Reluctant Readers – Would facts be better than fiction?

Reluctant readers.  I didnt even realise this was a phrase.  As an avid reader myself, and from a family of bibliophiles, the concept of people who choose not to read was astounding.  Teaching and the education profession is my second career.  I spent many years as a practicing scientist and reading both professionally and for recreation was common.  We had many water cooler conversations about recent academic publications along with Oprah’s uncanny knack of turning an average book into a best seller.  So my foray into the world of reluctant readers has been recent and startling.

 

Reluctant readers as people that “may struggle with reading, not show any interest in reading or simply refuse to read independently” (learningpotential.gov.au). These students in a classroom tasked with silent reading either pretend to read to avoid censure, get easily distracted or flat out refuse to read citing boredom, disinterest or illiteracy (www.k12reader.com).  Some children and young teens chose negative behaviour even if it leads to disciplinary actions just to avoid reading a book.  Such machinations are just a student’s way to avoid doing something they don’t like. When questioned, most of these readers describe reading as a chore and that there is nothing that interests them.    

My school has just implemented a silent reading program for the year 7 and 8 students to improve literacy levels and promote reading for recreational purposes.  The program is still in its infancy and we have noticed that out of the 470 students within these two year levels the majority of the students are complying. We do however, have about 50 students who have on multiple occasions been noted for failing to bring a book to class as well as others being identified as ‘fake reading’.  Fake reading, as I have casually defined it, is pretending to read to avoid censure by having a book in front of them but not actually looking at it. Stereotypically, a vast majority of our reluctant readers are boy as many of them are disinterested in books as they view them as ‘unrealistic’ and ‘unnecessary’ as well as ‘unconnected’ to the real world (www.k12reader.com).  

To combat this trend of disinterest, my fellow TLs and I have been searching our collection for various resources to help them find that connection to a book.  The strategies we have implemented to combat the various hurdles are the following:

Short attention span: these kids are not likely to wish to read big compendiums so we have sourced shorter books that are usually completed in 10-15minutes.  This means that students are more likely to read another book as they feel they have accomplished something in a short amount of time. The Libraries of Doom series have been excellent for this.

Low literacy: our school is an inclusive school and we have a wide range of literacy levels.  Many of our reluctant readers have low literacy and are unable to read the plethora of young adult fiction we have.  But they are also loathe to read the simpler books as they feel they are ‘not cool’ enough and self esteem is important during those teenage years.  Hi-lo books have been useful in this setting.  These books purchased jointly with our Inclusive education team have helped with implementation of our reading program.  Hi-Lo books are intriguing to the students because their topics resonate with our students but the language used is at an appropriate level.  They have been particularly popular with our male cohort of reluctant readers. We also have subscribed to Wheelers elibrary for those that have vision disabilities.  These students can elect books with larger print and or use the audiobook function to participate with the reading program.  In most circumstances we can also provide the print copy to help them follow the words.

Disinterested readers:  these are are most challenging students.  They usually rank highly on their literacy results for NAPLAN but show complete disinterest in reading recreationally as they do not find a purpose for it. Fiction books just hold no interest to them. Harper (2016) very truthfully points out “that fiction isn’t for everyone. Some readers just don’t connect with made up characters and imagined scenarios”.  It was surprising though the unwillingness of the English department to support the reading of non fiction texts in the silent reading program. Granted that non fiction is not literature and will not placate the soul, but non fiction texts do lead to life long passions and career choices (National library of NZ 2014).

The addition of non fiction texts and audiobooks have assisted with most of our disinterested reluctant readers.  Whilst their enthusiasm to read is still low, they are slowly coming around to the idea. The recent purchases of print texts on Formula 1 racing and sporting biographies have helped engage some of them.  Others are still fighting the concept but perseverance from my fellow colleagues is making headway. We discovered with a small cohort of year 8 boys that non fiction was just not ‘cutting it’ and a suggestion from their technology teacher about sourcing dirt bike magazines has been a boon.  These magazines with their glossy pictures and simple language style have had some appeal. Whilst we are unable to currently procure an online subscription to this series, we have a print copy on order. These six young men come to the library each time for silent reading and get a current or back issue and read on the very comfy beanbags in our reading area.  It seems obvious that choice matters for recreational reading.  Its only been a week and there have been hiccups but the future is suddenly full of hope

