The Book Zone Addresses the Call for "Better Parents"

by Marty Mannion, Education Director

This weekend a New York Times op-ed titled “How About Better Parents?” blamed America’s falling behind in international standardized tests on bad parents. “Let’s stop putting the whole burden on teachers. We also need better parents.  Better parents can make teachers more effective,” said Friedman.  In defense of the hard-working parents in our program, we remind readers that the opposite of this statement is also true.  Great educators and great educational organizations don’t just throw up their arms and wish for better parents.  They give parents the tools they need to be more effective.  Our new Book Zone, a field-side book swap and reading area, is part of our effort to help parents maximize student learning outside of school.

In 2009 American students ranked 14^th in the world in an international, standardized reading test administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.  The United States was conspicuously absent from the list of top performers which included Canada, Korea, Singapore, Shanghai, Japan and New Zealand. (Source).  More disturbing is that the gap between the top ten percent and the bottom ten percent of American students mirrors the gap between the highest and lowest performing countries.  The OECD cited a lack of parent engagement in their students’ education as part of the reason for the United States’ poor performance on the reading test.  They interviewed parents of over 5,000 students and asked them about how they raised their kids and then compared that with the test results.  They concluded:

“Fifteen-year-old students whose parents often read books with them during their first year of primary school show markedly higher scores in PISA 2009 (the international reading test) than students whose parents read with them infrequently or not at all. The performance advantage among students whose parents read to them in their early school years is evident regardless of the family’s socioeconomic background. Parents’ engagement with their 15-year-olds is strongly associated with better performance in PISA.”

Instead of blaming parents for our nation’s low academic achievement, America SCORES is actively working to figure out how we can help parents help their children.  We spoke with teachers from some of our schools about this issue and one teacher said that her students simply don’t have access to books at home.  As I met with her she was in the process of photo-copying books so her students would have something to read at home.  When I told her about our plan to offer free books to students at Saturday Game Days she donated $100 worth of books on the spot.  This was an example of a great teacher helping parents solve a problem instead of blaming them for it. 

We know that parents in the America SCORES community want the best for their kids, but sometimes it can be hard to provide children with everything they need to compete with students from wealthier neighborhoods.  Spending fifteen dollars every time a child gets tired of one book and wants a new one is a luxury that every child deserves but only a minority have.  For most of our parents new books are too expensive and regular trips to the library conflict with hectic work and school schedules.  One study suggests that in middle-income neighborhoods there are 13 books per child.  In low-income neighborhoods there are 300 children per book.

To this end we launched the America SCORES Bay Area Book Zone this season.  The Book Zone provides families with access to free books every time they come to the soccer field to play on Saturday.  Students can keep the books for as long as they want or bring them back and exchange them for another one.  At any given time, students can have up to ten books at home. The more books we get, the more books students can add to their home library.

This weekend, one mom explained that her child’s teacher asked her to get more “level S” books for her child, which was stressful for this mother to hear because she did not know what exactly a level S book was or where she could find some at an affordable price.  Her daughter happily checked out ten books she was interested in from the Book Zone so her teacher could help her choose some at her level.  Later, another girl ran off the soccer field and yelled, “This is the best soccer field ever!”  When I asked her why she answered, “Because we get free books, obviously!”  Some students spend more time relaxing in the bean bag chairs with a new book than they do playing soccer.  The Book Zone is a hit for younger siblings who are more interested in Dr. Seuss than they are in watching yet another 3^rd grade soccer match from the sidelines.  When the Junior SCORES fall season ended this past Saturday, parents were asking if the Book Zone would be back in the winter season, as they have come to rely on it.

The Book Zone effectively addresses three big barriers to successful home literacy programs.  First, kids must have access to books they love and be excited about reading.  Second, choosing and reading a book should be part of a routine.  Most importantly, parents must be actively involved in their children’s growth as a reader.  Saturday Soccer Game Days already feature a lot of excitement on the part of kids and parents.  Families set aside time each week for soccer, and the Book Zone helps them build a similar routine for reading.  By adding books to the mix families leave the field as excited about going home to read together as they are about playing soccer, and having access to great books is never an issue.

The Book Zone is living proof that as we cry out for “better parents” to fix our failing education system, we remember that for the most part, parents want the best for their children.  It is the job of teachers, schools and community organizations to engage parents in creative, new ways so they have the tools they need to raise a reader.  Every Saturday at the Book Zone we see that when given the resources they need, parents are not the problem as Friedman suggested.  Parents are the solution.

 

If you would like to donate books or money to the book zone, please email dschwer@americascores.org