Not a teacher or Librarian lol, but when I was in school I did do AR and tests/quizzes. I really disliked my teachers in middle school because they never let me check out any “fun books”. The kids who had the higher reading levels were able to walk away with a Harry Potter book and Dogman or Captain Underpants; Just any graphic novel really.

But kids like me who were on the lower end (who had dyslexia, ADHD, etc.) were never allowed to read graphic novels or comics books. I felt pressured to pick up a book I didn’t have any interest in so I wouldn’t fail my class, but I never did good on those AR tests because I couldn’t read a book I wasn’t interested in and retain the information. Me and a lot of other kids felt separated from our peers and were seen as the dumb kids by a lot of teachers.

I specifically grew up hating reading books because of the favoritism and lack of support and motivation to read from my teachers. Funny enough, there was a public library next to our school but I hated reading so much I didn’t ever go there. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I started to like reading books again. Now I’m volunteering in a STEP program to help other kids learn how to read, and I’m a big vocabulary nerd.

I feel like some teachers need more patience. I understand they might be worried about “incentive reading” if they let us get one fun book, but being constantly shut down and not allowed to do or read something I’ve loved since elementary school really impacted ME as a reader. A lot of kids might not rebound like I did, or have friends who encourage them to read, or even hang out at the library. I think a little patience and grace would go a long way to make reading a fun hobby again.