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 
Christie, good for you.
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I’ve never been a fan of homework at the elementary level because often parents are responsible for it not students.
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I agree with this, but I would replace “often” with “almost always”. It’s a very rare first-grader who will consistently remember to do homework, and get it done without help (or nagging, or screaming …) from Mom or Dad.
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I send home a 2-3 page packet that should take on average 5-10 minutes to complete
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Have you ever asked the parents how long it actually takes to complete the homework? You’d be amazed at how long it can take a kid to get through a task at the end of the day, when they’re exhausted.
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I have about 5-8 kids turn in homework on any given week, and usually they are not the kids who need the practice.
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Yep. The kids who need it don’t do it, and the kids who do it don’t need it. Ooh — that sounds like an old-fashioned riddle!
It’s great to hear from you — I hope you’ll keep in touch!
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I am a teacher in an inner-city elementary school, where sometimes the only communication the child has with their parent is asking for a signature. What do you suggest in these cases when it comes to a reading log?
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What do I suggest? I suggest you don’t do a reading log.
If parents are neglectful or absent, do you honestly think making their kids get their signature will improve their parenting? That’s crazy.
It’s more likely the kids are just faking their parents’ signatures. That’s the reasonable response.
It isn’t your job to control the parents of your students. Let it go.
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Did it ever occur to any of you that a reading log, especially in the older grades, is a way to get a kiddo to THINK about what they read? A good reading log is like a journal, it can help the reader summarize what they read and get a deeper understanding of the content. I taught Social Studies for 10 years. And yes I did reading journals, that were signed by parents monthly (daily is silly). We now have a 4 year old who LOVES talking about what we read and getting a star on his chart/log to show how far he has come.
I agree the letter was worded badly, but the intent was to have a partnership in education. Some parents might need a gentle reminder that the teachers are not the only ones responsible for YOUR child’s education. Even if you are paying them, it is not a drop off service and the teachers do it all. Step up parents and SHARE the responsibility!
Give the teachers a break. A snippy, rude response to the teachers request is never a good way to help you r child grow. If you truly believe the teacher is asking too much of your time, discuss it with them. Many teachers would love to explain their justification behind an assignment. No matter what you are paying for your child to go to school, the teacher is not getting paid enough for you to be rude to them.
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I can’t tell you how tired I am of hearing that my e-mail wasn’t polite enough. Do you hear how very patronizing that is?
I don’t know of any other relationship in the world where one side is continually chided for not being polite enough. Nobody criticizes me for not being polite enough to my doctor, or plumber, or cable guy, or … it’s only schoolteachers, and only when addressing the mothers of their students! What is that?
If I were a man, would you still call me “snippy”? I doubt it very much.
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Some parents might need a gentle reminder that the teachers are not the only ones responsible for YOUR child’s education.
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It isn’t your place to give me a gentle reminder about how to be a parent. It’s really none of your business.
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Step up parents and SHARE the responsibility!
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Following the teacher’s directions is not “sharing the responsibility”. Now, if I had a say in choosing curricula, or any of the issues of the school, that might be sharing the responsibility.
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Hey FedUp Mom,
Go get your teaching degree, get a job, and then please report back. Until that happens, you have NO idea about education and the higher thinking reading logs initiate. Lazy, stuck-up, know-it-all mothers make lazy, stuck-up, know-it-all children who do not value an education. Maybe when you teach what you have created you will understand the error of your ways.
But wait, you don’t teach…you refuse to even sign something that is given to benefit your kid…
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What higher thinking is initiated by writing down the page number you started on and ended at, and the amount of time it took? That’s all that was on the reading log.
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How do you feel about “Choice Activities” as homework? For example, A student picks 2 choice reading activities and 2 choice math activities a week and log them in a journal.
Example choice reading activity:
Write a story using 5 of this week’s spelling words.
Word Hunt: Look around your house for words that contain this week’s phonics sound (short a)
Example choice math activity:
Create a math story problem using the math concepts from this week (addition, fractions, fact families) etc.
Play addition frenzy (using a deck of cards, students draw cards and add the numbers)
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As long as it’s done at school, within the school day, I’d have no problem with it. That way the child has the teacher as a resource when problems arise.
