”………
In the past I’ve also told my dentist that no, I don’t want a root canal…..I want the tooth removed. He tried to talk me out of it, but I didn’t buy all the negative sequelae he was suggesting would happen. And guess what? They didn’t. My mouth did not become inoperable because I didn’t do the conventional thing.
More importantly, I worry when a teacher is miffed by parents challenging them. That means they also are upset by my child questioning them….so they will probably shut down the challenge from a child and decrease, subtly, my child’s interest in asking ….”How Come?” or “Why” or her even saying…”I don’t think that’s right Miss Teacher.”
On a separate vein altogether. S Teacher makes reading sound so dull. Reading logs form good reading habits? How dull can you make it? I would never equate tooth brushing and making one’s bed with learning to read! That’s like standardizing creativity…reading logs are a buzz kill to some young readers. Hey, if a kid loves to do a reading log…fabulous. Let them fill their boots. But don’t force it on anyone.
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S,teacher
Yes I question the professionals in my life. I want to know why they’re suggesting certain things and if it is really the best option for me. As for parents questioning teachers, I welcome my students’ parents questioning me. It shows they are invested in their child’s education. I understand your logic for reading logs and used to feel the same way. Talking with other teachers and parents caused me to change my views.
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Fed Up Mom, Psych Mom: As a professional, I welcome parents and students questioning and challenging me: with respect! That’s what I don’t see in your posts and attitudes and in general what I don’t see from people in the “education debate.” That would also be my answer the claim that this is about control. It is about respect. The fact that you think it is about control and not about kids learning and being prepared for life in our society (one purpose of education in any culture) tells me you really don’t understand or have respect for my chosen profession (chosen, certainly not for the money in our society).
And yes, I ask questions of professionals in my life but I also recognize them as professionals who have knowledge and experience that I don’t and that I should consider in a respectful way.
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Nancy-
It is unfortunate that your child is in such a large class. While, I don’t agree with that teacher’s response, I do know the pressures of large classes. I definitely advocate for smaller class sizes, which always helps a teacher’s ability to differentiate instruction and give meaningful feedback to students. That is why I vote for bond issues when they are on the ballot in my voting district. I would vote for and am willing to pay higher property taxes to help get more money to our public schools. I write to my state and federal elected officials to ask them to advocate for more money to our public education system. Perhaps if enough people are fighting for our severely underfunded schools, we can get this changed.
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To S, teacher,
I have always been respectful to teachers I have had to interact with….I’m respectful to everyone. But I tend to react in kind. I encountered a professional recently who did not approach me as a thinking adult, but as an annoyance who dared to disagree. She got the same back from me.
When I have asked questions of teachers, in the context of very pleasant conversations, I have gotten no answer. I have received “this-is-the-way-it-is-take-it-or-leave-it” responses more than once. Is that respectful? Why one teaching method on a certain topic over another? No answer, except “that’s what we decided to do this year, and the kids seem to like it”. That’s not an answer I would expect from a professional. The teacher shuts down because a parent dared to ask why….they aren’t prepared for it and they can’t handle it.
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S, Teacher, the problem with respect is that it is a subjective standard for communicating one’s outlook on educational topics. I might assume I’ve addressed you in a “respectful” fashion. However, you might not “hear” what I have said as respectful. When one has to “walk on a tightrope” in regard to communication, it is very difficult to convey what one means.
Unless one has a debilitating disease, a Dr’s orders don’t impact one’s life much. However, excessive homework in the lower grades has a big impact on families quality of homelife every day of the week. I see a Dr. maybe twice a year and to be honest, his advice doesn’t have much impact on my day to day life. This analogy to comparing homework and reading logs to “Dr’s orders.” is a weak one. What Dr. prescribes hours of work after a long day to “stay healthy?”
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My annoyance with reading logs is that in our district our kids have to read Accelerated Reader books. Well, my son likes to read, but he likes to read science and history books, not always books that your can take AR tests on. If he is reading every night, why should it matter what he is reading?
