Adults Who Don't Read

I sometimes wonder about adults these days, especially adults who don't read a lot.

I think to myself, "If people aren't getting their news and ideas from reading (ie, books, magazines or newspapers), then they must be getting it through TV or radio, or by just talking to other people they know."

It's not that TV, radio or conversation are bad. It's just that they are pretty limited. You can click off of any news you don't want to hear, and never have to think about it again. You can change the radio station to whatever you want. And, you can talk to just your friends and family who are like you. And, you forget what it is like to ask questions, and be curious. Next thing you know, you lose the one thing that connects you forever with your child. As a result, some people end up "small-minded." Their world is small. They feel uncomfortable with new ideas. They rarely think of new ideas. And worse, they sometimes are closed to meeting and talking with people who might be different. And then, they become protective, and guarded, and then in some mysterious way they become judgmental of others who think differently. And they say things like, "Why would I ever take time to enjoy reading a book?"

And then, as a teacher, I start to really worry, because I send books home every night for a child to enjoy and talk about with their parent, and I'm not sure that it is as fun as it should be.

And it's not the kid's fault.

Parents, reading with your child is not about getting them to learn to read. It's about inspiring within them a love for new ideas, new connections, new thoughts. It makes them truly alive, like we all ought to be!!

Homework Expectations: A slight change

This is the note going home tomorrow (Friday, Oct 29)...

Dear parents and guardians,

Up to now, I've been checking homework notebooks daily, and I've seen some very consistent results from most of the class. However, I'm changing the routine slightly. I will still be giving a "fridge list" of words each Monday, printed in the agenda. From the list, 5 sentences are to be printed in the homework book, and the fridge list word from the sentence should be printed 3 times extra, after the sentence, for practice.

NEW: Homework books will be due at the end of each week (refer to our class calendar). Books will be collected for checking, and returned at the beginning of the next week.

Since homework books are collected at the end of the week, this gives more flexibility at your end. Your child can print one or two sentences a night, or as an extra incentive, if they complete them all before hand-in day, I will accept them early.

I think this is fair and will be helpful at your end and at this end as well : )

Thank you!

Mr. Brown