Episode 9: Are Kids Ever Too Old for Bedtime Stories?

Superintendent:
Hi and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Today we're talking about teenagers. Is it ever too late to teach them to have a love for literacy? And when is it time to put the bedtime stories to rest? We'll talk about that in a minute. But first, we head to the South Jordan Elementary School where some sixth graders share their favorite books and authors, and they have a few questions for me. Tell me some of the books you guys like to read

Students:
The Janitors series.

Superintendent:
The Janitor series. I forgot, books of like manuals on how to like how to clean things and fix things and take good care of it?

Student:
Its about this kid who he sees monsters and stuff all around the school that you can only see with a certain soap or something. Like if you used this.

Superintendent:
I assume that the janitors are the good guys because every janitor I know is a good guy.

Student:
Yeah, they are.

Student:
My name's Adam. I am reading those a series called The Last Kids On Earth.

Superintendent:
The Last Kids On Earth. Are there adults or are they just the last kids?

(Student:
The last kids. And it's about a monster apocalypse that's happening. The friends that they keep on finding are actually monsters, but they're not the evil monsters, just like monsters that that are kind. And one of them is like a monster dog kind of thing. They named them.

Superintendent:
Let me get this straight. The adults are gone. There was one kid, but now there are more kids, but some of the kids are monsters, but some of the monsters are nice. And one of the monsters is a dog. I just need to read these books for myself because that way you can understand them. Good message. Read the book, go read the book.

Student:
I like to read biography.

Superintendent:
Who do you like to read biographies about in particular, Jackie Robinson?

Student:
Singers like Elvis Presley and Elton John.

Superintendent:
That's great. Well, thank you. Thank you very much. How many hours do you think you've read since you learned to read?

Students:
Millions maybe. I don't know.

Superintendent:
In terms of hours, you're a very dedicated reader. No, I believe you, you look very intelligent. I believe you.

Student:
I don't know if read a million, maybe. I don't know. I've been at this school for six years and I've been reading 30 minutes pretty much every night.

Superintendent:
If you've been reading every night, then you're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. Reading every night ,and when you're consistent, then you get better and better all the time. So, awesome. Keep on reading you guys. Thanks to the sixth grade students at South Jordan Elementary School for sharing their favorite books with me.

In studio today, we have Patricia Bronson, teacher at Elk Ridge and Sally Wilde, teacher at Herriman high school, to talk to us about reading with adolescents, with your teens. Tell us a little bit about yourselves, introduce yourselves.

Teacher:
I'm Patricia Bronson, Elk Ridge Middle School. I've taught there almost my entire career and I teach reading and language arts. Love working with teenagers.

Teacher:
I'm Sally Wilde. I teach at Herriman High School. I teach English and reading and creative writing, poetry. I'm also the in the literacy center. And I was an eighth grade English teacher as well with Patricia, my first years as a teacher, many moons ago. I'm unrecognizable now compared to what I looked like then.

Superintendent:
I'm still recognizable. Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic.

Teacher:
I'll tell one funny story about Mr. Godfrey, Superintendent Godfrey. It's an awesome story. He always had fun with his kids. I remember it being a middle. There was this big sloping grassy area out from the big hill. And I remember one day there was a big snow storm and all the teachers were at lunch and they looked out the window and Superintendent Godfrey was out with the kids running and doing a head dives down into the snow. And all the teachers are like that kid, that teacher is going to break his neck. He certainly had a good time with his students.

Superintendent:
Well, I loved being a model. That was a great place to start. That was very fun. It brings back good memories. So tell us students, what can parents do at home to help make sure that their teens continue to read? Lots of kids love to read when they're younger. How do you maintain that love of reading?

Teacher:
I think a key crucial thing is to make sure that they have a lot of choices. The more choices that teenagers have, then they feel like they have that ownership and that power to pick what they want to read. And sometimes, as parents we want to tell them, this is what you have to read. It needs to be this chapter book. But you know, if you give kids an option and give them opportunities to pick for themselves, they'll pick graphic novels. They'll pick books on tape. They'll pick nonfiction though. But if they have more choice, I think that the more they buy in, research shows that the more choice you have, the more you feel empowered to read and you want to read. So they just need lots of opportunities to pick and choose for themselves what they want to read.

