Skip to main content

Too much reading

Everyone in my family loves to read - my youngest used to be not too much of a reader and only used to read the required 20 minutes per night, but now the reading bug has got her as well as she reads her High School Musical adventures.

Our elementary school has this reading program where kids 1st through 5th grade are supposed to read 20 minutes every night and then write a little paragraph (they call them BCRs - Brief Constructed Responses) answering a question related to the book they are reading. For example, find three character traits of some character in the book that is similar to someone you know. Or, find three words that you were unfamiliar with, write their meanings, and use them in a sentence.

I really like this program because it helps with reading comprehension. The kids have to keep the question of the week in mind as they go through their book. My older daughter reads more than an hour everyday and only used to write 20 minutes on her sheet because she thought if she puts the actuals number of minutes she read, they would never believe her :)

So, I was shocked to hear two parents complain at the back to school night last night that school is giving unfair workload to the 4th graders. They complained how 20 minutes per night was too much and then making them do homework on Sunday night is unfair?? At first I thought they were joking. But they weren't. The gentleman complaining said that school just made this requirements up and it is not the county mandate and that they need to rethink this?? I just could not believe it.

Maybe I am being judgmental and don't understand since my kids love to read and do this part of their homework willingly? But how can 20 minutes per night reading be bad for anyone? Shouldn't we make that much time for reading since in general kids spend a lot more time watching TV?
Labels:

Comments

Deb said…
Good Morning ~ Do not even get me started about this topic. I taught school for twelve years and I dealt with this issue frequently especially when I taught 7th grade literacy. I expected 7th graders to read 30 minutes per night plus I had the nerve to require that they do x amount of journal entries per week. But 'my child has soccer' or 'my child has gymnastics, piano, and she needs to spend hours of time unsupervised on the computer'...I heard it all - but I never lowered the bar. I will be back so I can see how others feel about this VERY important topic. I have much more to say but I don't want to take up too much space. Maybe I will do this in installments. Take care - and keep on reading!
September 18, 2008 at 7:01 AM
pink dogwood said…
Thanks deb and that's exactly how I feel :) I grew up in India where both the parents and the kids never questioned the teachers or the homework. My parents made a lot of sacrifices for me. We have what we call 'board exams' in 10th and 12th grade where basically the tests are set by the state and anything that you learned in the past 2 years could be on the test. I remember my mom unplugging the TV for a whole month once when I was getting ready for the 12th grade exam :)
September 18, 2008 at 7:19 AM
bindu said…
You can only feel sorry for those children to have such parents. My mother is the one who got me into reading (she was a teacher). Even now I think every now and then about how glad I am that she encouraged me - books were so precious even then. It's very sad how children these days prefer the TV to books - but it's not surprising with parents like these! Reading should be pleasure, not work.
September 18, 2008 at 9:25 AM
bigbucketgirl said…
i get confused about what age kids are in grades etc but my 7yr old has just started a junior school here(Year 3) and she has reading every night (a few pages), 20 maths questions once a week and the occasional writing exercise. Personally, and for my daughter this is not enough and she actively seeks more, whether it be book reviews, research on the net or non fiction books from the library, aswell as read, read, read! On the other hand my son who is in Yr 5,(9 turning 10 this school year), he is severely dyslexic and homework is a pain in the neck. He reads every night but his year group are expected to do 40 mins written work each night. It's given on a Monday to be handed back in by friday. It's too much for my man who is exhausted from the school day as it is. The school are fantastic and are letting him pace himself..he can't show up with nothing! but he feels bad because his peers have so much and it looks like he's off having a party instead!
I hope the reading continues with you....
September 18, 2008 at 10:02 AM
pink dogwood said…
Bindu: TV is a big temptation not only for kids, but adults as well. I have some friends who when asked "read anything interesting lately" woudl come back with - where is the time. But these same friends watch indian movies and soap operas every evening. Yes, where is the time after 3-4 hours of TV :)
September 18, 2008 at 10:21 AM
pink dogwood said…
bigbucketgirl: My 4th grader is 9 years old.
Thanks for bringing up this point - I didn't think about kids who might have trouble with reading. I knew one of the parent last night who was complaining, and know that her daughter didn't have any problem. I think her point was that she didn't want to be bothered with homework over the weekend. But I am not sure about the other father. But if that is the problem then it should be presented as such and not make the school system change something for all the kids across the board.

I am glad that your school system is working with your son. Thanks for stopping by :)
September 18, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Deb said…
Good evening ~ I just wanted to clarify that when I taught I always made adjustments based on the child's needs and learning style - I have never agreed with assembly line teaching where all students are taught in the same manner. My issue lies with the parents who never hold their kids responsible and who want their child's education watered down for all the wrong reasons. I just wanted to clarify. I will now retreat - I have some important reading to do. :)
September 18, 2008 at 6:19 PM
~mE said…
lol i was just thinking what we go through in india...homework homework and more homework...though times are changing its nothing like what i read here. On an average kids need to be with their books atleast for 2 hrs everyday after they get home.

