I have been on a crusade, if you will, to have No Book Left Behind. At my children's Elementary School they were told that they couldn't read books below their grade level and month equivalent. I was horrified that an educator or staff member would say such a thing. I began to investigate, ask questions....and learn more than I wanted to about the Accelerated Reading (AR) program. It is a wonderful program but not without its faults. There were pro's and con's to what it had to offer. I have two children who LOVE to read, one very gifted and one on the spectrum. Too vastly different styles and skill levels...but one common denominator, if you will, they enjoy reading. I have been on a "No Book Left Behind" campaign at our school for a month. Many moms have discussed it, but no one wants to be the "that" mom who speaks up and opens the discussion with members at our school. Sure, we are all busy...our kids are succeeding in school...there are things that we all overlook, but for me this was not one of them. I met with school officials and staff and voiced my concerns on Facebook. Surprisingly, I found that many have waged their own battles over reading levels and have had issues with AR in one form or another. I sought to find a common ground, one in which my children could read ALL books...to read books they enjoy, to take away the "points" and reward the children with the wonderment of where the words they read were taking them. It is still a work in progress but one that I am very happy to report that our school is offering a "Free Choice" to the AR program. It's not a written policy (yet) but one in which a child that has reached their AR goal can read any book in the library. I am hoping that our school will adopt it, adjust the Reading Levels to students Zone of Proximal Development test scores and make it their policy to read books within their testing score level and higher if warranted vs. having their choices limited to books that are based upon their grade level and month equivalent . I would love nothing more than to see our school take the initiative to make reading fun again and maybe more kids will put down their gadgets and pick up a book! A policy which the students no longer focus on the points (and only read a book because of a point value) and focus on a variety of reading levels to expose students to books they would miss out on and they genuinely want to read. This is something I seek, and not only advocate for my child but for every student at our school. Que the Reading Rainbow theme song!
One might ask, how does this tie into Breathe, Seek, Play...the theme of this years Lent for me? Of course, we wall care about our children, and their academic success...everyone from parents, to educators, to staff at the schools, etc care about and focus on the children that they come in contact with. But how it all ties in relates to a quote by an unknown source I stumbled upon (or better yet was led to) Here it is:
"Our life is one open book full of pages...we laugh, we cry, we smile, we stumble, we stand, we fail, we succeed....every chapter defines who we really are"
So what is it that you are passionate about? What would you do if you knew you could not fail? Is there something that you wish was different, but yet you kept silent? Is there something you've put off doing thinking you will have time later to finish? Are there things you wish would change but do not want to look in the mirror?
My boys are working on a "wax museum" project where they have to write and recite a report an autobiography of a famous American. They have to research their subject; birth date, birth place, childhood history, how they impacted or influenced history on your life, etc. If someone was writing a book about your life, what would be your story? With a musical lyric I'll end on this note..."today is where your book begins...the rest is still unwritten."
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