Superintendent:
Well, it makes sense because as adults, that's what we do. We're drawn to things that our friends like, or what we're reading as part of a group or things that interest us. And I remember I was reading a book and then I was assigned that book and in school, and I didn't want to read it anymore because it kind of took the magic out of it, that I had been told to read this book. So makes a lot of that makes a lot of sense to me. How do you help kids have a lot of choices available to them? They might just stand in the middle of the library and not know what to check out. So how do you, how do you help them?

Teacher:
Well, I think our librarian at Herriman High School is amazing. I've kind of listened to her a little bit because we go down and we check out books each quarter and my students read them for the first 10 - 15 minutes of class every day. And some of them pride themselves. "I've never read a book. I don't want to do this. What should I read Mrs. Wilde?" And she always starts out with the question, "Well, what do you like to watch on Netflix? What movies do you like?" It's whatever they like watching. They're going to like that same genre as they're reading. And so she will point them in that direction, where they need to go, what interests they would like. And then sometimes they might hate it and then I'll see them, and turning every page is just a struggle. And I always let them know, "Hey, stop reading it if are hating it. You're going to hate it for the rest of the book. Stop and pick a different book. Let's find it."

Superintendent:
That's amazing to hear that because as an adult, even I feel this responsibility. I bought this book, I started it. I'm five chapters in, I better finish it. So I feel the sense of duty like I have to get through the book. So it's giving kids permission to say, "I'm abandoning ship. This book is not for me anymore."

Teacher:
Right. And the ownership of they picked it, a lot of the times too is listening to their peers. So since we do read a book each quarter, we kind of do little book reports at the end of the quarter and they have to let the students know, did they like this book? Would they recommend it? And a lot of the students will pick books that were reported on first quarter for second quarter because they thought it sounded interesting. I think as parents, if you are struggling finding books for your children to read, reach out to the teachers and librarians. We know what kids are reading. We know what they're loving. And it's interesting how series that you think that's going to be gone is there. The Harry Potter is still super popular in the middle school.

Kids are reading the Harry Potter books and they're reading books that you think like, "Oh, that's an old fad, like Anne of Green Gables." I have reluctant readers that are reading Anne of Green Gables. It's tying into the interest that is super key. So, if kids like sports, finding those authors that are writing a lot of fiction about sports and just getting them into a genre, getting them into something that ties into their interests, I think is a way. Especially for middle school kids, because if they are going to want to learn more about it, then they're going to want to read about it. And I think another key is humor. Humor is really big. If you can find books like James Patterson, his series, something that they can laugh about. You know, teenagers like to laugh.

They like to find out about the real world. Jason Reynolds is really popular right now. You know, that literature that kind of exposes them to other cultures, but also helps them to just see themselves in the world. Books that help see themselves. There's lots of different areas or places that you can go to get suggestions to websites. Our high school website has book reviews. She does have a list of books that they would suggest, but then she has like a review. And so you can kind of read a little snippet and see if that's for you. And PR has lists, Barnes and Noble all have lists. There's so many lists out there associated. They're all over. And they're pretty accessible to find books that you might be interested in. You know, there's high school students that are still reading Percy Jackson. But there's students that still love Stephen King. He's still popular. And it really such a wide variety of what they like to read. I have my sports, I have some soccer boys that are love reading sports biographies about the soccer players.

Superintendent:
As I talked to students, I heard a lot of that. I like this sport, so I've been reading things about the sport and about people who play the sport. And that ties them in. You mentioned school media centers.  A lot of times, when we hold a meeting at the school, I end up being in the Media Center a lot of times for those and I'm amazed at the displays. I want to steal some of those books because I can't legitimately check them out, not being a student, because the displays do such a nice job of pulling themes together and making books accessible. So hopefully people are not overlooking that as a resource because our Media Specialists really do a great job.

Teacher:
They do an amazing job. And, you know, what's also available is our Overdrive. And so a lot of the books are available that you can download on your phone. And a lot of those books, you can also listen to them. They read them to you and that's an amazing feature for either struggling readers or just readers that want to listen in the car and want to book "to go" that they can have with them anytime, anywhere.

Superintendent:
So that's available for through the school media center?

Teacher:
Yes, for teachers and students.