Sharrock (2009)

References

Australian Government – DET (2018) Reluctant readers, how to help. Learning Potential. Retrieved from https://www.learningpotential.gov.au/reluctant-readers-how-to-help

Harper, H. (2016) Books for reluctant readers. [Blog post] Readings. Retrieved from https://www.readings.com.au/news/books-for-reluctant-readers

K12 reader(2018) Strategies to help engage reluctant readers in reading. Retrieved from https://www.k12reader.com/strategies-to-help-engage-reluctant-readers-in-reading/

National Library of NZ. (2014). Non-fiction. National Library of New Zealand Services to Schools. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160729150727/http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/creating-readers/genres-and-read-alouds/non-fiction

Mosle, S. (2012, November 22). What should children read? [Blog post]. Opinionator: The New York Times. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/what-should-children-read/?_r=0

Sharrock, J (2009) Interview with Dave Eggers. Mother Jones Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.motherjones.com/media/2009/03/mojo-interview-dave-eggers/

 

Module 1 – Library Collections

I discovered a new word today. Tsundoku, according to Macmilland Dictionary (2017) is the habit of purchasing and piling up books that never get read.  This seems rather wasteful when most libraries are suffering major budgetary concerns to waste precious funds on resources that are rarely used. Unfortunately in many school libraries the two biggest curriculum resourcing issues are that staff and students under utilise the resources followed quickly by funding pressures  (SCIS 2014).

I know at my school, we have an impressive 100 000 print copies of books plus additional eResources such as Wheelers ebooks, online databases, newspaper subscriptions and access to Clickview for interactive videos.  It is disappointing that even though our library is so well resourced, teachers and students seem to prefer to use google and youtube instead of accessing information from our library catalogue.  It seems preposterous to me that many of the school community were unaware we even had a library management system.  Their ignorance of the platforms we have in place, could extrapolate to acknowledging that lack of resource usage is proportional to the ability of the staff and students to use the OPAC system to identify and select resources.  

Something needs to change.  But what? The library collection development policy at the school endeavours to create a balanced collection that promotes teaching and learning as its primary goal.  Other aspects such as catering to diverse learners and fitting into the budget are also relevant. All the physical and digital assets meet the policy guidelines, which is why we have this policy but what is the point if they are under utilised? What else can we do in the library to promote our resources to the staff and students?  What can we do to remind them that we are not practitioners of Tsundoku?

I was musing about this problem when it occurred to me that many libraries fail in promoting their resources and capabilities.  How were the staff and students going to know about new or fabulous resources in the school library? How would we remind them of what is held within and what can be accessed?  It was then i remembered this post from Hamm (2016) who sends newsletters out to the faculty regularly advising them of the new and popular resources within the library. This idea seems magnificent to me as our school has several teachers who had no idea that we even subscribed to databases.  Their looks of pleasure and interest peaked when I explained how they could access with ease them from both work and home with just their device and password.  A quarterly newsletter published on the staff page of the school intranet would greatly improve our circulation at little cost to the library itself.  

So with these thoughts in mind I thought that for my particular independent high school library in the ACT there needs to be certain parameters necessary before a resources are added to the collection.

Firstly the information source MUST match the needs of the learning community.  It seems superfluous to point out that a resource is unlikely to be used if it is not relevant to the teaching and learning needs and must meet learning outcomes.  The next step is to ensure that the learner traits are accounted for. We have a wide range of student learning ‘attributes’ ranging from varied literacy levels, physical and mental handicaps that need to be catered for in a variety of formats to ensure equity is maintained for the entire student body.  One thing in particular our school library has done is acquire graphic novels of most of the major literature texts.  With many students of varying literacy levels and acknowledging our ‘reluctant’ readers still need to be able to engage with the text, we are trialing out graphic novels in print forms in several titles including classics such as Macbeth, Hamlet, To Kill a mockingbird and the Diary of Anne Frank with the student body.  Our Inclusive Education Team informs the library staff which students have been identified with low literacy levels and then these students are provided with audio books on an iPod as well as the physical text for their class work.  For our reluctant readers, graphic novels are popular as the combination of the text and imagery holds greater appeal. The inclusion of these texts has bolstered up our borrowing rates and appears to help students understand the task ahead.  We have also recently added Wheelers elibrary to our catalogue.  This has not been as popular as predicted but has provided access to resources for our vision challenged students.  Due to the nature of the licensing, only two ‘copies’ of a book can be ‘borrowed’ out at any particular time and this is restrictive with class texts.  The last consideration mentioned by Hughes-Hassel, S & Mancall (2005) is budget. Resources must fit within the budget in order it to be a viable purchase for the school.  We are very lucky in our school to have a principal that values education and our library budget is consistent.

