Boy Kicked Out Of Reading Competition Because He Reads Too Much

[babylonsister]

Boy Kicked Out Of Reading Competition Because He Reads Too Much
August 21, 2013 | Filed under: Education,Headliner,Uncategorized | Posted by: Miranda Burbank



One of the largest impediments to a good education is summer vacation. If those three months or so are spent in front of the TV or even being physically active, a child is likely to lose a lot of what he learned over the previous school year. For that reason, many school districts and municipalities try to provide learning opportunities that last through the dog days of summer. Hudson Falls, NY offers a reading contest for school children – one in which the student who reads the most books wins. However, they have determined that the boy who reads the most reads too much and they’ve asked him to drop out.

Nine-year-old Tyler Weaver of Hudson Falls, NY loves to read. In fact, over one summer vacation, Tyler read 63 books. Marie Gandron, a library director in Hudson Falls, thinks that’s too much – that Tyler’s reading discourages other children from entering their annual reading contest. In a phone conversation to Tyler’s grandmother, Katie Weaver, Gandron said, that Tyler “hogs” the contest every year and that he should “step aside.”

“Other kids quit because they can’t keep up,” Gandron said.

Gandron further told the reporter she planned to change the rules of the contest so that instead of giving prizes to the children who read the most books, she would draw names out of a hat and declare winners that way.

Educating to the lowest common denominator is not a new phenomenon in the U.S. Advanced students are often at similar disadvantages to learning-disabled students. Advanced students get bored and their grades, attendance and behavior often suffers as a result.

Reading can help level the playing field. It can introduce unmotivated students to the love of learning and it can keep advanced students engaged and challenged. By taking the reading requirement out of a reading contest, Gandron may think her heart is in the right place, but she’s assuming that the only purpose of a reading contest is to win. Winning isn’t the goal. Reading is the goal. I’m sure that many of the contest’s past “losers” won the biggest prize of all, which was a new-found love of reading. As a library director, she should understand that.

more...

http://samuel-warde.com/2013/08/boy-kicked-out-of-reading-competition-because-he-reads-too-much/

[panader0]

1. Tyler should be an inspiration to the other readers.

[Mopar151]

2. Why not do something graceful?

Like "retire" him as "Grand Master Champion" or something, give him a library card for life, then give prizes to the top 3 "podium" finishers.

And TW coulda been me - I once received an "A" with an "unsatisfactory" effort in 6th grade reading class. And I'm from a family like that - when my Dad passed, the town librarians sent flowers.

[snooper2]

4. I'm sure if he was the next Steve Prefontaine

They would ask him to "step aside" as well

[FSogol]

12. My thoughts too. n/t

[RobinA]

29. You Would Think

they could come up with a creative way of dealing with this.

I was one whose Bs were often greeted with "Unsatisfactory Effort." I didn't care about grades and was able to pull Bs without ever taking a book home. In 6th grade I was quite able to see the irony of gaining a B and then being told I wasn't making an effort. My attitude at the time was and a big FU, and I was only 11.

[malaise]

42. 1,000

I don't have much faith left in humanity

[Supersedeas]

63. yep, surely the adults could think of some creative alternative

[bemildred]

3. Maybe you ought not make it competitive in the first place?

Reading isn't about defeating anybody else.

[earthside]

7. Competitive reading?

Most summer reading programs I am aware of award a prize or certificate for reading a minimum number of books.

It shouldn't be a competition. It should simply be a program to encourage reading.

[bemildred]

11. Yes, that's much better. This kid does not need encouragment.

He can be safely left to his own devices, in fact that's best, I was that kid once. Down to the library once a week or so for a new armload.

[earthside]

31. Me, too!

I would walk a couple of times a week down to my public library, probably about four miles (it was a very pleasant walk) to check out books.

That was when I was in about sixth, seventh and eighth grade

I still remember those summers very fondly.

Oh, and there wasn't any summer reading program back then, I read because it was exciting.

