For a K class of children with SN, this seems unreasonably punitive. I say this as the mother of a child who couldn't remember these things either until quite recently, in 5th grade!

Unless the school has been sending you plenty of warning signs that it would be implementing this policy because of numerous book losses, I would complain to the principal, cc the whole class on it, and suggest that parents will take better care to return books on time in the future.

Anonymous wrote:If the kids in this room are generally unable to remember to bring the books back on time, then I think this policy makes sense. The kids have access to the books in the classroom, but the books are not unavailable to every other kid for weeks or months at a time.

+1 What solution would you have, OP? You admit it is a class of SN kids and admit that your son would have trouble remembering the day books are due. Clearly he isn't the only one with this problem because of the new rule that is being imposed. So the answers are:

a. No checkouts whatsoever

b. No checkouts can go home

c. Checkouts can go home and books are very likely not coming back in

d. Telling the same kids (presumably) each week that they can't check any books out because they haven't been returned

Of those options, isn't b the best option for a class of kindergarteners?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had the same problem when I taught 1st/2nd grade. Students wouldn't bring books back, parents wouldn't send the books back (or respond to emails and phone calls).

I set up the same rule - library books were put into a special place in our book area and could be read during independent or free reading time. Until the students (and their parents) could be responsible for sending the books back, they had to be kept at school.

If the kids were never able to bring the books home, how did you decide when they and their parents were responsible enough to do so?

I didn't say I never allowed it. I allowed it at first... until the books weren't coming back and I was spending so much time sending reminder emails/phone calls to parents only to have a few books trickle back in. A lot of books were lost.

Our school library only allowed 4 books checked out to a student at a time. If they didn't return them, they'd be blocked from checking out books. As a result some students could check out all 4, some students could only check out 1 or 2, others none. I started using my own library card so students could each pick out a book, then it went into our classroom supply. Next time we were due for library time, the kids would carry all the books back and we'd return them together.

Sorry... clarifying... I allowed kids 2 books per visits but the library system had a 4 book max - meaning if they didn't return all of their books and they reached the 4 book limit they wouldn't be able to check out more.

Keeping the books at school was a last resort. I tried talking with the kids about returning the books, sending reminders home, emailing, calling, individually not allowing kids to check out books... It was much better to allow everyone to pick a book, have it go into an area into our class library, and let all kids enjoy them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had the same problem when I taught 1st/2nd grade. Students wouldn't bring books back, parents wouldn't send the books back (or respond to emails and phone calls).

I set up the same rule - library books were put into a special place in our book area and could be read during independent or free reading time. Until the students (and their parents) could be responsible for sending the books back, they had to be kept at school.

If the kids were never able to bring the books home, how did you decide when they and their parents were responsible enough to do so?

I didn't say I never allowed it. I allowed it at first... until the books weren't coming back and I was spending so much time sending reminder emails/phone calls to parents only to have a few books trickle back in. A lot of books were lost.

Our school library only allowed 4 books checked out to a student at a time. If they didn't return them, they'd be blocked from checking out books. As a result some students could check out all 4, some students could only check out 1 or 2, others none. I started using my own library card so students could each pick out a book, then it went into our classroom supply. Next time we were due for library time, the kids would carry all the books back and we'd return them together.

Anonymous wrote:Huh? Why would you go up the admin chain?

If the kids are not capable of remembering the due dates, as you yourself say, why would they be allowed to bring books home. If you are incapable of doing something, you don't do it. They are still allowed to read books in the library and classroom. They still have opportunities to go to the library with you.

Now encourage them to learn to take responsibility, follow rules, etc.

If you are not capable of doing something due to a combination of age and disability, the appropriate solution is not to "not do it", it's to do it with accommodations. There are plenty of accommodations that would allow a kindergartener with a disability to bring library books back and forth on the appropriate day. The student can be taught to take initiative by keeping library books in his backpack. The teacher can take initiative, by attaching a "Library Day tomorrow!" tag on his backpack. The parents can take initiative by setting up a reminder on their phones. But denying a child the right to participate in the same activities as their peers because of a disability is not the solution.

