Facebook/Twitter: 52%
Nothing: 36%
Harry Pottter: 8%
Urban Fiction: 4%
Huckleberry Finn, Comic Books, Newspapers, and Magazines got no votes.
For a fact, I know the young girls are reading the urban fiction smut. The boys are looking at the hip-hop magazines and the soft porn buxom black girly magazines. I’m not sure if they’re reading them. I occasionally see young folks with a Daily Times tucked under their arm.
So who is voting?
Teachers! What are you giving the kids to read?
Parents! What are your kids reading at home?
Kids! Vote.
I know if Mrs. Cheeks was still teaching, they’d be reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X when they reached 11th grade.
Where’s the Mrs. Cheeks of today’s classroom?
I am a teacher here in Chester and my students are free to take home books as they please from the classroom and library. The problem is the books are NEVER returned. I keep a list of the student, the book title, when they take it, and when it is returned. Chances are the book never comes back. Students are not allowed to take books unless the previous one is returned. As a school we cannot afford to replace the books time after time. When a book is not returned the parents are charged the cover price for it. Sometimes I get books back that are torn, have food stuck to them, and the best was a shopping list written on the cover. This is not the way to treat books, but it happens time and time again. I cannot afford to replace the books out of my pocket and I should not have to. I love working in Chester. It is my CHOICE not my only option. Parents need to monitor their child's reading choices and make an effort to keep the books safe while in their home. Chester students love to read and it is a shame that they have limited access to books. The urban fiction "book" are trash and as an adult I am offended by the material. Not all children in urban areas have the experiences that are shown in these "books" and it is a cruel stereotype.
ReplyDeleteI understand the issue with books going home. We have a large population of homes that do not value books, so handouts are the preferred alternative to text books and homework.
ReplyDeleteIf we require each grade to read a particular book, (Malcolm X for 11th graders for example), can't the school district, with their buying power, find paperbacks for a very low cost? If we can find those books for $1 or $2 dollars, you are not at a great loss if the books come up missing and can't be reimbursed by the families.
And it's good to see the teen girls reading, but the steady diet of urban fiction is almost criminal. Some of these books should require a rating system to keep away from non-adult readers. But, they sell them at Walmart, so it must be okay. They'd enjoy other books if we could just get them in their hands.