Saturday Sayings: Expect Nothing in Return

(More Saturday Sayings can be found if you click on the graphic.)

Have you read this?  I recently finished it, and it could easily supply me with enough quotes for about two year's worth of Saturday Sayings.  It was that good.

That's my pa.  Fishing or playing with his cell phone?

Here's a little moment of truth from my own teaching experience.  I shudder to think that I even did this.  During my first few years of teaching I had a chart on the wall with each child's name.  I kept track with tallies of the number of books they read at home.  Every time a child read 10 books, they got some kind of prize, which I doubt was anything special.  The whole things makes me cringe on so many levels.  What an embarrassment for the kids who didn't read much at home or at all for that matter.  Most of the time at my grade level, that's a parental issue anyway.  It's not the child's fault.  Most importantly, by "paying" them to read, I regret the message I was sending.  

"Rewarding reading with prizes cheapens it, and undermines students' chance to appreciate the experience of reading for the possibilities that it brings to their life."  Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer 151

This next thought might some day become its own Saturday Saying.  As much as possible, school reading and life reading should be one and the same, and how often is that not the case?  As an adult reader, no one rewards me after I read ten books.  My reward is so much greater than that, and that's what I've learned needs to take place with young readers.  Their reward should be found in the ways their hearts, minds, and lives connect with the books they read.  As with most things, I'm still learning how to get better at making this happen, but my goal is to grow readers who love reading so much that they'll do it forever and never expect anything in return, except simply that feeling of satisfaction they get from being readers.


(Disclaimer:  My school does participate in a few reading incentive programs, such as the Pizza Hut Book-It program, but I try to downplay it as much as possible.  "Hey guys.  I know you don't read so that you'll get pizza, but the people at Pizza Hut love to read.  They heard that you love to read too, so they'd love to celebrate being readers together" or something like that.)

It's very possible that you're reading this at the very moment I'm running 13.1 miles in Seattle.  Pray for my friend's feet.  They're both recovering from surgery, and they don't always play nice.  We're planning on enjoying ourselves regardless though.  :)