Similarly, there are plenty of other times when it's appropriate to provide accommodations while working on developing skills.

For example, at 2, my son was not capable of walking more than a few steps, and certainly was not able to walk around the zoo.. So, we accommodated him with a stroller, while he developed his skills in P.T..

In 3rd grade, my son with a disability was not yet capable of reading the books his classmates were reading, so we accommodated him by having him use an app with text to speech, while he also worked on developing his reading skills through reading texts that were on his level.

My 10th grade son with a disability was not yet capable of riding public transportation independently, so I arranged for someone (parent, grandparent, au pair) to accompany him to activities, while also making sure that travel training was in his I.E.P..

OP, I'd find out if this is specific to his class. If the policy is that no kids in the school are taking books home, or that taking books home is a privilege that starts in first grade, or something, then I'd drop it. I don't see it as "collective punishment". I see it as one strategy for managing the library collection.

If it is specific to his class, I'd raise holy hell.

Anonymous wrote:I had the same problem when I taught 1st/2nd grade. Students wouldn't bring books back, parents wouldn't send the books back (or respond to emails and phone calls).

I set up the same rule - library books were put into a special place in our book area and could be read during independent or free reading time. Until the students (and their parents) could be responsible for sending the books back, they had to be kept at school.

If the kids were never able to bring the books home, how did you decide when they and their parents were responsible enough to do so?

I had the same problem when I taught 1st/2nd grade. Students wouldn't bring books back, parents wouldn't send the books back (or respond to emails and phone calls).

I set up the same rule - library books were put into a special place in our book area and could be read during independent or free reading time. Until the students (and their parents) could be responsible for sending the books back, they had to be kept at school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Guess what? It's most likely not the teacher's policy. It most likely comes directly from the media teacher or even directly from admin if it has become a rampant problem. There are not endless funds to replace books that are not returned. When it continues to happen the collection of books for the whole school becomes depleted and there are not funds to replace them. Even though bills are sent home when books go missing for long enough, the majority don't actually pay them. So then the book remains missing from the collection and the school is not reimbursed in order to replace it. Same thing happens with guided reading books that aren't returned. They are sold only in packs of 4-6, so if one book is never returned there aren't enough for an entire reading group and the school has to order an entire new pack, which is expensive.

Solution? Teach your child to put the book in their backpack directly after reading it. Treat it like you would their glasses or their lunchbox. That way if your child has trouble remembering which day is their book exchange day it will always be in their backpack just in case. If they are not finished with it, they can renew it during book exchange and bring it back home. Read it, put in backpack, rinse, repeat.

-teacher

What nonsense are you spouting? Is a media teacher not a teacher? Can they not read emails? If a parent emails you and the policy more appropriately sits with another person can you not inform the parent of that, and suggest they contact the right staff directly?
As to the rest of your email, preventing students who do remember to return books to the library does nothing to prevent or correct what you describe. That's why setting a classroom-wide policy to address the problems of one or two students is so pointless. The media teacher should know exactly who isn't returning books, and can easily address the problem with them. Punishing the entire class is pointless, and it undermines respect. I know my child would recognize the idiocy of the solution presented.

Calm down, pitbull.

Schools have rules. If it's a blanket rule, so be it. Rules set the tone for the school. Once you start making exceptions for angry. entitled parents, reputation is harmed.

my advice? Either play by the rules or find yourself a private school that will bend to every tuition-paying parent.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. This is K, and if it makes a difference, for a classroom where all the kids have SN. My kid, for example, is not capable of remembering he needs to collect the book for a certain day and I doubt the other kids can either.

It makes sense for the school to develop a system or routine-- especially for kindergarteners.

I will say that my son with ADHD does not return books on time. We've tried everything, and now, as his parent, I don't allow him to bring home library books from school.

I would bring the issue to the school and communicate my concerns. I would also ask if there are some other options. I know at my title one school we created special bags that helped with return rates.