Superintendent
Wow. That's that is a great resource. We'll take a quick break and we'll be back to talk more about how to maintain a love of reading in your teenager. Stay with us.

Advertisement:
Do you want to know what's going on in Jordan School District, maybe see your child or a friend featured in a school story? Check out our website at www.jordandistrict.org, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Jordan District. Let's connect today,

Superintendent:
We're back here with Patricia Bronson, from Elk Ridge Middle and Sally Wilde from Herriman High School. You mentioned some of the titles that may be wouldn't seem age appropriate for middle or high school, that maybe it's too young. Do you need, as a parent, to push children to read more advanced texts as they age or is it okay to let them read the stuff they want to read?

Teacher:
So as a high school teacher, we teach a lot of those advanced techniques in high school. We're teaching The Great Gatsby, The Crucible, and they get that at high school. Whereas, if they're reading at home on their own, I think you let them read something they enjoy, because otherwise you're going to send them to their bedroom to read and guess what? They're not really going to read and it's going to go right over their head. They're not going to care. They're not going to understand unless they want to. So we've talked about choice, a lot of choice and rating is really big.

And I think that the youth, as they start to read, they'll start to get bored if they're reading a book that is too easy for them. I had a student the other day that was reading something and he, he ranked it like a score of four out of 10. And I asked him why. And he said, it was just kind of boring. And I asked if it was too easy. Yeah, it was too easy. And that's a great conversation to have. Sometimes books are. Once they become boring, it's because they are becoming too easy and you need to like step it up. And I think as parents, you can scaffold that. If they're reading a fantasy book and they're reading Lightning Thief, they love Lightning Thief. Then maybe it's time to try something a little more advanced. Maybe Robert Jordan still will do it fast, or introduce them to the Hobbit or something else.

Superintendent:
Oh, there's a really good classic piece that would be something to add. I think it's good to motivate them and push them along.

Teacher:
But I agree, your choice, as adults will read what we enjoy. I read the whole Harry Potter series. Too easy for me, for my children, just right. I still really enjoyed it and it was a conversation that people are having in the community. So I wanted to be part of that. And I think kids are the same way. They'll want to read what their peers are reading. They're going to want to read what their parents are reading. I'm exposing them to all different types of literature that I think is important. You know, if they're getting stuck in one genre, helping to push them to try something else can also broaden their horizons and show them that there's other things out there that they might enjoy. A lot of times too, it's modeling it. So maybe as a parent, if you read a book and you loved it and it's at a higher level, talk about it, talk about it with your student.

What parts did you like? What do you think they would like? Why do you think they would like this? And a lot of times they're going to read what you are reading as the parent? And sometimes they might start reading it and be think, we have complete disparate tastes. I'm not going to read that mom. And that's okay too. But being able to talk about books with your children if important. Number one, you're talking about it, you're communicating and you're able to help with comprehension skills, which is what we want our students to be able to do. We don't just want them to be able to read, we want them to be able to comprehend and talk about what they would do. That's a key thing, when you talk about that. When my students were in high school and they were talking, I would want to know. Tell me about that book and ask those questions because the more that they can articulate and explain what they're reading, the more that you can, as a parent, see if they're not quite getting something and maybe they need a little support.

Superintendent:
I remember my oldest son, when he was taking his AP Lit class at Herriman High. He was re-reading Scarlet letter. And I thought that was really tough to read for your summer reading. So I re-read the book at the same time he was reading it. We had lots of conversations and I mean, it was a very good bonding moment for us to be able to talk about that book. We still talk every book he read that year. I re-read them so that we could have conversations at home and it was enriching for me to re-read those books. We still have conversations about his favorite book. Shoot, I'm going to forget what it is now. The Things They Carried On the Road, which I think is amazing. He loved those books. And I know a lot of it was what his teacher was doing at Herriman High. But a lot of it was also the conversations he was having at home because it's kind of bonding moments together.

Teacher:
And it's a critical time. I think they're forming memories that they won't lose, that they'll hold on to. And love for literature. Love for literature, for reading a good books. And when they see you as a parent, first of all, high five because that is absolutely amazing that you did that. I love that, listeners, you heard that. That is so cool that you would, because I completely agree. Scarlet Letter is a difficult text and it's hard to get through. And we do ask our students to do it during the summer and they come back and they talk about it. But a lot of them just start having those "ah-ha moments" when they start talking about them after the summer. When they've got back, they're like, Oh, that's what I was talking about, that's so awesome that you prepared your son. You had him a step ahead of all the others because you were able to start talking about it with him at home. And if he didn't understand some of that difficult texts, then you were able to help him understand it.

