Comments on: Summer Reading and the Rich/Poor Achievement Gap | An Educator Responds to Questions

By: Lori Littlefield

Lori Littlefield — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 18:30:34 +0000

I am a district librarian for a small, rural Maine school system. In our high school, where I am located, I encourage students to borrow up to five books for the summer. I rarely “lose” books…and while I agree that the public library is a valuable resource, it is often not reachable by many of our younger population who’s parents control their movements. We have NO public transportation system, limited hours, and none of the five town libraries are consistent in offerings of books, materials, hours, or approach in dealing with kids. So, I took it upon myself to try and make a difference: http://tinyurl.com/ln2hkmv – is the result. This school year will show, hopefully, the continued excitement I saw on the faces of children racing to line up and select “free” books this summer, because I drove to around to them (parks, beach, playground, schools). It was an incredible learning experience, and while I may not agree with all elements of the article – I do see a huge gap that our children face each start of the school year. Closing that gap is important; helping kids to love reading is my priority.

By: Howard Abraham

Howard Abraham — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 20:31:41 +0000

I rarely buy books for my daughter. It’s a delicate balance between choosing books that will challenge and entertain her as her skills improve noticeably on a monthly basis. We make a weekly trip to the public library to borrow books. She reads to me every night and then I read stories slightly above her level back to her so she hears new words in context and experiences stories with greater depth and more developed characters. We follow the same pattern whether school is in session or not. Bedtime stories have been our part of our routine since she was weened off the bottle on her first birthday. I don’t think access to book stores or income matters when we have such a fantastic resource available to all citizens at the public library. I will admit, however, that limited weekend hours does make it difficult to schedule a trip sometimes. We make it a priority.

By: Celia L. Bouffidis

Celia L. Bouffidis — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:27:33 +0000

Some districts allot funds to give 1-2 books to their students to promote summer reading. Other districts will say they have no money for that. I am in a district that has schools sharing librarians, and where the library budget no longer exists. A few of our school librarians have not been able to purchase new books in the past few years. Richard Allington seems to be out of touch with life in urban public schools.

By: Alison

Alison — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:15:40 +0000

I feel that this article really ignores the public libraries, which typically do not close in the summer and have summer reading programs to encourage reading even when the school libraries are closed.

By: P. Childs

P. Childs — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:55:56 +0000

I too am a school librarian who jumps for joy when students ask if they can “take the whole series” because I know that what I am doing makes an impact. I am also in a very diverse school. I cannot, for the sake of one group of students, give away all the books for the sake of another. In addition, my book budget has declined steadily over the last 5 years and a “mere 10%” loss could clean me out in short order. I have never refused a child a book because there was a “limit” or stood in the way of ANY child who needed a book (including paying for some out of my own pocket). Educators know about low income students and the challenges they face every day–not just in the summer. Most of our schools are open in the summer, but I have worked in schools where I opened the library over the summer when the buildings were closed. Don’t talk to me about caring more about books than kids. There is a REAL difference between a LIBRARY and book distribution projects (projects which I have helped to create). I do not intend to “get over” teaching students about self-discipline and study skills and good work habits–also a part of our job description. Returning something that you borrowed that does not “belong” to any one person but to a larger group is like keeping a promise. The promise I made to all my students many years ago is that I would teach them everything I could about school, about life and about being a responsible human being. Not asking for forgiveness either.