Getting children to want to read

I thank you for the responses in your recent column about helping kids become interested in reading. I could not help but notice, however, that although all of your book suggestions were wonderful ones, they all fit one genre: Classic Western Fiction. As this is the tradition grew up on, it is easy to suggest these books off the top of our head. However, I work with middle school youth who often have no interest in reading, and I find it is because they have not been exposed to a wide enough variety of books to find their special interest.

I suggest when parents take their children to the library, be sure to visit all sections! Some kids are turned on by non-fiction, others poetry, others Latin or African authors. Perhaps the student who is so interested in transformers would prefer books on science and technology. I had a student who had no interest in books until he started reading books from his Mexican heritage. I personally did not enjoy reading until well after college, when I discovered the joy of autobiographies (no one helped me notice that the only books I did like in school was the "Little House" books or, later, Diary of Anne Frank).

Please remind your readers that there is something out there for everyone--and not everyone is initially turned on by the "classics." And that is okay: Expose the students to a wide variety of books (and even magazines), and who knows where it may lead. The goal is just get reading!

You make an excellent point. I was making specific suggestions for the family of the ten year old who wrote in to me. We need to turn our children on to reading at a young age. There needs to be a hook, and it does not need to come in the form of classics. Do not rule them out, however, for the Little House books and Diary of Anne Frank are classics as well. Good books are good books.

As a middle school teacher, you know the ropes. I absolutely agree that magazines, newspapers, novels, short stories, and even comic books (an almost lost art) are all equally desirable. We just want the children reading and longing to read.

Families should regularly frequent libraries. The catalogues are amazing and children should learn to search for their interests. The reading list website http://www.californiareadinglist.com is also an important tool. Find books at your child’s reading level so that the content is doable.

Do you have tips for math practice at home?

Do you have any tips for parents to help our kids keep up on math facts over the summer? My son really struggled for the first part of this year, second grade. Now he is going to third next year, and I know we need to practice math. I read to him and took him to the library and stuff, but I forgot about math. What can we do to keep them sharp? Too bad there isn’t a math library.

First, there is a math library. It is the same library you go to in order to find fun story books. There are a ton of math related stories and fun books you can choose alongside those stories. Go to the computer catalogue and type in “Math” in the subject keyword space and look at all the options you and your child could fine.

Beyond the library, make math a simple part of your day. If it does not fit naturally into your summer routine, you and your child will not do it. One tip would be to wait every time you are going to start the car and make your child answer a certain set of math problems. Nothing too complex, but if you do it every time you are about to go somewhere he will essentially have the “key” to helping you start the engine.

It should be fun, and it will allow you to help him with the areas he might not remember as readily. When he struggles, help him with the answers and try to stop and memorize 3-5 problems that day repeating those the next day and building.

If you do not plan to drive anywhere with these gas prices, have him do these types of practice problems before meals, or before being allowed to go outside or in the pool. Tell him his math skills are his keys to his favorite activities.

How can my child get into an IVY LEAGUE College?

How do we set our kids up to get into Ivy League schools? My child is in the seventh grade, but he is on the path to greatness. I just want to make sure we have him take the right classes and go to the right school. What do kids take to get into these schools? Do we need to do private high school? Our high school will be Mission Viejo High School.

Mission Viejo High School just sent students off to several Ivy League schools, including Harvard and Yale, not to mention Georgetown, UCLA, USC and many other quality schools across the nation. I do not think you are better off going to a private school when you have MVHS as your option.

Your question about what kids should take to get into an Ivy League school was an interesting one. I spoke with a high school counselor from Mission Viejo High School, Gerri Evans, to find out what students need to do these days to get into such schools. Here is what I learned about the children who got into Ivy League schools last year:

“Students who were accepted to the Ivy League schools last year had grade point averages that ranged from 4.92-5.12. They were involved in many extra curricular programs such as, athletics, Drama Model United Nations, Academic Decathlon and were full diploma International Baccalaureate students.

Many students took advantage of the summer programs at the Ivy League and other competitive colleges.

One student had completed 55 semesters of honors courses at MVHS.

Students had typically completed 5 years of a foreign language. One student had taken 2 foreign languages and had completed 4 years of German and 5 years of French by the end of this senor year.

One student had completed 29 “A+’s” during the 4 years at MVHS.”

Encourage your son to do his best and support his education. It sounds like Mission High School has more than enough to offer him. Set goals together. Capable children need to have desire and commitment to achieve something like this.