AR -- No thank you, please!

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AR -- No thank you, please!
By JES

Linda,
My sentiments exactly! I teach 4th and 5th graders. We loop together. I love reading and am in love with children's literature. My goal for my students is that they become lifelong lovers of reading. I use
a Reader's Workshop approach in 4th that allows students to participate in lit. discussion groups based on book choices. In 5th, I crank it up a bit by continuing Reader's Workshop but on an individualized basis. You'd think AR would just fit right in to what I do, right? NOT! Here's why:
I have grandchildren who attend schools (not my district) that have used AR for several years.

That means 3 of my granddaughters (grades 10, 8, 7) have been AR readers since their early elementary years. Because I love YA and children's literature, I often share some wonderful book I'm reading or have just read with them hoping to peak their interest. Their responses to my suggestions are quite troubling. They say, "I'd love to read that book, but it's not on the AR list. I just don't have time to read anything not on the list because I still need
AR points this month." I rarely hear them discuss anything about the books they've read except to hear them complain about how many more pages they have to read to be sure they have enough points. We read when we are together in the summer, and I constantly bore them with the question, "What are you reading right now?" Yesterday, I asked my 7th grade granddaughter that question, and she told me that she never read during the summer unless she was with me.
So I'll just end by saying, IT DRIVES ME CRAZY when I realize that my AR granddchildren are not developing a love for reading, and I definitely do not want to participate in the AR program!