“Play addition frenzy (using a deck of cards, students draw cards and add the numbers)”
We don’t have students at home, we have our children. The students are at school. Some teachers write parents notes that tell us about our “students” and what we should be having them do at home. If these suggestions came home as a suggestion to parents about ways they can incorporate math and reading into their children’s lives that would be giving parents a say about what goes on at home.
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I’m sorry but in a class of 20 students (and with the current school budget crisis that would be an AMAZING class. There are classes in Oregon with 30+ students) I don’t think its feasible to expect all learning to happen during the school day. Furthermore, all students learn at different levels and even with attempts to differentiate instruction, 8 hours is simply not enough time to reach every student every day.
Not to say it is the parent’s job to educate their own children, but why would you object to playing a game with your child that happens to incorporate math skills? Why would you object to going on a word hunt looking for ways to make phonics authentic in the world around your child? Assuming you were given a newsletter weekly explaining what your children were learning for the week, you shouldn’t have trouble helping them write a story using spelling words. These are things that do not need to be considered “work” but can be made into fun. As a parent I would WANT to do these things with my children at home because I am interested in what they are learning.
In the deck of cards example when I say “students” I say that because this is how teachers communicate the game to each other. Obviously, at home the word would be “children”. I don’t think its fair to pick apart every word (“student” v. “child”, etc) teachers use in communication letters.
I can understand the objection to worksheets. Frankly I think worksheets are pointless as well because I don’t believe they foster higher order thinking. I can also understand the objection to reading logs.
Learning does not stop at school and should be continuous. As a teacher, there is nothing I can do if parents think the work is a waste of time, and choose not to do it. But I do believe that helping your child with work at home shows that you are invested in their education, I believe that homework built on authentic learning experiences is valuable, and I believe that homework teaches organization and time management skills that children need to be successful in life.
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Anonymous says:
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I’m sorry but in a class of 20 students (and with the current school budget crisis that would be an AMAZING class. There are classes in Oregon with 30+ students) I don’t think its feasible to expect all learning to happen during the school day. Furthermore, all students learn at different levels and even with attempts to differentiate instruction, 8 hours is simply not enough time to reach every student every day.
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That’s a terrific argument for homeschooling. Actually, what you propose IS homeschooling, except it’s set up in a crazy way. Who in their right mind would send their kid to low-quality daycare for 8 hours a day, with the intention of teaching them academic subjects at night, when everyone is exhausted?
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Why would you object to going on a word hunt looking for ways to make phonics authentic in the world around your child?
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Why? Because it accomplishes very little, with a maximum of aggravation for both parent and child. Because we’re supposed to do it at the end of the day, when the family is exhausted, and we’re trying to get the kids to bed on time. Because (silly us!) we thought the evenings belonged to our family to spend time together however we choose.
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why would you object to playing a game with your child that happens to incorporate math skills? Why would you object to going on a word hunt looking for ways to make phonics authentic in the world around your child? Assuming you were given a newsletter weekly explaining what your children were learning for the week, you shouldn’t have trouble helping them write a story using spelling words. These are things that do not need to be considered “work” but can be made into fun.
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That’s because you don’t know what fun is. None of these activities are fun when a parent and child are told to do them by the schoolteacher. They are chores. They are no less irritating than the worksheets you object to. Actually, these free-form projects are often MORE irritating than worksheets, because they eat up unlimited amounts of time and effort, and nobody can tell when they’re done.
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As a parent I would WANT to do these things with my children at home because I am interested in what they are learning.
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Be my guest. As a parent, I DON’T want to do these projects. My opinion is valid too.
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Learning does not stop at school and should be continuous.
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From your description, learning doesn’t even START at school.
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I believe that homework teaches organization and time management skills that children need to be successful in life.
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When you assign homework in elementary school, Mom winds up doing the organization and time management. The kids don’t learn time management at all. They’re too young.
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A low quality day care? Dare I say you have no respect for the teachers that many of you gripe about not respecting you? Granted, not all teachers care about the profession, but some have a passion to teach and spend countless hours at home (homework? WOW) researching activities to enhance their lessons. No, better funding would not completely solve this problem, but lower class sizes would give those teachers a better opportunity to teach. Homework should not be *Teaching* concepts, homework should build upon concepts learned in class. Practice.
