For years I thought the AR (Advanced Reading) program was great. There was an abundant of AR books at the library that interested Brandon. Things changed this year when he entered middle school.
When I found I could view his AR progress at his middle school's website I was excited. I clicked on the AR parent link to view his progress and was pleased to see a list of AR books that included a book of his favorite movie, 'The Bourne Identity'. Wow! I thought. Finally some decent books that will keep his interest. I went to a used book store and bought the book.
Now, I consider my self pretty Internet savvy. I do not like labor intensive sites where I have to work to find something. Soooo ….. I did not notice that before I logged into his account, there on the sidebar was the middle school AR list. The list of books the school bought AR quizzes for not to be confused with the complete AR list.
I was made aware of this two days before Brandon’s AR goal was to have been met when he went to take the quiz on 'The Bourne Identity' only to discover there was none. He had spent weeks reading this book, which by the way was worth 28 out of his 38 point goal. There was no time to read that many books in the span of a couple days to make up for the points he was short.
The funny part is I was told that books like 'The Bourne Identity' were not added to the middle school’s AR list because they were not ‘for middle school readers’. The kids are reading at the college level. What did they expect them to read about – Bob the Builder? I noticed 'The Scarlet Letter' is on the list. So that’s a subject for ‘middle school readers’?
ARrrrrrrrrrrrr
What about books like "Tale of Two Cities," Books by Robert Louis Stevenson, etc. I read some of those in 8th grade and I loved them.
ReplyDeleteObviously they aren't totally sincere about the list being for ADVANCED readers. How frustrating! Also, it's just wrong that the district put the AR list link on the middle school's website, and didn't give you a heads up along the lines of, "WE DO NOT OFFER QUIZZES FOR EVERY BOOK IN THE AR LIST. CHECK OUR QUIZ LIST BEFORE READING A BOOK FOR CLASS CREDIT." Now, how hard would that be? Arrgghhh is right.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, if he just really likes reading and learning about stuff he would like Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth. When you are a kid, you just absorb what you 'get' at that age... the great thing about books, they are still there. How many times have you read something, like Mark Twain, and found new stuff with each reading? We had this young guy working with us one time, very smart, and he asked several of the well read group for a book list so he could catch up. It was very tempting to ask him to read Silas Marner... (ok, nobody under 60 is going to get that one). Mmmm, I'm not recalling any bonus points or quizzes from my past. I just really liked the reading. Helped me to truley define myself as a smart ass in later life. ;)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, by the time he reaches his AR goal, there is no time to read anything else. If he doesn't reach his goal it affects his grade. The good part is it gets him to read. The bad (and good) part is it forces him to read books off their list.
ReplyDeleteOf course, none of Ken Follett's books are on the AR list but thanks for the suggestion - it would be good for summer reading.
Never heard of Silas Marner. Sounds interesting.
Sue, those are great suggestions. I really think he would enjoy Robert Louis Stevenson. I am going to steer him in the directions.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Tale of Two Cities. It is not on their 'list'. Not sure why.