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Disillusioned-
I believe doctors do prescribe work after a long day to stay healthy. It’s called, exercising, cooking instead of eating fast food, being aware of what you put in your body, etc.
In general everyone else is unfortunate that your individual negative experiences have become so generalized to the teaching profession. I have had negative experiences with individuals from various professions, but haven’t felt the need to generalize it to the profession. The negative attitudes of our society toward teachers is a big reason so many good teachers don’t stay very long. Long term I can’t see our education system getting better by driving out talent. So what are your solutions? Will it all be fixed if we just get rid of all homework?
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It’ll be a start. Renovation of the educational system in North America (I live in Canada),will not do a thing to improve the lives of children and families. What is required is a complete re-think of what education is for, who delivers it and how.
My own personal vision of education readjusts the lives of families with young children (under age 12) completely. In the new world, parents would have far more flexibility in their work lives and would be able to reap tax benefits if they were with their families more, providing real foundations for families in our society. Yes, I’m suggesting that parents be rewarded for being parents. No more of this insane up at 6:30 and rushing around to farm kids out to early morning caregivers, then school 5 days a week and then everyone collapses on two days called weekends. No formal schooling until age 7 or 8, but opportunities for play groups and special activities (art, music, hiking, swimming lessons etc). School’s would become family learning centers, and be open all year…I’d do away with the 10 month school year; in a world where most adults in families must work, the “summer off” idea is a logistical nightmare. Food would be available at these centers, childcare would be available, learning programs would be available, tech support would be available, …..a system like this would address the issue of poverty and need which is at the root of many childrens’ problems with learning, and give some power to families to show them they do matter and they are important. The benefits to young children would be exponential. In terms of formal learning, learning goals would be set up for each individual child and groupings, if they occurred, would be centered around shared interests, not age and academic ability, and be constantly dissolving and reforming with different groups of kids, again, depending on the interest or topic. Not everyone needs to learn the same things. Not everyone has to learn things in the same way, at the same time.
Anyway…you get the idea…the changes that are needed are systemic and go far beyond teachers and kids in classrooms…our whole society needs to shift to something new that works, instead of hobbling along with an old fashioned idea that serves no one well at all.
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Wow….I second Psych Mom’s vision for educational reform. S, Teacher, Dr’s do not prescribe exercise and healthy cooking for their patients…..they SUGGEST it. I put it in caps because there is a big difference between a suggestion and a demand with consequences such as missed recesses, field trips, etc. I am not trying to bash your profession, however, you state society has a negative attitude towards teachers (I’m not sure this is really the case). Respectfully, why, in your opinion, does society have a negative view of your profession?
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How do we show the importance of education, if state officials feel that they can cut education budgets and feel good about it? I am a special education teacher in a public school and understand how parents feel about homework and reading logs and the like. I also work in a school where there are many parents that are well involved in their child’s education and some that are not. I think that reading logs are a “crock” because children can write down that they read, and parents will just sign off so the teacher is off of their backs and left alone. Some parents don’t want to be bothered with their child’s education. Well, what is that showing your child?? Is their education and what they do not important?? On the subject of homework….homework is mandatory in the school where I teach….if homework is not given the principal asks “Why are you not giving homework?” I sometimes don’t like to give homework but I have to.
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Teachers should not be the be all and end all of a child’s education. Yes, teachers see the children for approx 6+ hours, but teaching should begin and continue in the home. Teachers have enough to handle when the child is at school. They have to deal with discipline problems, environmental home issues the child may come to school with, and other extrinsic factors that may have an effect on the child while at school. When the child goes home, there should be some accountability on the parent(s)’ part to extend and/or review the information with the child using the appropriate amount of homework.
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I’m a girl myself, and I truly HATE the reading log. It’s just rediculous.I never read anyway so I just fake what I read. And the grade I get for not turning it in? A letter grade less than the one I had.