As a matter of fact I do know what fun is, and i have it everyday, including in the classroom. I think learning can be fun and also done in a way that kids don’t even know they are learning. How does it “eat up unlimited amounts of time” to suggest to read a book with your child and count a specified phonics sound or spelling word? If a school day ends at 3:00pm I am quite confused about why it is difficult to spend 15 min a night working on ACTIVITIES with your child.
By the way, my kids go on word hunts all the time in class, bringing their books up to point out the spelling words of the week, faces glowing. I have been told by parents they do this at home as well. Perhaps YOU are making the homework a chore? Perhaps YOUR attitude is influencing your children. If you introduce a math card game with a dull, drab tone, who would want to play? If, on the other hand, you make it exciting, you can change the energy completely.
What DO you want to do with your children at home if you don’t want to spend SOME time asking about their learning? I have no problem with play and talk, family dinners, some TV and video games, household chores (is that done in your home, since its boring and doesn’t promote higher thinking?) You can ultimately do whatever you like, in first grade I’m not going to punish a student because his/her family is so offended by homework, but I am going to ask they do it because as a teacher and a parent I appreciate it and believe it or not, I have seen results from it. If you have a superstar student, great, good for you. Don’t do the homework and instill that attitude in your child. But if your student is on grade level and not doing homework, compared to the student who is also on grade level DOING the homework, yes, I have seen a difference. Again, I can do nothing in this case but pity the student.
Nowhere in my previous comment did I describe learning not happening at school. In first grade, students grow leaps and bounds in reading, math, social studies, social skills, and reasoning. Nice try.
To me, it sounds like you should be homeschooling rather than picking apart the teachers and their teaching style in public and private school.
And I disagree, I have seen plenty of students organize their own work. In third grade, I myself was extremely organized without the help of my parents. Again, this sounds like a personal issue-maybe YOU should not spend quite so much time helping your child organize! Even if mom is saying “did you finish your *gasp* homework” the student is learning to prioritize and can also learn through your organization, if you take the time to work on it.
I’m done here. I see good points in the reading log and the PURPOSE of homework, but honestly this sounds like a bunch of bitter gripes from parents who want no responsibility for working with their children at home, even on alternative activities. You don’t want to be “told” what to do and it seems as if nothing a teacher does could please you short of pulling all homework altogether, which frankly would NOT benefit all children. Please, for the sake of your child and their eventual teachers, HOMESCHOOL if you are so unhappy, since it seems you know it all anyway.
By the way, your quick facts against homework also had good points. In Japan, students are not “assigned” nightly homework. However, a vast majority of Japanese students attend nightly Juku or “cram schools” after the regular school day and late into the night. They go home after Juku and are expected to study even longer. There is an enormous amount of pressure to succeed, so much so, that there are high rates of suicide in Japanese students. No, they do not have homework, but the families EXPECT and ENFORCE study at home, long after the school and Juku day is over.
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Anonymous says:
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A low quality day care? Dare I say you have no respect for the teachers that many of you gripe about not respecting you?
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Look, you’re the one who said there’s so many kids in the class that you can’t possibly teach them what they need to know in 8 hours a day.
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How does it “eat up unlimited amounts of time” to suggest to read a book with your child and count a specified phonics sound or spelling word?
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That might not eat time, but it sounds like a very effective way to remove pleasure from reading. No thanks.
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What DO you want to do with your children at home if you don’t want to spend SOME time asking about their learning?
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It’s none of your business how I choose to spend time with my kids. Period. End of story.
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Don’t do the homework and instill that attitude in your child.
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Okay!
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Nowhere in my previous comment did I describe learning not happening at school.
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Sure you did. You said:
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I don’t think its feasible to expect all learning to happen during the school day. Furthermore, all students learn at different levels and even with attempts to differentiate instruction, 8 hours is simply not enough time to reach every student every day.
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Perhaps YOU are making the homework a chore? Perhaps YOUR attitude is influencing your children.
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What hideous parallel universe have I stumbled upon, where I’m expected to be chipper and perky about homework? I hate the stuff. No, your “fun” activities don’t make me like it. And believe me, kids are more than capable of hating homework whatever their parents’ attitudes might be.
