Here is my grief: students suck at returning books. I know, I know, it's bound to happen. I had a class with Rich Kent where he assured us that if the books aren't being returned, it probably means they loved it so much they wanted to keep it. And don't we want kids to love books? Grrr. At first, I was on board with this philosophy. Then I realized how much of my money I was putting into books that were only being read by one student--then vanishing into the depths of an unknown bedroom or locker, never to be seen again.
Students sign the books in and out on an honor system. I get after them once in a while with friendly reminders for return---but more often than not, the book never returns home. My most recent tragedy was a brand new hard copy of Ellen Hopkins' latest book TRICKS, a must read for at least half of my girls. I had a sticky note with a WAITING list inside the jacket. And then...the student moved. With my book. Of course.
I might sound whiney. I don't mean to. Rather, I am hoping some of my colleagues can offer some advice on the situation. Do you have systems that seem to work in your own rooms? I'm also interested in any solutions you have to my secondary issue, which is getting the books back in good condition. I mean, I'm glad they are available for the next reader, but kids do judge them by the covers, and if the covers are dog-eared (or missing!)....well, there isn't much clamor to check it out.
Many thanks!
Is there any way you can do what libraries do if books aren't returned? Like sending home a charge slip for the book or withholding some sort of privilege until the book is returned? Not sure how effective that really would be though.
ReplyDeleteI've thought about this. I'm just not sure how to factor the money part of it all the time. Sometimes I get a book for a $1 but it would cost $10 to replace it. And that means a lot of paper shuffling...which I am terrible at. What I REALLY need is the whole digital card catalogue so they can SCAN them out!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love Rich, but he can be a bit naive at times (Sorry, Rich). Kids just aren't that organized, and they can have a big social conscience and still be inconsiderate about little things...anyway...Do students have to return one book before they can take out another? How about a book return reward (like candy)? My big question is, I wonder what would happen if students somehow rotated a librarian role? Do they see this as a classroom library or borrowing books from you? Not necessarily related to returning books, but is there a record in the back of the book of who's had it out--creating a reading history kind of thing. Oh, and one more thing...(can't forget the tech thing, you know), I wonder if you might consider students publishing book reviews, say to a blog--low maintenance for you, writing for them, and that might just contribute (in some weird way) to returning books (maybe so someone can read and comment on their review).
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! Thank you!
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