We need a shift in attitude from Tsudonku.

References

Australian School Library Association / Australian Library and Information Services Association. (2001). Learning for the future. (2nd ed). Carlton South, Vic.: Curriculum Corporation.

BBC News (2018) Tsundoku: the art of buying books and never using them. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-44981013

Department of Education and Children’s Services, Government of South Australia. (2004). Choosing and using teaching and learning materials: guidelines for preschools and schools. Hindmarsh, South Australia : DECS Publishing

Hamm, S (2016) Library newsletters. Retrieved from https://www.teenservicesunderground.com/library-newsletters/

Hughes-Hassell, S. & Mancall, J. (2005). Collection management for youth: responding to the needs of learners Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=289075

Johnson, P. (2009). Fundamentals of collection development and management [American Library Association version]. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=267756&site=ehost-live

SCIS ( 2014) Survey of school library collections. Retrieved from ://www2.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/issue_88_2014/articles/school_library_collections_survey_2013.html

Resources for School Librarians () School library promotion through advocacy, special events and bulletin reports. Retrieved from http://www.sldirectory.com/libsf/resf/promote.html

Lawhimsy.com (2015) Word Nerd: Tsundoku. Retrieved from https://lawhimsy.com/2015/10/14/word-nerd-tsundoku/

Macmilllian Dictionary (2027)  https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/tsundoku

 

 

#IWD2019 #Balanceforbetter

#IWD2019

This years theme is #BalanceforBetter, a summon to seek equal rights for both sexes in in all aspects of life.  Notionally, Australia does have significantly better equality among the sexes compared to countries such as Yemen or Saudi Arabia (Haines, G. 2017).  But out of the top twenty countries listed, Australia does not get a mention but oddly enough Rwanda is in the top 5, which one could speculate that both sexes suffer equally in this war torn nation.  Before I digress too much from the reliability of this source, in land down under, we as women are encouraged to hold gainful employment, permitted to vote and drive as well as have access to health care in comparison to Jordan and Pakistan.  All reliable indicators of an equal opportunity. But as the Australian Human Rights Commission image in Figure 1 illustrates, women are still trailing behind in wages and in positions of power. The AHRC (2018) and Haines, G (2017) depict women in Australia at a high risk of personal safety. AIHW (2018) finds that that biggest risk factor for illness, injury and death for Australian women aged between 25-44 is not childbirth or war crimes, but rather just the presence of a partner in their lives.  This fact is horrendous and continues to be a major issue across all Australian states and territories. One only needs to recall the tragedy of Dr Preeti Reddy’s brutal murder in Sydney this week as a frightening reminder of the brutality that can occur behind closed doors ( Gooley G., & Stewart S., 2019).

Figure 1 – Infographic AHRC (2018)

I was musing these thoughts as I was setting up my display for #IWD2019 and one of my regular lunch time visitors interrupted me.  *Rick (name changed) could not understand why I was setting up the book display as “I had it good”. Whilst I was inclined to roll my eyes and tell him to shuffle off, I refrained.  For those that know me, tact and discretion ARE NOT one of my strong suites so this was an unusual occurrence for me. Instead I asked him to help me with the rest of the display and racked my brain with what I was going to say.  