[BlueStreak]

33. Simply make it a drawing for prizes

Make the kids write book reports for each book they have read. A superb report (for the student's age) gets three tickets, a good report that shows reasonable comprehension gets 2 tickets. A report that isn't great but at least proves the kid read the book gets 1 ticket. Throw them all in a fishbowl and then have a big drawing for 5 prizes at the end. Nobody can win more than one prize. Those who read a lot and write great reports are more likely to get the top prize, but maybe not. The librarians could also make awards for the best report, etc.

It is absurd to disqualify the kid when there are so many simple solutions to this problem that don't reward mediocrity.

[bemildred]

34. Right, everybody reads, everybody gets encouraged, nobody gets put down.

See my sig line.

[Jenoch]

5. I agree that changing the rules

of this contest is a bit ridiculous.

I also think this kid would benefit from going outside and playing with other kids.

[MineralMan]

13. How do you know the kid doesn't do that, too?

I read at least that many books each summer. More, most likely. I didn't keep count. I was outside a lot, too. The two things are not mutually exclusive, by any means. I read in the evenings and early in the mornings. The rest of the time I was outdoors hiking, catching snakes, and hanging out with my friends.

I still average a book a day, the same way.

[BlueStreak]

36. We don't know.

There are kids who have intense fear of interacting with others. So of those kids might look for ways to occupy themselves where the adults will leave them alone. I have no idea if that is the present case, but it could be. And we also don't know what level of comprehension the kid is achieving. It could be that he would benefit from a program that puts attention on quality of reading versus quantity.

[MineralMan]

38. We don't know much at all about the kid.

So, maybe we should quit acting like we do. The kid reads a lot. That is all we know about him. I read a lot, too, and I have no problem at all interacting with others. I never have had such a problem. And I read for comprehension, and still remember details about what I read decades ago.

Let's not try to figure out anything about people we don't know, OK?

[BlueStreak]

39. I believe we were talking about the librarian and her program

I see no reason why we should not do so.

In my view, the program emphasized the wrong things. Had it been set up better, there would have been no issue.

[MineralMan]

40. Yes, until someone made a comment about the boy.

That was what I was talking about. See ya.

[BlueStreak]

45. You can't talk about the program without talking about how it dealt with the boy

I frankly don't understand your objections. Is there some old baggage here?

[burnodo]

46. so learning is a bad thing, eh?

maybe the kids should stop playing so much and read more books

[Jenoch]

47. Of course learning is not a bad thing.

And of course I was responding with a stereotype. The story makes this kid seem like he sits inside reading all summer. If that is true, he needs to get outside more. Notice I said 'if'.

[quakerboy]

53. And "if"

You beat your cat, you should stop...

Notice I said IF. That apparently makes it ok for me to imply that you are an animal abuser.

"If"... Its the next door neighbor of "some people say", and right down the way from "no offense, but"

[demwing]

57. I've always thought line: "no offense, but..."

Was a warning that the next words coming would, in fact, be offensive.

[kiva]

6. Or maybe they should give prizes

for kids who check out books even if they don't read them, because this sort of contest really discriminates against kids who can read.

[zipplewrath]

8. Dumb contest, dumb rules

It's a dumb contest with dumb rules. You know your rules are dumb when they have you making dumb decisions. It emphasizes quantity over quality and it pits people in a competition against each other. Reading isn't a battle, it's not a game of winners and losers. It's a tool for communicating and learning. The rules should emphasize communication and learning.

[Nay]

25. Thank you. Stop making everything a big fucking competition to the death, ffs.

If you read a certain established number of books over the summer, you get a prize! How hard is that? Anyone can 'win' that contest with the requisite effort of reading the required number of books, and it emphasizes the true object of the contest -- to get kids to read over the summer. Jesus, are people really this crass and stupid???

[malthaussen]

9. This is one of the problems with our *stupid* goddam obsession with competition.

Everything has to have a winner or loser -- this is why the sport the rest of the world calls football is not particularly popular in the US, despite attempts to push it. Everything has to have a ranking, from "Best President Ever" to "Best Toilet Paper Ever."

It's too much, and I submit it is part of the cause that our society is sliding down the razor blade of life.

