Top 10 Reasons Why I Hate Reading Logs:

log rolling


  1. Cheating: In order to get the grade for the “reading,” kids cheat.
  2. Inauthenticity: Is a student really reading something they love? Does counting pages read mean there’s a true connection?
  3. Competition: Measuring students’ success by minutes read=factory-made, robotic readers
  4. Parent accountability: Reading logs put a lot of the responsibility on parents’ shoulders. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a hundred times: My mom never had to sign math homework sheets or reading logs, and she was STILL an excellent mother. I sure would hate to see how she would have coped raising three little girls while her husband traveled 5 days/week on business AND helped her daughters remember to have her sign a reading log.
  5. Student accountability: Oh, so it’s the kids’ complete responsibility? So, what if the parent isn’t available? That’s teaching responsibility, or just a reminder that your parent is working 3 jobs to put food on the table. More reinforcement of “you’re unworthy, irresponsible” labeling.
  6. Distracting: Why does a book need all of these “flags” to make it more enjoyable?
  7. Epic fail: You don’t do your reading log, even if you read all the time, you fail.
  8. Resistance: Puts a damper on the whole “love of literature” thing
  9. Time waster: See number 6.
  10. Annoying: For everyone involved.

Talk to me about the books you’re reading; tell me why you love them. Write me a note in your composition book, or send me an e-mail. I’ll teach you about plot, irony, paradox, and punctuation in class, okay? And why I love books, too.

One comment

  1. Thank you! I’ve always been an avid reader and throughout grade school reading logs were the bane of my existence because they were so annoying and always slowed me down when I was motoring through whatever it was I was reading. I’m so happy to see a real teacher who dislikes them as much as I do.

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