Racing, Striving, Accelerating, Winning, Yada, Yada. And Reading.
When my kids--now young adults--were in elementary grades, their school participated in Pizza Hut's Book Itprogram. The idea was to promote reading by giving kids coupons for free individual pizzas if they read a specific number of books, or were the "top" readers in their classes. Whole classes got pizza parties for reading the greatest number of books. Teachers and principal were solidly behind the program, promising public recognition for kids who read the most, silly adult stunts and assemblies if all classes achieved certain goals.
My daughter was immediately down with the Book It concept, strategically selecting and plowing through books to stay a volume or two ahead her classroom competitors. Soon, I was signing off on a dozen or more books per day--easy, short books--to keep her in the running for "best" reader. The free pizza coupons were piling up on the counter. It never was about the pizza, however. It was about the chart on the wall, where students tallied up their
My daughter was immediately down with the Book It concept, strategically selecting and plowing through books to stay a volume or two ahead her classroom competitors. Soon, I was signing off on a dozen or more books per day--easy, short books--to keep her in the running for "best" reader. The free pizza coupons were piling up on the counter. It never was about the pizza, however. It was about the chart on the wall, where students tallied up their
