tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post733529895649623929..comments2023-09-29T05:32:04.308-07:00Comments on StrangePegs: The Reading DilemmaAndrew Leonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-42785823151122706752011-11-22T20:18:39.722-08:002011-11-22T20:18:39.722-08:00Stephanie: Your kids are so much like mine. Except...Stephanie: Your kids are so much like mine. Except my son doesn't do any sport type stuff. That's our area of contention with him (other than eating). But he's off the reading scale and got bumped to 6th grade this year because of test scores.<br /><br />And my daughter's like yours, too. Always outside and a struggle to get to read.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-57164980907188025332011-11-22T18:45:32.209-08:002011-11-22T18:45:32.209-08:00I think it really depends on the child. My son lo...I think it really depends on the child. My son loves to read. He rarely goes anywhere without a book. He gets in trouble at school for reading in class. He is in the 6th grade and has a 12th grade reading level. He enjoys spending time alone in his room reading. But, he also plays too much Xbox. He also runs cross country, plays competitive soccer and on his junior high soccer team.<br /><br /><br />My daughter (same parents) prefers to stay outside. She enjoys sports, but reads only the amount required by her teacher.<br /><br />Not sure of the solution, they have required outside reading, but they get to select the books.<br /><br />I am thankful for the variety of books offered at their school and a helpful librarian.Stephanienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-80553129998100421032011-11-03T16:09:50.587-07:002011-11-03T16:09:50.587-07:00Rusty: I'd completely agree with you except fo...Rusty: I'd completely agree with you except for one thing... my parents don't read. My mom reads occasionally, but not enough for it to have rubbed off on me. My dad, like my brother, has never read a book in his life. When I was little, though, my grandfather used to read to me. That's the only early exposure I really had to reading.<br /><br />As for the math, I'm not sure most people would be able to do simple arithmetic.<br /><br />Jennifer: Yeah, it is pretty cool. Especially when they laugh at the right places.<br /><br />Charlie: That sounds pretty cool! Hmm... I should look around and see if there are any of those around here.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-56670389654078941072011-11-03T10:42:04.482-07:002011-11-03T10:42:04.482-07:00I have yet to do a school presentation. I do have ...I have yet to do a school presentation. I do have a high school book club reading my novel soon and I'm planning on meeting with them. It scares the water out of me...mainly in my armpits...Charlie Pulsipherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08877018077937978788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-1021032518015360322011-11-03T07:27:13.736-07:002011-11-03T07:27:13.736-07:00Wow that is really cool! I would love to do a pres...Wow that is really cool! I would love to do a presentation at a school. Kids are the greatest inspiration I think because of their excited energy!Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16232979489927013323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-79871779085787219962011-11-02T19:31:53.134-07:002011-11-02T19:31:53.134-07:00I think kids mimic their parents - that is, if the...I think kids mimic their parents - that is, if their parents read when the kids were small, some of that will rub off. My son has probably read 50 books or so. Not a lot, but about like me when I was his age. It's hard to compete with video games, or just being outside, not to mention TV, movies, etc.<br /><br />I think Video Games are what passes for novels nowadays anyway. The amount of time it takes to get through a video game is closer to what they'd have to put into finishing a novel. Those games, the wargames, the super violent space shooters, they often have really good storytelling elements. I don't find it all that compelling, but I can at least see how it tends to hit the same buttons as a good book will. <br /><br />That said, I am afraid that one day all the calculators will stop working, and no one will know how to do anything harder than basic arithmetic.Rusty Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09887821877521181811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-64299574744701712302011-11-02T13:32:16.407-07:002011-11-02T13:32:16.407-07:00Mutt: Well, that's true. When you look at it l...Mutt: Well, that's true. When you look at it like that, I guess we're doing okay.<br /><br />Sarah: Yeah, my brother does that. How is that something to be proud of?<br /><br />Briane: I know what you're saying about schools and it being work and such, but that's also a problem with the school system that doesn't have an answer. I love comics; they should be put to use in schools. I have way too many... maybe, I'll donate some of them to my kids' school.<br /><br />Yeah, the cover's by Rusty. It's awesome!<br /><br />And I disagree with you about Moby Dick. That book is awesome. Of course, I was an adult when I read it, and I read it because I chose to read it, so I had nothing against it going in.<br /><br />Michael: Yeah, it was cool, although I'm not sure about the intended audience part. I have a hard time with that concept, because I think it should appeal to adults, too. Parents and people that grew up in the 80s especially.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-84225420140303720162011-11-02T12:46:35.792-07:002011-11-02T12:46:35.792-07:00Oh how exciting that you got to read in front of y...Oh how exciting that you got to read in front of your intended audience.Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-2211232683077519342011-11-02T08:38:48.743-07:002011-11-02T08:38:48.743-07:00I'm jealous of you about your presentation; I ...I'm jealous of you about your presentation; I love doing those. I got to go read a short story of mine for Middle Daughter's English class about five years ago. At the time, I was the only person anyone knew who'd published something -- one short story.<br /><br />The thing about reading in schools especially is I think they are up against the "if it's an assignment I don't want to do it" mentality, first and foremost. I used to read 2-3 books a week when I was a kid, but I almost never read the stuff the school assigned because I didn't want to do it; it was WORK, not a fun thing. Later on, I went and read some of the books I'd skipped, and found at least some of them to be okay.<br /><br />The others, though, were deadly boring: Things like "Moby-Dick" were awful. Lots of books they read are awful. Prior to senior year, only one book I read for school ("Great Expectations") was any good. Senior year, we got "Slaughterhouse Five" and "Catch-22" and "Childhood's End" and I read all of those, which were very good.<br /><br />One thing people do: They discourage reading in favor of "specific kinds of reading." Schools, especially, frown on "this reading" when you could be doing "that better reading." That's like saying "You should only listen to opera" and expecting kids to like music. <br /><br />We let our kids read what they want; if they wanted to read Sports Illustrated, at least they were reading. Two of the three oldest don't read much (but read some) and one of three reads more than I do. <br /><br />I guess what I'm saying is that teachers (and writers) could fix it if they focused more on getting people to like reading by reading good, fun things to read, and then expanding. I read tons of comics and Mad Magazine, and ended up going to law school, so it's not like you can't amount to something if you read comics. (And someday I hope to amount to something and prove that true.)<br /><br />I've got your book on my short list for Indie Book Reviews. And that cover's by Rusty, right?Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-41963394881640206942011-11-01T23:11:01.046-07:002011-11-01T23:11:01.046-07:00I'm glad you got to do a presentation, but sad...I'm glad you got to do a presentation, but sad about those statistics. It saddens me when I hear adults boasting about how they've never read a book since school. I just couldn't imagine it.Sarah Tokeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13273148070092101085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-71918874369873530312011-11-01T17:31:25.146-07:002011-11-01T17:31:25.146-07:00It's still probably more people who read than ...It's still probably more people who read than 200 years ago when most people were still living on farms.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.com