20mins is a cake walk i would say
September 18, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Jagriti said…
The habit of reading and enjoying that I and most of us have today goes back to our childhood..when this was cultivated in us….if it was not done then, we would be unknown to the pleasures of reading…

So I feel…20 minutes for reading, out of 24 hrs of the day are nothing..!..especially looking at the long term benefits...
September 19, 2008 at 1:33 AM
pink dogwood said…
~me: I guess this is 20 minutes on top of all the other homework they get. But still, I don't think it is unreasonable and for my older one the 20 minutes turn in an hour and a half and for my younger one it mostly become 45 minutes :)
September 19, 2008 at 5:08 AM
Anonymous said…
Does the county have a mandate :
TV for only 20 minutes ??

My mother had a rule : No reading during food. She used to get mad when we asked for more books to read during vacation. She used to hide them, so that when we drive her crazy we will get a book..and then the world is at peace. This is apart from newspapers.
Each of us had library membership.. that means we would read our book, and our siblings..

But after turning into an adult.. i realised it is not about the number of books one reads. But analyzing the book, etc etc..
September 19, 2008 at 12:14 PM
pink dogwood said…
anrosh - can you imagine if they did that? I usually watch a movie every weekend and that is the extent of my TV watching. The only thing the school system does is a no TV challenge for 10 days.

My rule is no TV during food :)
September 19, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Sylvia K said…
I have to agree with deb, I taught school for ten years and pushed the reading only to be confronted by parents who felt it was more important for them to be involved in sports! I'm not putting down the need for physical exercise, but what about exercising the brain? They're going to need that a lot more as they go through life and I stuck to my guns, too. In comparison with schools in other countries we fall far short in reading, in comprehension, in the ability to focus. Maybe we should start with the parents!
September 20, 2008 at 8:39 PM
aMus said…
are they for real? they should be glad that the school has made it mandatory to read...

luckily for me swaraj is an ardent reader and so maybe its not difficult for us to enforce reading but i think if i were a parent of a child who hated reading..i would welcome such a program which would help the child grow better......

i love the concept of BCR...
September 30, 2008 at 10:58 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

walk at the beach

As I went for an early morning walk to bid adieu to the ocean I felt like three days was not enough. The vastness of the ocean made me forget everything. The voices in my head calculating and recalculating deadlines and the project plans, they were all muffled by the constant roar of the waves. The thoughts about work were wiped out as soon as they formed. The sand slipping away from under my feet reminded me of impermanence of everything. But, all good things must end and I was preparing myself to go back to my routine. As I walked the edge of the water, trying not to get wet, the ocean kept tugging at me like an insistent child. I tuned it out as I tried making a mental to do list of the stuff that needed to be done as soon as I got back. It threw a tantrum and lashed at me with this big roaring wave - how dare I ignore it? I smiled, put away my thoughts, and tuned back into the surroundings again. It calmed down and rewarded me with a gentle tinkling sound of its receding wave - lik...
25 comments
Read more

berry impatient

3 years ago we bought some raspberry and blackberry plants from Lowes. With high hopes and visions of raspberry cheesecake floating in front of us, we made a berry patch. The first year we just had a few berries. Next year we had a few more, but they didn't taste all that great. So I told my husband that we will dig them out of this prime spot and put them somewhere towards the back of our yard and if they live, they live. We planned on putting something else in their spot. I think the berries heard me and I think some feelings were hurt. They knew they were on probabation and they strategized a plan. They spread out in all directions in wondrous glory ... and loaded themselves with lots more berries than ever before... they were looking pretty good so I asked them - you look alright, but I wonder how you are going to taste this year. So they ripened a small batch for me to try. And I can't begin to tell you how wonderful they taste.... And the blackberries are doing alrigh...
19 comments
Read more

love on a scale from 1 to 10

Every time I have a glass or two of wine, I get these urges to write on my blog - I always am embarrassed about it the next morning, but does that stop me? No. But you must be used to it by now. I am reading "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen and am so envious of the love Jacob has for Marlena. I know it is fiction, but still!!! I mean I love my husband, my kids, my parents, my brother, my sister, my dogs, my fishes, my plants, my car (yes I do - I call it Dhanno) - even some of my coworkers - but the extent of my love has never been tested and quantified - so how do I fare on a scale of 1 to 10? Would I run across the top of a running train for my love? Would I??? Is being in love a true or false? Is it enough to say that you love someone? Or is it a scale from 1 to 10? Do some people love more intensely than other? Would I run on top of a running train and risk my life for the people I love? Me - who cannot even hurt a fly - could I kill for love? Would I? Would you? Shoul...
15 comments
Read more