#IWD2019 display

It then occurred to me that out of the roughly ten thousand items we have in our library, I struggled to find biographies of modern women to put in my display.  Granted we have a few books about Elizabeth I, Boadicea, Mary MacKillop, Cleopatra and Florence Nightingale; but our collection of biographies about strong successful MODERN women was limited.  Even though the majority of our regular readers are girls and young women, we seem to have a plethora of books about male sports stars, political leaders, heroes and inventors, but scanty sources solely dedicated to women and their successes.  

I recalled this video I saw a few years ago that illustrated the lack of book choices for our girls that portray strong female protagonists aka rebellious girls.  Then it made me realise that unless our young girls are given the option to imagine being intelligent and tenacious, they will continue to shoebox themselves into the roles of damsels in distress or tire women of great men.  Magras, D (2019) in her article  surmises that strong female characters in books and movies show our young girls that their voices matter and that gender stereotypes can be challenged. It is common knowledge that books stretch the imagination, and it would amazing if books could challenge and inspire our girls.  

Back to Rick* and his statement… Well in true Trish form, I plonked him on my chair, showed him the infographic I had put aside for this blog and then played him the youtube clip.  Once it was over, I asked him what he thought of the video. He hummed and tried to vacillate but eventually settled for “guess you may be right Miss”. I have not have convinced him to become a feminist but maybe I challenged a stereotype in his mind about the need to push for a #BalanceforBetter future.

 

References

Australian Human Rights Commission (2018) Face the facts: Gender Equality 2018.  Retrived from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/education/face-facts/face-facts-gender-equality-2018   accessed 6/3/19

AIHW (2018) New national statistical report sheds light on family violence.  Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, 2018 Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/2018/february/new-national-statistical-report-sheds-light-on-fam accessed 6/3/19

Gooley, C & Stewart, S., (2019) Sydney dentist Preethi Reddy’s body found in suitcase, ex-boyfriend dies in fiery car crash. ABC News.  Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-06/body-of-sydney-dentist-preethi-reddy-found-in-suitcase/10874212 accessed 6/3/19

Haines G., (2017) Mapped: The best (and worst) countries for gender equality. The Telegraph UK.  Retrieved from  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/mapped-the-best-and-worst-countries-for-gender-equality/ accessed 6/3/19

Magras D., (2019) Feminist AF: Hearing Their Voices: Supporting Female Empowerment in Middle Grade Fiction for Tweens and Teens. School Library. Journal.   Retrieved from http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2019/03/feminist-af-hearing-their-voices-supporting-female-empowerment-in-middle-grade-fiction-for-tweens-and-teens-a-guest-post-by-author-diane-magras/ accessed 6/3/19

Rebel Girls (2017) The ugly truth about children’s books.  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Jbd4-fPOE&t=10s accessed 6/3/19

Saner E., (2017) Books for girls, about girls: the publishers trying to balance the bookshelves. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/17/childrens-books-for-girls-publishers-writers-gender-imbalance accessed 6/3/19.

Dr Seuss Week

Happy birthday Doc!

He is one of the world’s most famous children’s book authors. Loved by millions across the globe. This week is Dr Seuss aka Theodor Geisel’s birthday.

And quite frankly I don’t care.

I was never much into the man and his talking animals.  Whilst I did love Hugh Lofting’s ‘Doctor Dolittle’ and his charming adventures with the animal kingdom, I failed to be engaged with the Seuss.

So it surprised me when I saw this article pop up in my Feedly. Maybe I didn’t engage with Seuss because I didn’t relate as a person of colour. Or maybe I just do not like rhyming stories. Or, just maybe I felt they were weird. But then my personal library is filled with other weird and wonderful stories, so they may be in fact, no logical explanation. Just a whim, an idiosyncrasy, a foible of mine.

Either way happy birthday Doc!

Dr. Seuss Books Can Be Racist, But Students Keep Reading Them

 

The Academy Award goes to….

 

The Academy Award goes to….

To commemorate the Academy Awards that were held this morning, this display of books illustrating movies that have won an Oscar was assembled.

The reasoning behind this display and other similar ones I assemble is twofold. Firstly, the displays try and mimic the events in the outside world. Secondly, it supports our theme that the library is promoting this year, which is “Read the Movie”.

Unfortunately there are a large number of reluctant readers at my school and this idea was one I floated at my interview last year to increase reading for pleasure which in turn improves literacy and long term educational learning outcomes.