Sorry, OP, that stinks. A that age, my kid had a lot of trouble misplacing books I put in her backpack to return so after searching all over the school the first 5 times (luckily, we found them) I hand returned each book she checked out for the rest of the year. It very annoying to me and would have preferred she not check out anything at all but choosing books is kind of part of the curriculum. No, I'm not a SOHM. I work full time and it was a real pain to do this but it was respectful to the school and the rest of the class.

Anonymous wrote:

Guess what? It's most likely not the teacher's policy. It most likely comes directly from the media teacher or even directly from admin if it has become a rampant problem. There are not endless funds to replace books that are not returned. When it continues to happen the collection of books for the whole school becomes depleted and there are not funds to replace them. Even though bills are sent home when books go missing for long enough, the majority don't actually pay them. So then the book remains missing from the collection and the school is not reimbursed in order to replace it. Same thing happens with guided reading books that aren't returned. They are sold only in packs of 4-6, so if one book is never returned there aren't enough for an entire reading group and the school has to order an entire new pack, which is expensive.

Solution? Teach your child to put the book in their backpack directly after reading it. Treat it like you would their glasses or their lunchbox. That way if your child has trouble remembering which day is their book exchange day it will always be in their backpack just in case. If they are not finished with it, they can renew it during book exchange and bring it back home. Read it, put in backpack, rinse, repeat.

-teacher

What nonsense are you spouting? Is a media teacher not a teacher? Can they not read emails? If a parent emails you and the policy more appropriately sits with another person can you not inform the parent of that, and suggest they contact the right staff directly?
As to the rest of your email, preventing students who do remember to return books to the library does nothing to prevent or correct what you describe. That's why setting a classroom-wide policy to address the problems of one or two students is so pointless. The media teacher should know exactly who isn't returning books, and can easily address the problem with them. Punishing the entire class is pointless, and it undermines respect. I know my child would recognize the idiocy of the solution presented.

Anonymous wrote:My school "loses" hundreds of dollars in books each year not being returned and parents not paying for them. So the students are only allowed to keep the books in their classrooms. If I didn't return books to the public library and didn't pay to replace them, the same thing would happen. Se la vie.

Were you a victim of your school's library policy? This hurts my eyes.
C'est la vie.

Anonymous wrote:My school "loses" hundreds of dollars in books each year not being returned and parents not paying for them. So the students are only allowed to keep the books in their classrooms. If I didn't return books to the public library and didn't pay to replace them, the same thing would happen. Se la vie.

Actually no. The same thing wouldn't happen. Your aren't reading carefully. If someone else didn't return a book to the library, you are still allowed to check them out. The county library systems don't restrict access to the books nor do they require you to only read them in the library (unless they are under special section or current magazine titles, of course) if your neighbors don't return them. Most of you would be livid as adults if you were told you weren't allowed to check out a book because your neighbors didn't return them. This is also a SN classroom with a different set of checkout policies that the rest of the school is not having to do.

This is no different than cancelling recess for the entire class, which is against most county public school system policies.

Complain. This is bad and self-defeating policy. You don't teach children to love books, value checking them out and reading them at home by restricting access. Honestly it should be against a teacher's ethics.

I agree this may be a problem for some kids whose only access to books is through school.

My son is in 1st grade in APS. He not only has his weekly library book but every day he brings home two small bags of books, one in English and one in Spanish. This child is toting around 6-7 school owned books a day.

While we have tons of English books at home we have only a small number of Spanish books, If he didn't get to bring these books home I would have to buy more spanish books to help him with his reading. This would not be a financial burden on our family (thankfully) but it would be for some families.

We have to remember that not everyone has access to books at home and not everyone is easily able to take their kid to the library.

In our school it is simple. You don't return a book you don't get to take out a new one. Last year in K my son forgot once and was so upset it never happened again.

So I agree OP. This seems ridiculous but this is something we deal with as an adults in the work environment too. Instead of cracking down on the offenders everyone is punished.