/Rant off

-- Mal

[Blue_Tires]

15. +1000

Not only that, but these "contests" encourage kids/parents to fudge the numbers, or to focus more on really short books below their reading level (i.e. Dr. Seuss)

[former9thward]

17. What does soccer have to do with it?

Are you saying there is no competition in soccer? People kill each other in other parts of the world over a soccer match.

[malthaussen]

20. About 1/3 of soccer games end in ties.

This is very unpopular in the US, where all games are supposed to have clear winners and losers.

-- Mal

[former9thward]

22. I dislike ties.

Last edited Thu Aug 22, 2013, 09:06 PM - Edit history (1)

But what I find boring about soccer is the low scores. When professional soccer came to the U.S. I had season tickets to the Chicago Fire. I finally gave up after a couple seasons. I just could not get into it like I do with American football.

[demwing]

58. soccor is hockey

With different tools.

Soccor shoild do at least as wll as hockey in America.

[quakerboy]

55. Huh?

Wait.. Football (soccer) is not about winners and losers?

If that's what you are saying, I suspect the Newcastle guy who just punched a police horse in the face during the riot after his team lost might not fully agree with that sentiment.

[kcr]

59. I couldn't agree more

But for some reason stupid memes like "They pass out participation awards to everyone nowadays" are prolific. So don't count on it changing.

[surrealAmerican]

10. If kids really are quitting because they can't win ...

... then there is something wrong with the way the contest is designed. It needs to be fun for the kids who participate, even those who won't be "first". They may be putting too much emphasis on one big prize for the "winner", and not enough on rewards for all the kids who achieve some sort of goal. This will continue to be a problem even if they do convince this one kid to stop competing.

[LWolf]

14. From a different perspective:

I sent a student off to high school this year after 3 years in my classroom. He was a prolific, gifted reader. He consumed a broad range of literature, from classics to newer, from books written for his own age group, and popular with his peers, to adult books across many genres. His peers knew he was a reader. They knew he read more than he did. They were sometimes inspired to read more than they would have, or to try new things that he recommended. Many were inspired to step up their game for book discussions, coming better prepared and having more to say.

Instead of a contest, she should have a celebration that celebrates ALL the reading the kids are doing. If she wants a contest, it just needs to have "winners," not "a winner." The top ten in each age group.

It really isn't about the number of books, although the amount of time invested IS a factor. Getting the kids together to talk about their reading, to share and interact, is better, imo, than counting books.

[KittyWampus]

19. That would be my suggestion… give multiple prizes for best essays OR even best questions-

asking kids to come up with questions after reading a book is also very good for comprehension.

[KittyWampus]

16. perhaps they could make the "competition" closer to a book club w/prizes for best essays

on chosen books.

That way they would emphasize quality and comprehension over quantity.

[jmowreader]

18. Speaking as the kid who got kicked out of the school spelling bee for always winning, I agree...

I would have done something like "read ten books and write book reports on them, win a gift card to the froyo place." Ya got two problems here: a book contest that rewards quantity over quality is going to convince the kids who play soccer or go to Boston for a week to not read at all if they know the kid who can read a book in a day and a half is going to win, and there's no fucking way the kid who read 63 books one summer remembers anything about the books he read.

[tblue37]

49. This is absolutely a false assumption!

You said, ". . . there's no fucking way the kid who read 63 books one summer remembers anything about the books he read."

That is simply not true. Many people are fast and effective readers. I am now (and was as a child), and so are (and were) my kids. Many of my close friends are also avid readers (as well as fast and effective), and have been their whole lives. (We serious readers tend to flock together.)

Just because some people can't read that many books that fast with full comprehension or recall, that does not mean that none of us can!

[PuppyBismark]

21. How some parents view summer reading

My wife was an English teacher. She always assigned her incoming students an assignment to read ONE book over the summer. One year an irate mother came into the school office and demanded that she stop this as the mother thought that the summer was her son's time off and she would darn not allow him to read anything during his time off from school. My wife never backed down, but the administration told the mother that he did not HAVE to read the book.

