tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881439480128795953.post5188200175275484276..comments2024-02-02T07:27:17.173-06:00Comments on Young Readers: Have You Seen This?Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00793618692608823102noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881439480128795953.post-16181425741669059262009-02-28T18:38:00.000-06:002009-02-28T18:38:00.000-06:00Interesting thoughts! I used to teach first grade ...Interesting thoughts! I used to teach first grade in an underprivileged neighborhood, and I tried to encourage the Scholastic order when it came around. I especially made a point of showing the kids which books were extra-cheap because their families had so little money. I also talked up the best books. I was a little disappointed when the kids went for the movie and TV tie-ins, but I didn't tell them that--if those books helped them become "people who read," I didn't want to be a naysayer in the slightest. They just liked the recognition factor, I think. As for toys and videos, it bothers me to think that this stuff would become a higher percentage of the offerings rather than three or four items per sales booklet; regardless of commercial decisions and parent choice, I feel there is some kind of abuse of power going on if Scholastic loses sight of its primary mission. If the only time a child like my students even has the possibility of buying a book becomes yet another pitch for a plastic toy, I do have a problem with that.Kate Coombshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10138566291199003171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881439480128795953.post-20435507262270378032009-02-13T11:34:00.000-06:002009-02-13T11:34:00.000-06:00Jimmy, you make for a great point. I think teacher...Jimmy, you make for a great point. I think teachers can make a difference. I hadn't thought of it as such. I in a way took it for granted. My sister teaches first grade and I know there are flyers/book clubs that she doesn't send home at times. I know that she looks them over and evaluates them first. Though I don't think she has ever considered writing Scholastic and letting them know that a particular flyer is too junky to send home. <BR/><BR/>Back when she had more time--her first year or so starting out--she'd book talk certain books in the book club and make notes of which ones were especially recommended.Beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793618692608823102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881439480128795953.post-67715391137517391102009-02-13T11:23:00.000-06:002009-02-13T11:23:00.000-06:00I posted on this a while back, as an author and fo...I posted on this a while back, as an author and former Scholastic book club copywriter. I know that business very, very well. And this is an old story, the struggle to find balance, that's been going on for many years.<BR/><BR/>http://www.jamespreller.com/2009/02/10/scholastic-book-clubs-in-the-news/<BR/><BR/>The point missing from this discussion, for me, is the unique role of the teacher as sales representative. When something comes home from school, it is quite different from a store setting or any other catalog. There is a tacit message that this is approved and endorsed by your child's teacher; that it is educational. However, sometimes commercial items overwhelm the literature, the "good stuff," and many kids come away with fluff. Is that the end of the world? Of course not. But as a company, Scholastic realizes that teachers are the lynchpin to their business. Scholastic works for and covets that support. The last thing in the world they want is to alienate a teacher. If a teacher writes to Scholastic and says, "Too much junk, I threw the March offer in the garbage can," -- and if those comments are reflected in overall sales -- then Scholastic will absolutely listen.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, if teachers can look at the balance of items and feel okay about it, then there's no problem.James Prellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01342728812342563278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881439480128795953.post-38488110747516732852009-02-11T23:48:00.000-06:002009-02-11T23:48:00.000-06:00This is a very worthy discussion... you ask "Is li...This is a very worthy discussion... you ask "Is literacy being damaged by the Scholastic book club? Or is it being encouraged? "<BR/>I think it is encouraging literacy, because children are encouraged to buy books monthly. For some children that receive Scholastic Book Club catalogs, this is their only chance to buy books. They do not frequent book stores. The books are also well priced. They like the content they see and learn about choices in reading. Even though, in my family, we do not buy every month, my children come home excited to look through the selection and circle their choices. It promotes discussion about books and ultimately leads to more reading. <BR/>That being said, I really do not like the video/media scholastic pamphlet and of course my children ask for things from that pamphlet too. It just puts me in the position of having to say "No, we do not buy those from Scholastic." However, some parents may like to buy those for their children and that is fine too. <BR/>Your point about parents having the control is very important. We only buy from Scholastic occasionally and while I do allow them to choose some "commercial" books we then balance it with better literature. Scholastic offers a little something for everyone and parents who wish to be involved in their children's reading may filter and promote the reading of good literature along with some fun for down time.Diannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16196237744304927071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881439480128795953.post-45181064328088962892009-02-11T07:11:00.000-06:002009-02-11T07:11:00.000-06:00I remember posting about this before as well. It's...I remember posting about this before as well. It's a double edged sword. I love buying my girl books but some of the books I question. I really don't like to buy a commercial in book form. We compromise though. She can have either a Barbie or Tinkerbell book, not both. The other books must be the 'quality' ones. I have the veto power in the end though. I've also said "No toys!" We're buying books here not toys. In the end, it's the parent who has to put their foot down.Chrisbookaramahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11972547663609480210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881439480128795953.post-9857403467086230092009-02-10T14:58:00.000-06:002009-02-10T14:58:00.000-06:00Excellent post, Becky. I especially like the last ...Excellent post, Becky. I especially like the last paragraph and last sentence. Personal responsibility is SO important, but an issue I don't hear much about in our society. We like to blame others, like Scholastic, for things we have pushed them to do by the buying choices we have made. If the only things people bought out of their book clubs were literary, high-quality books, you can bet that's all they'd put in their catalogs. But they don't- they include what sells. That's just a business decision and that's what Scholastic is- a business. I don't think we can blame them for that.Boni Ashburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01397801185274085090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881439480128795953.post-86715641487777576652009-02-10T14:30:00.000-06:002009-02-10T14:30:00.000-06:00My response would be two-fold. First, I agree tha...My response would be two-fold. First, I agree that the book orders don't offer enough quality or variety. Luckily, my son has a good teacher that collects a stack of the various forms and allows you to order across them to be able to pick a gem or two off of each flier.<BR/>Yet, I don't think that this is reason to malign the program. If the fliers were full of award-winning books, it doesn't follow that more kids would choose to buy those books. They might not even look at the fliers. The "junk" is there to draw the kids in and hopefully while they are looking at the flier, they will see a book that is interesting and give it a try. And if they read about Hannah Montana, at least they are reading about her instead of watching her on tv.Kristen M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02335598194501733541noreply@blogger.com