Superintendent:
Obviously, reading the same book at the same time and being able to talk with your team is a great way of reinforcing, re-re-reinforcing reading. Are there other ways to do that around the house?

Teacher:
I think that a good way is talking about the different ways that you, as an adult, use literacy and reading. Even just talking about how you read on your job and making sure that your child knows that like reading is that essential skill. But there are simple ways, even if you're cooking together, reading a recipe. If they have a question that they need answered, instead of just answering for him, teach them to go find a resource. You're using technologies there. It competes for our reading, right? Kids are on their phones all the time. So helping them to learn how to find that information that they need and read about it and find out what's real and what's true. And being able to have those critical thinking skills is key too. It doesn't have to be the Scarlet Letter you're reading together.

It can be something just like small that you're just sharing that moment, talking about a newspaper article together. I just think what is most important is that we help kids find ways to read and to expose themselves to different types. We just need to help them see that there's reading all around us. And I'm going to also put a plug in for the public library because the public library is a fantastic resource. There are contests. Even for adults, you can go sign up in the library and they have those reading kinds of contests, where if you do so many things, you get rewards and kids can read at elementary level, middle school, high school level, adult level, and you get prizes and books at the end. It really exposes them to all the wonderful things that the public library has and our public library system is fantastic.

Helping your kids get a library card, teaching them how to reserve books and getting them set so all you have to do is go and pull that book off the shelf. It's such a great, great resource that we have. So, you know, making sure you don't have to buy books for kids. If you do, fantastic, but just making sure that they know how to get the book that they want and where to go and just helping them figure all that out, I think is key if you don't have reading materials. I remember my husband said that growing up, he had one book, he had some religious books and then he had one book his parents bought him. It was a biography of George Washington. And he remembers that. And I think that owning a book, having a book that belongs to you, is so important.

My parents and my grandparents gave me Heidi, one of my favorite books ever. Reading Heidi as a child and having still that inscribed book. I think books are treasures, right? They're  things that we love. And we get inside that book and we bond with those characters. And I think that helping kids have those moments and those opportunities is just so rewarding. And you want as a parent to make reading fun, not a chore, not something bad. Especially when they're in middle school, you don't want it to be something where it's like, you've got to, it becomes a punishment. You just need to find ways to make it fun. Whether it's a bowl of popcorn while you're reading in a comfy place to read. Scheduling time and having that time in your home to read, whether it's just 10 minutes a day is pretty crucial now days with all the things we're competing with.

Superintendent:
And you're right about owning a book. I remember books that were given to me as gifts or that I saved up for, or that I bought through the form that I was sent home in elementary. So the Scholastic Form and well, in the era of cleaning up your stuff and de-junking and de-cluttering those old books, still spark joy for me. My wife does not believe me, but the joy continues to be sparked by those old books. You're right. There's a relationship there.

We're going to take a break and then we'll be back to wrap it up with Patricia and Sally.

Advertisement:
In Jordan School District, the possibilities are endless for anyone looking to grow with a team of professionals, working together to provide the very best for students in education. If you're looking for a great job, with great pay and benefits, in a supportive environment, head to workatjordan.org and find your future career in Jordan School District. People come for the job and stay for the adventure. Explore the many options. Apply today at workatjordan.org.

Superintendent:
We're back with Patricia and Sally, talking about teen literacy. Is it too late at one point to help your teen develop a love of learning? My brother was very successful in school, but he never liked reading. The book that he owned was Goodbye Mr. Chips. So for a long time, his brother and I just called him Mr. Chips, right in front of him. That was the only book he read. If someone can read, but they don't love to read, is there still time if they're a teenager?