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By the way, your quick facts against homework also had good points.
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I didn’t write any quick facts against homework. I’m not the same person as Sara Bennett.
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Anonymous says:
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this sounds like a bunch of bitter gripes from parents who want no responsibility for working with their children at home, even on alternative activities. You don’t want to be “told” what to do
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Darn right, I don’t want to be “told” what to do. Why is this an outrageous position? Why do teachers think it’s part of their job to tell parents what to do in their own homes with their own kids?
It’s a mystery to me why “Anonymous” thinks that her alternative activities will solve the problem of kids and parents who don’t want to do homework.
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I am a fifth grade reading teacher and mother of four ages 3-21. Every year about this time I look at my homework practices and try to improve. I am a FIRM believer in making the most out of the instructional day. We have the kids 7 hours a day, they need to focus on other interests when they get home. Our biggest pressure to assign homework does not come our administrators, it comes from parents. Parents push us to give more homework somehow feeling it crucial to success in school. As a teacher, I take criticism for my position on homework.
I am open to help from the parents who agree with me that homework has gotten out of control. Currently, what I do for “homework” is to conference with each child about their reading lives at school and home. They let me know how much reading they currently do at home in a typical week and we discuss ways to improve the experience ( more sustained time to get in “the zone”, better fit books, adding magazines, newspapers, and manuals, etc.) They set some goals for themselves and we meet back in a week to discuss and modify the goals. Once they have established a reading life at home that works well for them, the conferences become a time for them to have my undivided attention to talk about books. They LOVE this and so do I!
This has worked well for my needs…building lifelong readers. But, I am open to suggestions. Anyone?
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Oh, I wish there were more teachers like you Jennifer!!! You seem to understand who children are and that they have just as much right to freedom from “work” as adults have in their own homes.
The idea of homework has gotten way out of control, let alone the reality of how much goes home. It has become synonomous with the most negative aspects of school, a cruel medicine that kids must be forced to take, “for their own good”.
Thanks for providing your viewpoint and strategies for encouraging life long love of reading….your kids and your students are fortunate to have you.
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Jennifer said:
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They let me know how much reading they currently do at home in a typical week and we discuss ways to improve the experience ( more sustained time to get in “the zone”, better fit books, adding magazines, newspapers, and manuals, etc.) They set some goals for themselves and we meet back in a week to discuss and modify the goals.
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This sounds terrific. I’ve never seen a teacher do this. I wish my kids could have a teacher like you …
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You are part of the reason why America’s education is failing. You want teachers to educate your child as long as it doesn’t interfere in your life. Lady, you can’t have you cake and eat it too. If you think you know how to educate your child best, home school him or her. Don’t think you can send your child to a school and tell a teacher how you expect them to educate your child.
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Lazy is what it is. If you think you know it all, PLEASE, take your children OUT of public school and homeschool them yourself. If this were the case, you’d have nothing to complain about.
Reading FedUpMom’s comments literally makes me sick. I’m glad my parents helped me with homework and put on a happy face about it. I enjoyed homework because it gave me a chance to show my parents what I had learned, and they liked seeing it. Again, sorry complaining and LAZINESS.
What if we all just decided not to wash the dishes because it was “not fun” and “took time away from family time”. We’ve worked all day, why should we have to work at home?
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I love this article and all these comments. I stumbled upon this page looking for sources for a college English paper and got side-tracked by all these awesome ideas. I’m a 21-year-old in college studying to be a pre-school teacher shortly. Through this and many other sources I’ve found, the term “intrinsic motivation” keeps popping up and have learned a lot about what it means. I really want to try to keep this in mind and try to start instilling intrinsic motivation into the kids I’ll be teaching some day to start them off on the right foot.
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Lexi, if you’re teaching preschool you don’t need to “instill” intrinsic motivation. You just need to avoid squelching it.
Kids are born wanting to learn. They really are. It’s school that stamps the desire out of them, but at the preschool level it hasn’t happened yet.
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Maura says:
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Don’t think you can send your child to a school and tell a teacher how you expect them to educate your child.
