What happens to physical books in schools

Posted on by Mark Isero

favicon No matter how careful teachers and librarians are, this is what happens too often to physical books in urban public schools.

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It’s sad but true: Physical books get thrown in random bins on classroom floors. They’re strewn about willy-nilly, artifacts of classroom detritus.

Those books are definitely not in students’ hands, or in their backpacks — or anywhere near students, for that matter, which means those books are not being read.

Sure, many schools (though not very many urban public schools) have beautiful libraries, where physical books do not meet this fate. But in most schools, where resources are low, libraries are scarce, and teacher turnover is high, physical books are not so lucky.

Today a student approached me at a school in Oakland. She’s a voracious reader, and last year, she was part of the Kindle Classroom Project. At the end of the year, she decided to return to physical books because she missed them. “But I was wrong, Mr. Isero,” she told me, before asking me to rejoin the program.

It’s not that e-books are better than physical books, the student said. It’s that they’re more accessible, and they’re easier to take care of. “I was going to the library, but everything was checked out, and I forgot to return books on time,” she said. With the Kindle, “books are everywhere I go.”

That’s a good thing. If we get books in the hands of students wherever they go, they’re as accessible as music, as pervasive as texting. When those books are good, and when they’re widely available, and when students may request any book they want at anytime — that’s when we see a big reading transformation take place. favicon

You may request one book at a time

Posted on by Mark Isero

IMG_20150911_085254550favicon The reading excitement is so intense that I’m receiving multiple new book requests every day. Sometimes, these multiple requests come from the same students!

Are students hoarding books? Or are they reading them?

My guess is the latter.

Growing up, I remember times when I tore through books. It would be a reading rampage. Maybe I would hit a lull for a while and focus on baseball, but then, boom, an unstoppable reading marathon hit.

Did you experience something similar?

With the Kindle Classroom Project, students gain access to books 24 hours a day. There are now 563 books in the library, waiting to be read, plus the promise that students may request new books they want to read.

With 600 Kindles out, the requests come in every day.

Luz, a power reader in Hayward, who read 40 books last year, requested two books tonight. Katie, a student in Oakland who just received her Kindle last week, asked for a book yesterday and then another one today. Juan did the same thing.

The requests are so rampant that I’ve had to tell students, “You may request one book at a time.” My intent is not to limit their enthusiasm. It’s just that I want to make sure students are respecting the process. I don’t want their Kindles to get filled with unread books, just like the to-be-read pile next to my bed.

Except I don’t think this is what’s happening. The students who are requesting multiple books per week are reading those books, and there’s a high chance that we’ll have many students who read more than 50 books this year.

The KCP is really growing, and it’s exciting to see, and I’m happy that students are reading, and that they’re comfortable asking for the books they want to read. favicon

Gobs of reading in Oakland

Posted on by Mark Isero

favicon I’m not sure what a “gob” is, but I’m certain that it describes how much reading is happening among the students in Oakland.

Let’s check the dictionary.

Screenshot 2015-10-17 17.08.51OK, I’ll take the second definition.

In the past week, here are some of the books that students in Oakland are reading:

  • Jesse’s Girl, by Miranda Kenneally
  • For the Win, by Cory Doctorow
  • Firefight, by Brandon Sanderson
  • Black Boy, by Richard Wright
  • If You Could Be Mine, by Sara Farizan
  • Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan
  • Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell
  • The Young Elites, by Marie Lu

I’m proud to say that I’m purchasing new books quickly for students. They request a new title, and within 30 minutes, it’s on their Kindle. (Katie just requested a book today, on a Saturday. No problem!)

My hope is that students are getting the message that I’m serious when I say they can read books they want to read. The only rule is that students may request only one book at a time. No hoarding!

If you’d like to support Oakland students on their reading adventures, please consider making a donation via PayPal. favicon

Enthusiasm from students in Oakland

Posted on by Mark Isero

favicon Kindles are arriving in Oakland — 370 when all is said and done — and students are responding with enthusiasm, appreciation, and gratitude.

Empire of ShadowsStudent Chi (Oakland, CA), who received her Kindle today at lunch, already requested Empire of Shadows, by Miriam Forster. She included this note: “I really appreciate you doing this for us. Thank you so much.”

(I’ve found that many students like fantasy, a genre I don’t know too much about, and this book, told from two perspectives, is part of a popular series.)

Other students are also taking advantage of the KCP’s promise: “Read whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want.”

Student Chris (Oakland, CA) requested Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which somehow was not yet part of the Kindle Library. (The library now stands at 538 titles.) He made the book request way after school, at around 7:00 pm, just in time for a good evening of reading. This energized me: If we want large gains in reading, and if we want our students to identify as readers, we must extend access to well beyond regular school hours.

It has also been heartwarming to witness the development of communities of readers. Student Katie (Oakland, CA) requested an additional copy of Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell’s extremely popular novel. When more than six students are reading the same title at the same time, a student’s Kindle reads “license limit reached.” To follow Amazon’s terms and conditions, the student requests another copy, and I purchase it immediately.

With Kindles, students can read books with their friends. They don’t have to wait for limited copies of books to become available. (Teacher Marni Spitz in San Francisco wrote thoughtfully about this point in her latest TEACHER VOICES post.)

As you can tell, all of this enthusiasm coming from students is encouraging me to work even harder. It’s a wonderful feeling to get thanks from students who recognize that their obstacles to reading have been removed.

Again, it is important to thank the hundreds of KCP supporters from across the country who understand the importance of providing young people with unmitigated access to books. Thank you! favicon