[TlalocW]

23. Divide it up into more prizes

I know every year summer library programs have a theme (I think, "Dig into reading," was this year's). Give out prizes for number of books read about that theme, number of books read in a certain genre, number of books read by a certain author, etc.

TlalocW

[tblue37]

50. Our library gives out prizes for the number of books read.

Any child who reads certain number of books wins a gift certificate for a personal pan pizza and a drink. If the read more books, they win other prizes. All of the prizes are that sort of thing--a small, inexpensive treat of some sort.

They have several different levels of "winning," and each child who reads enough books for each level wins the prize for that level.

My understanding is that the prizes are donated by local businesses, so it doesn't cost the library anything, but it does serve as nice advertising and goodwill PR for the businesses.

[bravenak]

24. I always read the most books.

I'd get 1st place and a prize and then somebody else would get 1st place too. Then they stopped letting the PACT kids enter. I think it was because of me. I didn't care because to me reading the books was the prize. The winner usually got another book.

[cthulu2016]

26. Some wavy glasses and a pair of very loud headphones would fix that.

(Vonnegut reference)

[Nay]

41. God, that was a good story. Sometimes I feel like it's coming true -- the whole

dumbing down thing on steroids.

[Bunnahabhain]

27. That would only motivate me to read 64 books

This sends all kinds of wrong messages. The adults need to think like adults and handle the situation in such a fashion that it does not demoralize this kid. He hardly deserves to be kicked out for achievement.

And I see common prejudice sneaking here. He needs to get outside more? I was, and am, a prodigious reader. I got outside tons, managed to make it to the rink at 3:30 am for hockey practice, mow our lawn and four other lawns, have a paper route and still would complain to my mother I was "bored."

[Mike Nelson]

28. I'm always suspiciousabout stories like this...

...he shouldn't be "kicked out" if that's the way it was put. I know these reading programs where the computer savoy students take the post-reading quiz without even reading the book, score 100% and rack up mega-points!

[KurtNYC]

30. Update -- Hudson Falls Library President weighs in...

This year, 30 children read 10 or more books over their summer vacation. That’s the good story we should be sharing and celebrating, and we’re sorry that some unfortunate comments have overshadowed the accomplishments of Tyler Weaver and all of the participants in our program.

Tyler has achieved an impressive record of reading the most books in our program for five years in a row, and deserves our applause for that. In an era where technology too often keeps children’s noses pointed at text messages and video games, Tyler and the other “Dig into Reading” kids have embraced the wonderful world of books, and for that they should all be proud.

Looking forward, the Library Board and staff will be reviewing the way in which our program works to ensure that it continues to meet its goal of encouraging as many children as possible to spend time reading over the summer.

http://poststar.com/news/local/hudson-falls-library-president-releases-statement-on-reading-program-controversy/article_85df4dfe-0b36-11e3-bcd9-0019bb2963f4.html

Another story on this here:

In a previous year, she discovered that a girl and her mother were lying about reading more than 200 books. As a result, children now have to answer questions by a library aide about the content of the books after they return them in order to verify that they have indeed read what they've claimed. Lita Casey, a library aide for 28 years, told the Post-Star that Gandron’s idea to change the rules to picking names out of a hat is “ridiculous.”

http://www.today.com/books/librarian-wants-ban-5-time-reading-champ-contest-6C10960198

Btw, if he is 9 years old now that means he won this contest for the first time at the age of 5.

[HappyMe]

32. Thanks for the update.

Kind of crappy that achievement was looking like it was getting frowned on. I have a hard time with the 'everyone's a winner' and those foolish 'participation ribbons'.

Cheating? Way to teach your daughter, mom.

[GalaxyHunter]

35. some kids win, others lose. Just because you "lose" doesn't mean you are bad.

It just means someone is better than you.


There is nothing wrong with someone being better than you.

for the kids that quit, their parents should be talking to explain that it is ok for someone to be better than you at something and that doesn't say anything bad about you.


I see nothing wrong with the kid who read the most books as being the winner.


Either quit bitching about it or don't have your child participate in the contest. You don't need a contest to read after all.




EDIT TO SAY: Drawing a name out of a hat to pick winners is ridiculous!! If they decide to that then I hope the lottery decided to pick its winners the same way!