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For the zillionth time, I’m not telling the teacher how to educate my child, I’m telling the teacher what I will or won’t do in my own home. My daughter read the book she was supposed to read, she just didn’t log it. Her education wasn’t affected in the slightest.
Brad says:
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I’m glad my parents helped me with homework and put on a happy face about it.
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Brad, if the last time you saw homework was when you were a child yourself, you have no idea how bad it’s gotten. Ever since NCLB, the quantity of homework has mushroomed, and it’s been pushed down to younger and younger ages. It’s not the homework you grew up with.
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Maybe we should identify what “how bad its gotten” means. Are you saying that 10-15 min of homework plus 10-15 min of reading a book of choice in Kindergarten-3rd grade is bad? Because that’s what my nieces and nephews are getting, which I believe to be pretty reasonable. Maybe a half our of homework in 5th grade, which is what another of my nephew’s gets, I don’t mind!
If you are really seeing children being assigned an hour or two of homework in K-3 then yeah, that’s a problem, but that has not been my experience.
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My issue is that if research has shown that doing homework makes no difference in children’s academic lives until very advanced levels (late high school), and the perception by the average person is that “doing a little homework does no harm”, then why bother with it at all. If it’s so innocuous in elelmentary school, then why make such a big deal about it.
Granted, some families believe that it’s important for Mom and Dad to sit down with kids and do homework, but what if a family decides differently? Another family may feel that reading for pleasure for as long as you want, playing a board game, time on the Wii, and maybe an hour of TV is a perfectly fine way to spend an evening. Why is that not just as fine?
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As educators, we frequently say, “Parents are a child’s first and most influential teacher”. We need to honor and respect that by offering possibilities and resources, but allowing parents to make the descision about what learning looks like at home.
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Do you really believe that omitting the written component of the assignment does not affect your child’s learning at all? I use skill based reading logs with my sixth grade students. Parents and students will both attest to the fact that they greatly improve their critical thinking skills, as well as improve their writing. Hey, it’s your call. If your child was in my class they would receive a zero for 15% of their grade. I just hope you realize the modeling that you are doing for your child and don’t later blame teachers for deficits in your child’s education that stem from your choices, not the teacher’s.
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Fed-Up mom is hilarious. When her kids are living in the basement with her grandchildren because it is unacceptable to do any work at home a.k.a. fill out an application, or to go out and find work, I wonder if she will make her grandchildren do homework?
I can’t help but laugh at the comments this mother makes. No one wants to be told what to do but I would hope that everyone wants the best for their children which involves reading at home. Fed-Up mom is like child protective services worst nightmare-can’t arrest her for neglect but can’t make her care about her children’s education.
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Anonymous, for the billionth time, I’m not against kids reading at home. My daughter did all the assigned reading, she just didn’t keep a log.
Of course CPS can’t arrest me for neglect. I’m not a neglectful parent. I just refused to sign a reading log, for Pete’s sake.
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Maura says:
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Do you really believe that omitting the written component of the assignment does not affect your child’s learning at all?
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Maura, the written component of the assignment consisted of writing down page numbers and the amount of time spent reading. Skipping it did not affect my child’s learning at all.
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Jennifer says:
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As educators, we frequently say, “Parents are a child’s first and most influential teacher”. We need to honor and respect that by offering possibilities and resources, but allowing parents to make the descision about what learning looks like at home.
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Jennifer, from your lips to God’s ear.
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Ok I’m back and ready to start a new school year and thinking about homework (yet again). I teach 1st grade and they are so tired by the end of the day that I’m not sure homework is a good idea developmentally. I was thinking of drafting a letter of ways to support learning but then I thought maybe that was a bit condescending-what are your thoughts as parents? This is what I was thinking of including: reading together, cooking together, writing grocery lists, writing letters/emails to family members and maybe some online resources for parents to access. Would this be offensive? Or helpful?
Thanks for your help!
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Christie, it’s great to hear from you!
I think there are parents who like to get suggestions from the teacher. Your letter doesn’t have to be condescending — it’s all about the phrasing. It’s refreshing to have a teacher concerned about not aggravating the parents, instead of vice-versa!
