Did you know that:
1. Rockville no longer has public libraries?
2. Rockville no longer has public transportation?
3. Students can only read books that they can purchase?
4. Schools in Rockville don't have enough books to support a summer reading program?
That's the message sent out by Dr. Joey Jones at Frost. This follows a similar message as reported on this blog earlier concerning the decision by Whitman High School to eliminate its summer reading program.
The newly revised MCPS policy on eliminating curricular fees forces Dr. Jones to eliminate summer reading. Note that the Wootton cluster of schools is considered the gem in the MCPS portfolio, with its high ratings in many measures of school performance.
You may read the letter from Dr. Jones at the end of this blog.
Have no fear, folks, the summer math packets are still available.
Frost 2009 Summer reading
Links to many schools' summer reading assignments are available here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/readinglists
From all appearances, the decision to eliminate summer reading assignments at RFMS was made independently by the principal.
Summer reading is a powerful tool to support learning and literacy. That is one view of reading. Another view, mine, is this: reading is fun. It transports us and our children into imaginary worlds. It opens us up to life around the planet and the universe that we would otherwise not know about. It inspires us. We are very, very lucky to have been born into a literate society. We are the lucky beneficiaries of writers from the time of Sappho and Aesop, Aeschylus, Shikibu, and before, and since. And...our children do not need a government agency to enforce reading. All our children need to do is go to the library, sit in a quiet corner, and read.
ReplyDeleteContrary to reports on this blog and the student newspaper, the link to MCPS reading assignments shows that Whitman has not eliminated their summer reading program. For middle and high schools the huge variety in the level of expectations indicates that the decisions in assignments are in fact made at the local level. Check out Westland's grade 8 assignment - Three Cups of Tea - the same reading that Blair CAP students entering AP Language have been assigned. So rigor as applied to summer reading is a very relative concept. And should rigor even apply to summer reading?
ReplyDeleteIf parents ever want their kids to be responsible, they should get their kids to read for their own leisure. It should be the choice of the child weather to read or go outside and play, quite frankly the plight of childhood obesity should be a more pressing matter then if your kid is going to waste a few hours of their time reading a book they do not want to read. I gotta tell you though, about 95% of those kids? Are either not going to read, go on sparknotes, or read the night before school starts and get no sleep.
ReplyDeleteIt does not "transport us and our children into imaginary worlds", at least not all of us, for those that receive pleasure from that, by all means read away, it is good for you. But kids should be able to have the leisure of their choice in their own vacation time, contrary to what many believe, their are positive effects to playing video games, watching t.v., and going outside to play. None of which are forced by the schools during the summer. Video games can teach hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills. Watching t.v. can educate you on current events and history as well as almost anything else. Playing outside is just self-explanatory, the point being, that this should not be a forced thing in the first place.