Teacher:
Definitely. I have associates that I know in the neighborhood that might have just barely started loving reading when the Twilight series came out and I kind of giggle on the inside thinking. Oh well, they're reading. And I mean, Patricia, you mentioned Harry Potter earlier. I have a lot of friends too, when I was going to college who got hooked on Harry Potter as well, but they didn't like reading before. So whatever, it's never too late to start reading. I think that for a lot of readers, there might be a couple of reasons why they don't enjoy reading. First of all, sometimes they're younger and their fluency just hasn't quite caught up with them and they're working so hard to try to figure out, to comprehend, that they're not reading fast enough. And so it's a chore, reading is hard, right?

So we have a lot of students, I think in sixth, seventh, eighth grade, that all of a sudden the fluency catches up and they're reading faster. They're seeing the world in a more broad spectrum. And so I think now all of a sudden they will say, I finally love reading. Reading is finally so much fun for me. I think a lot of times it's getting in the right book. I have another student I'm thinking of right now that doesn't necessarily love to read all the time, but he was reading a book. I don't know for sure how to say his first name, but his last name's Alexandra. And it's a book of poetry about this basketball player. So it's kind of fast paced because it's poetry. And he loved that book. He raced through that book. Now we're trying to find another book that he'll get into. But I think sometimes just finding the right book for the right child, then it doesn't have to be a struggle.

Teacher:
I guess when we were kids, there weren't that many books out there for like those series books. And now there are thousands of wonderful books. I mean, J.K. Rolling just opened up the world of writers. She really did. There were so many series. I mean, Dystopian Series, Neil Schusterman and Whined. Fantastic. I've never had a student, not love, love, love that book. Ranger's Apprentice that Read, students don't love that book. We actually, and we have so many Utah authors too. Richard Paul Evans and Michael Vey.

Teacher:
Oh, I have so many students who love Michael Vey, the Brandon Mall, Shannon Hill with Goose Girl, and she's got a whole series. She's amazing. It's kinda cool to know they're from Utah too. They do book signings and they do watch parties and come to school. They can come to the schools and that's really cool for the students to meet the people and get their books signed. I have a light class library and my students will pull his different books off and they'll bring me the book and show me the signature on the page. Did you know that this was here? I did. Do you know this person. I've met him and you're okay with me reading this, just be careful. They're really excited. It makes it a little more real and legit.

So it's never too late and there's a right book for everyone. And sometimes just a question of timing.

Teacher:
It's really the same for adults. My husband is not a reader. He married a reader. It was one of the great things that I can just read all the time and he'll do other things. It's great. But he has started reading books and that's a powerful experience. I think too, to be able to, as a family, listened to books on tape, we listened to Andrew's Game when we were traveling one time and he loved that book. And so I think, you know, adults as parents, if that's one thing I would say is even if you don't love reading, tell your kids you love it. And we really talk it up because you know, kids do look at their parents and see them as role models. So the more as parents, we can be that role model to talk about how readings affected us or ways that we read and just try to make it a positive experience.

Because if kids hear that parents don't love reading, it's easy for them to adopt that and to make it an excuse. And one more thing, kids live in a fast paced world and if you're at home, turn off the TV, put away your phone. It's time to read. They feel like they're missing out on something and they don't want to. And one way you can get around that is put away your phone, set what you're doing aside and sit down next to them in the family room, grab a blanket, grab a pillow, get comfortable and read for 20 minutes while they read too.

Superintendent:
Great having you guys in studio. I am missing my eighth grade Language Arts class right now. I'm out of touch with it. And it's great to be able to hear from you what people are reading and how we can help teens read more. We end our podcast with Two Truths and a Lie. It's your chance to lie to the Superintendent. Sally, you drew the short straw and I can tell how uncomfortable you are with lying, just from the expression on your face, but it's okay. It's just a game. So let's do this.

Teacher:
Okay. I have broken my arm in the exact same place, two summers in a row. I have five kids and I have never been to Jamaica.

Superintendent:
I think those three things could be very closely related. Actually having five kids and breaking your arm might keep you from making it to Jamaica. I don't know because you read a lot of fiction, obviously. And so any of these could be pulled from a book of yours. I'm going to say that you have not been to Jamaica, but it's on the list.

Teacher:
I have been to Jamaica. You need to go to Jamaica. It's fantastic.

Superintendent:
I have not been to Jamaica. Okay, Jamaica, Jamaica.

Thank you again for being on the Supercast. And remembe,r education is the most important thing you'll do today.