Make it clear that you know parents are already doing a great deal to support their child’s education, and you appreciate that. Also say something that you expect most people have already heard of these ideas (I sure have, many times), but you’d like to share them, and they are of course optional for busy families. Ask — do the parents have strategies they use to support their kids’ learning that they would like to share with you, or with the other parents?
One important after-school activity for first-graders is simply running around and letting off steam. Also, anything the child enjoys doing — lego, building blocks, drawing, whatever.
And it’s really important for kids to get enough sleep! That supports learning in a big way.
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Christie,
I think you are on the right track and Fed Up Mom gave good advice. First graders DO NOT NEED HOMEWORK! My kids were so exhausted by the end of the school day that they fell asleep on our short ride home. I would include some research to support your position and I think parents will recognize the voice of reason.
The next step of this movement needs to come from educators like ourselves standing up for what is right for kids and being advocates for looking at homework practices in our elementary schools. I am thinking about having my copy of “The Case Against Homework” out with my other resources for parents at our curriculum night this year.
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Brad writes: “Maybe we should identify what “how bad its gotten” means. Are you saying that 10-15 min of homework plus 10-15 min of reading a book of choice in Kindergarten-3rd grade is bad? Because that’s what my nieces and nephews are getting, which I believe to be pretty reasonable.”
Ten to fifteen minutes of homework? Really? In your dreams, Brad. Try three hours in third grade. Yea, I thought she was pretty unusual too. Until I started comparing notes with other GTC parents.
“If you are really seeing children being assigned an hour or two of homework in K-3 then yeah, that’s a problem, but that has not been my experience.”
Lucky you. It’s been mine alright. Which is what propelled me to this site in the first place.
And besides, Brad, we don’t consider reading to be homework. We wanted less homework (read: none) so my daughter could indulge what she loved best. READING! My daughter didn’t need reading logs. She just needed time to read. Which, if I had it to do over again, I would have allowed full steam. I would have put my foot down, stated firmly what we are NOT doing and allowed her to read and write novels all afternoon. Who needs the school’s homework when our home is enriching enough?
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Brad says:
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Are you saying that 10-15 min of homework plus 10-15 min of reading a book of choice in Kindergarten-3rd grade is bad?
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It’s shocking to me that homework in Kindergarten has become an accepted norm. When I was a kid, there was no such thing.
It’s strange that homework is being sent home younger, so that it must be supervised by the parents, at the same time that parents are working longer hours and are less available. What’s that about?
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Wow! I would think that you could use all of this energy that you have spent griping about others and do something more productive. I am a teacher who lovingly guides my students through an ever growing sea of state mandated standards. We are regularly required to teach more and more each year with no additional time given. I have seen students succeed who have not done so before. My students know that they are loved and that responsibilty is part of growing up. I do give a minimal amount of homework to my students each week along with a very short reading log (10-30 min. of written work each night and a total of 40 min. of reading for the whole week). Many of my students do more than I require and are pround to share it with me. The purpose of this required homework is to keep the parents in the loop because I would like to think that they are interested in what their child is learning as well as how he/she is processing the knowledge. The homework comes with a newsletter explaining our goals and content for the week. A minimal amount of homework does in fact encourage responsibility as well as much needed practice in a different setting. Children have a need to involve their parents in what they are doing at school. Parents today should take an interest in what their children are doing at school. As a mother of 3, I do see both sides of this issue. I do believe that excessive homework is wrong on many levels, however not being willing to take 5 minutes to sign a reading log is rather ridiculous. I can tell you that reading logs are meant to serve a purpose. I have seen so many students get excited about his/her reading log minutes, and I’ve seen other students get inspired by that excitement. I understand that reading logs can become a drugery to some students. However, it is not worth this huge gripe session, and it is probably directly related to the attitude of the parent. Please find something more productive to do with your time. The more you complain about the place that your child is spending the majority of his/her time each day, the more you are hurting your child. Please just think about it…
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Sally, what grade do you teach?
Sally says:
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The purpose of this required homework is to keep the parents in the loop
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What? Why not just shoot the parents an e-mail?
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Children have a need to involve their parents in what they are doing at school. Parents today should take an interest in what their children are doing at school.