[Nay]

43. But the goal of this summer activity was to get more children to read over the summer. IMHO,

it was counterproductive to couch it in the form of a "contest" with one winner and a bunch of losers in the first place, and I think a lot of posters are trying to say that. In a real contest, like football, there ARE winners and losers because that is the nature of the game that is being played.

It should have been presented to all children as an opportunity to earn a prize by meeting a goal. The school sets the goal (10 books, 20 books, whatever), determines how to certify the books have been read, and those who show enough individual initiative to read the required amount get prizes.

IOW, we set it up so that ALL the children can potentially be winners if they apply themselves. We do that because we want to encourage reading, encourage goal setting, and the perfect outcome would be that all kids meet the goal and get a prize because they have done the work required.

[Rex]

37. Sounds like she has personal beef with the kid.

Maybe she is jealous, because he reads at a higher level then Gandron.

[MrScorpio]

44. Bullshit! The kid's clearly the winner

He's earned his prize and them some.

[Hekate]

48. Hmm. Bet the school and parents have NO problem hailing every athlete's prowess...

.... loudly and often. Those who do not come in first in athletics are told to be good sports and that only one person can win first prize etc etc.

This is reinforced by letting classmates choose teams in PE -- I assume they still do that, right? Now that's a wonderful exercise in day in and day out humiliation for the kids who can't see the ball coming.

Sports is God.

But reading? The very basis of all academic achievement and future ability to learn on one's own? God forbid the kid who excels in reading should get a prize.

If the same kid won every event in Track and Field, would they make him sit it out?

If the contest is re-thought, I'd go for this from the OP:
Winning isn’t the goal. Reading is the goal. I’m sure that many of the contest’s past “losers” won the biggest prize of all, which was a new-found love of reading. As a library director, she should understand that.

[Fumesucker]

56. Your post reminded me of this..

[Iggo]

60. "If the same kid won every event in Track and Field, would they make him sit it out?"

That's the meat of it right there.

[Nay]

61. Exactly. IF the contest designers have designed the contest to be a one-winner-takes-all,

they have no choice but to crown this boy as winner. That is not in dispute. And they should NEVER have told the kid he could no longer enter the contest because he was beating everyone else all the time.The boy was not the problem - the design of the contest was the problem.

But I think we need to probe this a bit more, mainly because it's hard for me to believe that the contest designers are so blockheaded as to have such trouble sorting this out. I don't believe they had trouble figuring out the best thing to do. I suspect some had ideological tendencies that got in the way of doing a simple redesign, and had trouble letting go of the one winner/many losers model.

The easy, simple and fair solution: they should have praised the boy for being the winner and, in the next year's contest, changed it so that it was a contest in which each child had a goal to reach in order to get a small prize. As I've said before, the putative idea is to get ALL children reading, not to produce winners and losers, and it's baffling why the contest designers can't see that. It's simple on its face.

So simple, in fact, that I wonder whether there's some idiot among the contest designers who is a RW fight-to-the-death moron who thinks everything should be turned into a winner/loser capitalist-style contest, even a program to encourage reading among children. And when it looks like he (the RWer) is going to be thwarted, he proposes the exact solution that RWers say lefties propose -- "let's throw the winner out and give EVERYBODY a prize, no matter how well or badly they've done!" Thus, the RWer gets a two-fer -- he got to run a to-the-death contest for a while, and, when thwarted, he proposed a 'solution' that slammed 'lefties.'

[defacto7]

51. Haven't these children learned to appreciate other children's talents and successes?

Well neither have most adults. It's each for themselves and all others be damned.

Welcome to our society.

[LuvNewcastle]

52. How do they know the kids read these books?

Do they give them tests for knowledge or make them write papers about them? I like the idea of having them write papers on the books and giving awards for the best of those. We read for pleasure, but also to gain knowledge. The awards should be based on who has learned the most.

[B Calm]

54. My thought too!

[dembotoz]

62. to be kicked out because he is too good is really quite cool

parents should get him a t-shirt saying that

a nerdy trophy for sure.