Who Cheats in a Non-Competitive Elementary School Program??

[hbridge]

Bizarre, and disappointing, but not surprising!

Although, DD loves reading programs and sets crazy high goals for herself in the summer (and hits them!). I am always a little ashamed to go with her to turn in her log at the library for the summer program, as I bet they think I made it all up. But DD is for real. As for OP, it sounds like that was blatant cheating.

That's my DC, too... Thankfully, the librarians all know DC well, so there is little concern on my part...

OP, that's ridiculous... However, not surprising, parents are so competitive about their children, it's all gotten a little insane! I wonder if it is worth having the teacher ask the student about it? Especially, if they are in the running for one of the "most read" spots...

[HannaAddict]

Glad we don't have this sort of program. I just doubt adults "sneak" but we are in our bubble I guess with bigger fish to fry than allegedly cheating on a reading log. I've missed "deadlines" for turning in various forms (signing up for things usually) so it doesn't seem suspicious to me. But does it really matter or just annoying? And not the child's fault so I wouldn't spend much more energy on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TwinFoxes]

At my son's school the reading incentive program has volunteers that come in and the kids have to answer questions on the book that they read. If they answer the questions they get stamps that go toward prizes and mid year and end of year parties. The amount of stamps per book is based on what level of books they are reading as is the number of points they need for the parties.

Way to suck all the pleasure out of reading. I really think I'd refuse to let my kid participate, who needs more tests? And they're letting (I assume) parents give out stamps based on reading levels? Really, this just sounds awful to me, but I guess all schools are different.

[AlbrightRC]

The teachers assign reading levels not parents. Each reading level has a set amount of points/stamps that you earn. Not sure how this sucks the joy out of reading ...its actually been a great way to get more kids my own included interested in reading more. They answer a few simple questions verbally showing the read and understand the book..not a big deal. Kids don't have to participate.

[Green_Tea]

The teachers assign reading levels not parents. Each reading level has a set amount of points/stamps that you earn. Not sure how this sucks the joy out of reading ...its actually been a great way to get more kids my own included interested in reading more. They answer a few simple questions verbally showing the read and understand the book..not a big deal. Kids don't have to participate.

It may excite kids who are intrinsically competitive and like to win, but programs like this do little to foster a true love of reading in many kids. I say that as someone with an MS in education and several years of teaching under my belt. Furthermore, parents shouldn't be the ones to measure who "wins" in these situations. I give the whole thing a thumbs down. There are better ways to encourage kids to read.

[anonomom]

It may excite kids who are intrinsically competitive and like to win, but programs like this do little to foster a true love of reading in many kids. I say that as someone with an MS in education and several years of teaching under my belt. Furthermore, parents shouldn't be the ones to measure who "wins" in these situations. I give the whole thing a thumbs down. There are better ways to encourage kids to read.

Do you have ideas for reading programs that work? I ask not to be snarky, but because I'd love to be able to continue and/or improve our programs.

It's been interesting at our school -- the program I run had been a tradition at our school since the year it opened 20-odd years ago. It's for the younger grades, where the kids are rewarded for reading or being read to. For the older kids, we did AR, for which the kids took tests about the books they read. Last year, AR was scuttled as too expensive, but my program was allowed to continue. This year, it was contracted down to one grade only and I'm guessing for next year it'll be scuttled too.

I see both sides of the issue, since my three kids had very different reactions to the programs. DD1 couldn't have cared less about the program I ran, though she was (and is) a voracious reader, and she really liked AR. DD2 was a reluctant reader and was highly motivated by the prospect of earning a medal. She was driven to get all of the prizes available, which actually did have the effect of developing in her a love of reading. DS wants nothing to do with reading at all, for any reason.

The parents at our school, as well as some of the teachers, are pretty sad that our reading programs are going away (it's been almost two years, and still people approach me to ask when I'm bringing AR back, as if it's up to me), but I do understand that there's research showing that they're not terribly effective. I would love to run a program that really did have a positive effect, and that the kids would like.

[HannaAddict]

Do you have ideas for reading programs that work? I ask not to be snarky, but because I'd love to be able to continue and/or improve our programs.

It's been interesting at our school -- the program I run had been a tradition at our school since the year it opened 20-odd years ago. It's for the younger grades, where the kids are rewarded for reading or being read to. For the older kids, we did AR, for which the kids took tests about the books they read. Last year, AR was scuttled as too expensive, but my program was allowed to continue. This year, it was contracted down to one grade only and I'm guessing for next year it'll be scuttled too.

I see both sides of the issue, since my three kids had very different reactions to the programs. DD1 couldn't have cared less about the program I ran, though she was (and is) a voracious reader, and she really liked AR. DD2 was a reluctant reader and was highly motivated by the prospect of earning a medal. She was driven to get all of the prizes available, which actually did have the effect of developing in her a love of reading. DS wants nothing to do with reading at all, for any reason.

The parents at our school, as well as some of the teachers, are pretty sad that our reading programs are going away (it's been almost two years, and still people approach me to ask when I'm bringing AR back, as if it's up to me), but I do understand that there's research showing that they're not terribly effective. I would love to run a program that really did have a positive effect, and that the kids would like.