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Parents are grown men and women. We are more than capable of making our own decisions about how we want to be involved with our kids’ education. We don’t appreciate being lectured and condescended to by our kids’ teachers.
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Sally said:
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I have seen so many students get excited about his/her reading log minutes,
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That’s just pathetic. I don’t want my kids to get excited about minutes on a reading log, or stickers on a sticker chart. I want them to get excited about the story they’re reading, or a hummingbird they saw in the garden, or riding their bikes, or any other real experience.
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Sally,
You are right that parents need to be aware of what is going on at school. If that is your goal, post on your website, create a newsletter, start a wiki and have an open conversation with parents about what is going on in school.
If your goal for the reading log is to create lifelong readers, 40 minutes a week isn’t gonna cut it. I teach fifth grade and used a reading log up until last year. But even when I did use one I let the kids set the goal, the kids record, and did not require parent signature. Honestly, I had good results. However, last year with no logs the kids blew me away. They started focusing on what they were reading instead of watching the clock. Instead of being proud of the minutes they read, they were at my door before school dying to tell me about the 3rd novel in Gregor series they had just finished.
Instead of being defensive, consider what your goals are and rethink past practices.
Please just think about it…
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A reading log is simple. Most reading logs allow for the child to choose whatever book they wish and simply record basic information about it for accountability. This is learning responsibility and being accountable to authority while still having some choice.
I am a teacher, and I usually work 10 hours a day. Even then, I bring things home for me to do. Asking for parents to sign something doesn’t seem like a big deal. Parents need to take an active role in monitoring their child’s progress to show that it is important. You have to know that your daughter’s teacher is not out to offend you, but actually trying to create a fair structure to ensure each child is reading each night. Not all children will have the same enthusiasm for reading. I don’t think writing so little about a book is going to squash the motivation to read. There are probably other issues.
Most of you seem very educated. That should make you an asset to whatever community you are in. I hope that you help the local children read, and maybe you can bring back an inspiration for reading (as teachers try to do). Teachers are paid very little, so I do not think asking for home support is like asking parents to take on a part time job.
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Anonymous, did you read the comment right before yours? It’s from a teacher who reports that her students did MORE reading after she got rid of the reading log. Maybe you should try it too.
Anonymous says:
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Most reading logs allow for the child to choose whatever book they wish and simply record basic information about it for accountability. This is learning responsibility and being accountable to authority while still having some choice.
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When you frame reading in terms of “accountability to authority”, you produce kids who hate reading, and I don’t blame them.
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I am a teacher, and I usually work 10 hours a day. Even then, I bring things home for me to do. Asking for parents to sign something doesn’t seem like a big deal.
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You may be overworked, but that doesn’t give you the right to boss parents around. I object to the term “asking” if the only acceptable answer is “yes”. What you mean is that you tell parents to sign the log.
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Parents need to take an active role in monitoring their child’s progress to show that it is important.
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Again, an excellent strategy to make kids hate reading. How much would you enjoy your favorite hobby if the principal was constantly monitoring your progress?
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Not all children will have the same enthusiasm for reading.
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Of course kids don’t have an enthusiasm for reading after it’s been used as an exercise in family compliance. You wouldn’t either.
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I don’t think writing so little about a book is going to squash the motivation to read.
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It’s not about what you think. I have observed in my own home that keeping a reading log made my daughter less interested in reading. Other parents and teachers have observed the same thing. Check out my master list about reading logs:
Join the Chorus Against Reading Logs
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Oops, the link doesn’t work. Let’s try it again:
http://kidfriendlyschools.blogspot.com/2010/08/join-chorus-against-reading-logs.html
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As I read these messages and post I am a little disturbed. Fedup mentioned something along the lines that she felt like an employee. In all reality you are. Your child is a full time job that does not pay fincially. So, why wouldnt you take the time out to invest in her assignments?
Your response to the letter the teacher sent home was an act of defiance. You did nothing but show your daughter she doesnt have to do something the teacher assigned. Reading logs are not bad. They teach students to be accountable. Every job they will get when they are older requires them to be accountable. they have to begin to learn somewhere. I am glad your daughter can be trusted to do what is asked and expected BUT all students can not. Teachers have to teach to all students and sometimes that means other students may get assingments that may seem tedious but that is called a compromise.