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I just stumbled upon this blog, and here’s the irony… I typed in 1st grade reading logs hoping to find one so I don’t have to re-create. I am a first grade teacher and thought I’d finish the last month of school using reading logs. Apparently, I should think again…
I’ll be perfectly honest with you as and educator I hate homework! Wait that wasn’t strong enough! I HATE homework!!!!! I would rather spend time doing something else than creating homework packets and then grading them (which I don’t do, because I use standards rather than letter grades).
So here is my question to you all. Should I skip homework for the month of May and say enjoy the weather?
Side note as to why teachers say thank you for supporting your child’s education and other seemingly condescending remarks. 60% of the predictors for success in education are home related but teachers are blamed for failing students and in my state my pay will now be based on student test scores. The remaining 40% includes teacher effectiveness, curriculum, and class size.
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Christie, yes, please, skip homework for the month of May! If you’ve been giving homework all along it might be a good idea to write a letter to the parents giving some reasons for your decision. Let us know if you’d like some ideas for that.
Good luck and happy Spring to you and your students!
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Thanks FedUpMom. YEAH no more homework packets- I hope I’m not the only one cheering 🙂
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Christie, believe me, most of the class, students and parents alike, are cheering right along with you. You may find this is the best month you’ve ever taught. Write back and let us know how it’s going!
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I rather think your teachers are not asking you to do enough at home with your children, assuming they are reading at a certain level where you can assess comprehension – if you looked at reading related logs that worked on reading related activities, such as commenting on the effects of a particular word or phrase on the reader, exploring characterisation, motivation or how the writer builds a particular atmosphere etc, you are looking at senior school level work and who better to break it down to your child’s level than parents as you know your children the best. If parents see monitoring reading as a chore by recording info in logs, so will children and furthermore, if encouraging your child to read becomes annoying as it takes the enjoyment out of it or means you now have to find time to get involved in your child’s learning- well welcome to teaching and times that by thirty pupils per hour to get some semblance of how difficult a job it is. Is it really ideal to say to a class, some of you are great readers and so don’t need to hand reading logs in because your parents trust you – others you do oh and if one of the readers that we trust doesn’t feel like doing her homework because she’s got right into a book, well that’s ok for her but not for others. Typical of parents wanting one rule for their children and another for everyone else.
If education is purely a teacher’s job then surely teaching your own children how to behave would be yours as is to equip them with morals and values so they don’t bully, fight, disrupt, disrespect, actually attempt a task they can’t be bothered to do, have basic hygeine standards and meet the deadlines for work they have been given – or rather are we more of a partnership because parents and children have to lookout for the whole welfare of the child and teachers have to encroach more into the traditional parental role – so parents also have to evolve into supporting teachers. Remember there are various high standards a teacher has had to meet to qualify to do their jobs (even if they are not particularly successful in their role) but as far as I can see, minimal standards in which parents are given the right to parent exist so it falls to teachers more and more to fill the void. If you are patting yourselves on the back for writing to your teacher to say that you are not signing a reading log – why not simply write a letter in saying you are far too lazy to support the learning of your child, you clearly know more about education and are enabling your child to undermine the school’s expectations of them so they can do what they want when they want. That’s parenting at its most destructive. Rather than dismissing the task – ask for further reading related activities based on what they should have read at home – you are much more likely to get these put into the reading logs and define them into a more purposeful task where you can show a week’s worth of reading in an activity. Remember it’s not just books that count, websites, local newspaper articles and or charity leaflets can all count as part of reading. There are many pupils out there who are reluctant readers and many parents who don’t value reading at home and reading logs enforce a certain level is met.
Reading logs enable a teacher to check that pupils are reading, to check that what they are reading is suitably challenging, to enable pupils to pursue independently of peer pressure, their own reading interests, to reflect on what they have read in order to advance, to recommend good reads and to engage parents into assisting to enforce the importance of reading – which remains the quickest way to improve literacy skills. Not to mention other skills such as meeting task deadlines and recording info – necessary with many jobs (not least teaching).