We’ve also noticed that rather than reading a book prior to watching a movie, the current generation of teens will often read a book only if the movie or Netflix has appealed to them.

In keeping with this promotion, we’ve decorated the library with movie posters and regularly show feature films in our seminar room over a week during lunchtimes.

We will have to wait to see the results in a few years.

initial shock

Last week I received a major shock to my inner sense of well-being.  I had just spent the drive home from work congratulating myself on achieving nirvana whilst still possessing a heartbeat.  I was very happy  with how my life was panning out. My family was and still is healthy, my children delightfully rambunctious, my relationship with hubby comforting and my workplace peaceful and content.  I had smiled with happiness at the joy my friendship circle brings to my life and was anticipating a night plonked on the couch with my crochet and peppermint tea.

So after the usual busyness of dinner and bath-time of three children 8 years old and under, I kissed cheeks, read stories and tucked them into bed.  I will mention that my inner sense of peace was challenged briefly by one child that did have to be tucked in multiple times but that is the nature of a feisty three year old that struggles with impulse control.  The anticipation of my evening of crochet and tea was a siren call but I firmly put that aside as I quickly decided to check my CSU account as I wanted to get familiar with interact2 before the session started.

And there it was.  The subjects and their outlines.  At first I was excited and opened the outlines up to read the tasks and then that excitement quickly became dread.  Both subjects I had enrolled for had assessments due on the same day as the another one.  Further inspection of these dreaded documents only revealed that the tasks were heavily weighted and very heavy on the word count.  It was 8pm and my inner sense of peace and happiness was overtaken by a sense of dread and anxiety.  My panic stricken brain could not compute how I was going to balance my work days with my family commitments and now academic pursuit.  Was I actually completely insane?

Insanity has often been bandied around me by well meaning family and friends.  I have a habit of biting off more that I can chew.  Like moving interstate solo with three little children (one an infant of four weeks) with a deployed husband.  Or starting and finishing a portfolio for full registration in just under six weeks.  Is that perseverance or tenacity or just plain insanity.

It’s been six days and my fear is subsiding… what will the next six days bring?

 

The Last Thursday

The last Thursday. It’s not the last Thursday of the month, nor is it the last Thursday of the school term. Today was the last Thursday I could have to myself for a long time.

I am very passionate about a work life balance. Granted, it is not for everyone as for many, long hours of work are essential to cover living expenses.  But in my own little bubble world of middle class mediocrity, part time employment has enabled me to have an active and engaged role in motherhood. Even though my youngest is three years old, I still feel like my kids need me to be around.

I had the privilege of growing up with a mum who worked school hours.  Consequently I spent my afternoons lounging on the couch scoffing biscuits and regaling stories of the days adventures to my mother.  My children are less fortunate. They shuffle between afternoon activities and after school care. Their school days are often 8-9hrs long.

So I have Thursdays off.  On Thursdays I am a parent first. I do the school run and hang around for the chit chat. I take the toddler for sneaky milkshakes and donuts.  In the afternoons, Abby and I snuggle for our naps together. I still get great joy from the way she refers to our naps as ‘mummy snuggles’. I do the school pick up and have a battle Royale with the car park crush. We eat afternoon tea all together in the backyard whilst I get bombarded with the days events. The big kids do their homework whilst I draw pictures for the baby.

On Thursdays I also look after me. I attend a weekly craft group whilst Abby goes to a community run playschool program.  It’s only for 3 hours a week but it’s the only guaranteed time I truly get for me. These craft sessions have gained me more than just spotlight points.  I have learned how to be patient cos impatience leads to unpicking. I’ve learned numeracy in trying to work out yardage and the stuffing it up by cutting fabric without checking. I’ve learned literacy skills by reading patterns and instructions.  I’ve learned how to use various pieces of technology in my quest to make quilts. I’ve learned how to respect and interact with women of such varied backgrounds. I’ve learned how to problem solve, think critically about pattern matching, analyse my work and evaluate my process.

I love my Thursdays. It is because my Thursdays bring me such joy, it will also be there to reward me when this semester is over.  Continue reading “The Last Thursday”