The teacher also wants the parent to sign because the hope is the parent will discuss with the child. Your discussion with the child will let you know if they are comprehending and also excites the students about readign because they know you will want to know what they read about.
Take the reading log for what it is: a tool to help students to be accountable and for parents to be involved.
Stop being lazy. READ WITH YOUR CHILD!!!
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If you don’t want your child to do the assignments given by the teacher then HOMESCHOOL. Do it as you wish. Dont make the teacher’s life a living crap hole!!
Also, you mentioned parents working longer hours. That is your choice. What takes priority in your life? Work or your child. Stop trying to live beyond your means and be active in what tou child has to do by law.
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Anonymous says:
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Dont make the teacher’s life a living crap hole!!
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What delicate little hot house flowers these teachers are. One parent refuses to sign a reading log, and the teacher’s life is a living crap hole? Wow, how miserable would the teacher be if she had a real problem?
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Reading logs are not bad. They teach students to be accountable. Every job they will get when they are older requires them to be accountable. they have to begin to learn somewhere.
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What is the purpose of education? For some, it’s compliance training. The idea is to get kids in the habit of doing what they’re told, so as to prepare them for an adult life of obedient employment.
That’s not my vision of education, if you hadn’t guessed. I think it’s much more important for my kids to be interested in their world and enjoy learning. Mindless obedience is not high on my list of desired traits for my kids, or anyone, for that matter.
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The word “crap hole” were used for a lack of better terms. None the less the point remains the same. Parents fail to realize that teachers are obligated to teach a set amount of standards. Parents also fail to realize that there is a variety of learning levels within the classroom and your child and not the only one.
You did not comment on the compromise aspect. I would think you didnt because you know that is a true statement. In marriage, friendships, jobs, businesses, and extra curricular activites there is compromise.
Look at the positive side of the reading log and not so much the negative. When a real issue arises and you want your voice to be heard and appreciated the teacher and school staff would be more willing to to listen if a complaint was not made about every little thing.
Yes to some school is “compliance training.” The truth of the matter again is that we as citizens have to “comply” daily with the law. It is great and important to speak your mind on issues that are detrmental to oneself and others. Things that are necessary for change but compliance is a part of life. If you would like to live in a country that has an even more overwhelming lack of compliance then live somewhere else. There are plenty of other places to choose from.
When you go shopping, you expect the employees to comply with the company’s standard of customer service. If they fail to do so….you file a complaint. Same with food service, energy company, cable company, ect. These companies also check for compliance through customer feedback.
Same rules apply for students, teachers, and parents. For students, their job is to be a kid and a student. When you enroll you child in a school you are saying you allow the teacher to with suggestions and help. The teacher also, like and employer, must be accoutable for what students learn and show proof that independent reading time is being done. Google PASS objectives and you will notice this is an actual objective madated by the state for teachers to be accountable for.
You have made an ant hill into an ridiculous mountain.
Again the best solution would be for you to home school your child so things can be done as you see fit.
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Anonymous says:
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When a real issue arises and you want your voice to be heard and appreciated the teacher and school staff would be more willing to to listen if a complaint was not made about every little thing.
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The reading log IS a real issue. It turns a kid who likes reading into a kid who detests it. That’s very important to me.
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The teacher also, like and employer, must be accoutable for what students learn and show proof that independent reading time is being done.
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The idea that reading logs “prove” something is ridiculous. Did you see the comment where a teacher found that 40% of her students admitted to faking the reading log?
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You have made an ant hill into an ridiculous mountain.
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The fact that your comment was #848 on this thread demonstrates that reading logs are not an “ant hill”. My post struck a nerve, and for a good reason. Many parents have seen their own kids start to hate reading because of reading logs and other misguided strategies.
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Anonymous says:
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The teacher also, like and employer, must be accoutable for what students learn and show proof that independent reading time is being done.
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In other words, reading logs are a way for a teacher to get the students and parents to do some of the paperwork for her.
Look, I’m sorry you’re stuck with so much paperwork, and if I could reduce it for you I would. But when you pass it on to your students, you’re just passing on your stress. The result is kids who hate school, hate learning, and hate reading in particular. It isn’t worth it.
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