I am a parent of a US child on the autistic spectrum in a far more rigorous academic structure than the US hosts mainstream and as a teacher at a senior school with 17 years teaching under my belt, I understand both teacher and parental concerns. I don’t like devisive websites which empower parents to make perhaps ill informed choices which will not support the educators who are trying to educate pupils. Look for ways to support if you are wanting to effect some kind of positive change.
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Read all 792 messages before yours Feupwithlazyparenting, and then we’ll talk. I’d like to point out in particular, the postings from teachers like Christie who posted just before you
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Fedupwithlazyparenting says:
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Reading logs enable a teacher to check that pupils are reading, to check that what they are reading is suitably challenging, to enable pupils to pursue independently of peer pressure, their own reading interests, to reflect on what they have read in order to advance, to recommend good reads and to engage parents into assisting to enforce the importance of reading – which remains the quickest way to improve literacy skills.
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Don’t you get it? Reading logs are FAKE. People (yes, including parents) fake reading logs all the time.
Even if the reading logs were filled out truthfully, which I can assure you they’re not, some of the goals you mention aren’t even worthy goals. It’s not appropriate for a teacher, or a parent, to constantly monitor a child’s reading. Reading is a private pleasure, and we should let kids experience it that way.
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Reading logs are not for everyone, I can certainly empathize here. I remember loving them as a child, the pride I took in watching my reading tallies grow.
As a mom of 3, 2 of which were reluctant reader boys, I set up an online reading log/incentive program at http://www.reading-rewards.com to try and get them reading more. It has since grown to include tools for teachers who still want to use reading logs, but maybe find a better way. Kids can see their classmates’ virtual libraries and share reviews, and some get a kick out of trying to ‘outread’ each other. It might not be for everybody, but maybe those of you who are fed up with reading logs would like to give it a try… 🙂 Happy reading!!!
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I love our reading log.
My daughter and I read together a lot, and she has a log where, at the end of each book she fills in the author, the title, and writes a few sentences about what she liked/disliked about the book. She adds a sticker to each entry with smiles or say “super” or “so-so” etc. There is room on each page for three entries. It’s so fun fill out and look back at to see what she’s been reading and what her thoughts about that book were. These are the types of logs that can make reading fun, I think. We started out with me reading the book and writing in what she told me to write, now I read the book to her and she writes in the log herself. I can see it carrying over to where she is reading the book and logging herself.
She is in first grade, but we don’t have reading logs like the ones described here that are assigned from the school. .I am glad of that, after reading these comments! Reading is one of the single most important things to encourage kids in, I think!
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I’ve been looking round for this website after asked to visit them from a colleague and was pleased after I was able to find it after looking for some time.
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FedUpMom~
I’m finally responding to post 792. I wrote a note home explaining there would be no homework for the rest of the year (except for spelling- but that was only for 4 weeks). I didn’t hear anything from parents, so I’m assuming it was fine and everyone was cheering! 🙂
Now that school is out, I’m re-thinking homework in general. I’ve never been a fan of homework at the elementary level because often parents are responsible for it not students. I use homework as a way to communicate what we have been doing in class and to build skills. I have never graded it or require it to be turned in. I send home a 2-3 page packet that should take on average 5-10 minutes to complete and I let them turn it in at any time. I have about 5-8 kids turn in homework on any given week, and usually they are not the kids who need the practice. I’ve never been a stickler for homework because I grew up in a home listening to nightly fights over homework, my sister was ADHD and it was miserable for her, my parents and I when she had homework. I didn’t want that for my students, so I’ve been pretty laissez faire about homework.
Thanks for your help!
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I always love to hear from someone who is rethinking homework or, rethinking anything for that matter.
Good luck and keep us posted.
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