You don't need to make reading a competition and is the last thing I would suggest knowing kids are at all different levels and they don't need to compete. For younger grades, the kids are encouraged to read/be read to at least 4-5 times a week and there is a short non-punitive (no one gets in trouble if they don't do it) reading log they turn in to the teacher in their folders every week. Very different than the dense reading log my older child hated. We live in a city regularly ranked as a huge reading city so maybe it is our little bubble, but kids read and are read to and are able to progress at their own pace. We are independent school so there is some self selection but a public school could do the same thing. I don't like having parents involved in academic areas for school. For exactly this sort of reason, allegations by a parent of cheating and just paying attention to other kids academic progress or lack thereof.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bisous]

Do you have ideas for reading programs that work? I ask not to be snarky, but because I'd love to be able to continue and/or improve our programs.

It's been interesting at our school -- the program I run had been a tradition at our school since the year it opened 20-odd years ago. It's for the younger grades, where the kids are rewarded for reading or being read to. For the older kids, we did AR, for which the kids took tests about the books they read. Last year, AR was scuttled as too expensive, but my program was allowed to continue. This year, it was contracted down to one grade only and I'm guessing for next year it'll be scuttled too.

I see both sides of the issue, since my three kids had very different reactions to the programs. DD1 couldn't have cared less about the program I ran, though she was (and is) a voracious reader, and she really liked AR. DD2 was a reluctant reader and was highly motivated by the prospect of earning a medal. She was driven to get all of the prizes available, which actually did have the effect of developing in her a love of reading. DS wants nothing to do with reading at all, for any reason.

The parents at our school, as well as some of the teachers, are pretty sad that our reading programs are going away (it's been almost two years, and still people approach me to ask when I'm bringing AR back, as if it's up to me), but I do understand that there's research showing that they're not terribly effective. I would love to run a program that really did have a positive effect, and that the kids would like.

My first two kids are just like yours and would respond the same ways, almost exactly actually and I can see DS3 being just like your DS, lol. I wonder how much birth order has to do with that? I do believe that the biggest reward for reading should be reading! But some kids do need a gimmick to get hooked. I do think this program will help those kids.

I guess that's why I like a variety of different approaches. I don't see anything inherently wrong with what you're doing if it seems to be helping some of the kids at your school. When I was teaching music at church some kids were motivated solely by love of music and I felt like that was the truest kind of motivation and what I was really hoping to cultivate. But as much as I hated doing it, some kids would only sing if there was a treat at stake! Still, in the process of earning the treat, they learned to love the music too. I think using lots of different methods is best, maybe favoring methods that bring out the intrinsic reward of reading?

[bisous]

Do you have ideas for reading programs that work? I ask not to be snarky, but because I'd love to be able to continue and/or improve our programs.

It's been interesting at our school -- the program I run had been a tradition at our school since the year it opened 20-odd years ago. It's for the younger grades, where the kids are rewarded for reading or being read to. For the older kids, we did AR, for which the kids took tests about the books they read. Last year, AR was scuttled as too expensive, but my program was allowed to continue. This year, it was contracted down to one grade only and I'm guessing for next year it'll be scuttled too.

I see both sides of the issue, since my three kids had very different reactions to the programs. DD1 couldn't have cared less about the program I ran, though she was (and is) a voracious reader, and she really liked AR. DD2 was a reluctant reader and was highly motivated by the prospect of earning a medal. She was driven to get all of the prizes available, which actually did have the effect of developing in her a love of reading. DS wants nothing to do with reading at all, for any reason.

The parents at our school, as well as some of the teachers, are pretty sad that our reading programs are going away (it's been almost two years, and still people approach me to ask when I'm bringing AR back, as if it's up to me), but I do understand that there's research showing that they're not terribly effective. I would love to run a program that really did have a positive effect, and that the kids would like.

My first two kids are just like yours and would respond the same ways, almost exactly actually and I can see DS3 being just like your DS, lol. I wonder how much birth order has to do with that? I do believe that the biggest reward for reading should be reading! But some kids do need a gimmick to get hooked. I do think this program will help those kids.

I guess that's why I like a variety of different approaches. I don't see anything inherently wrong with what you're doing if it seems to be helping some of the kids at your school. When I was teaching music at church some kids were motivated solely by love of music and I felt like that was the truest kind of motivation and what I was really hoping to cultivate. But as much as I hated doing it, some kids would only sing if there was a treat at stake! Still, in the process of earning the treat, they learned to love the music too. I think using lots of different methods is best, maybe favoring methods that bring out the intrinsic reward of reading?

[TwinFoxes]

I didn't mean to derail the thread. Unlike Green Tea I don't have any background in teaching, but having volunteered a lot in the school I see lots of different kid personalities. My kids would love chatting to an adult about a book, but some kids are unbelievably shy, and even answering a few questions from an adult volunteer would be a nightmare for them. Some kids who are not strong readers might be very embarrassed that their classmate's parent knows that. And the. There's just the whole testing aspect, that right there takes away the fun even if it is only a few questions. My kids like talking about books, but one of my DDs gets test anxiety, she would worry about her book "test" I just know it. Who needs that?

I've always liked those "drop everything and read" type programs. Kids can read whatever they want, and the whole school reads at the same time. The teacher knows they're reading and there's no pressure.