[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by Jovvi

I´m getting tired of this. Partly because english is not my language and even if I understand it really well in writing and know in my head exactly what I mean it is more difficult for me to argue in english becase I have to stop and think of what word to use and still I know I spell them wrong and it bothers me because I see the words are wrong and still can´t get them right.

So I try again...
1. I don´t trust media to tell the absolut and full truth. Even if the librarian said exactly the words in the article we don´t know if she said other things or in what context she said them. The paper chose what would make a good story.

2. The same is true for the mother, why did she call the paper? She says to tell them her son had won the contest for the fifth time, but it could be because she had heard that the library wanted to change the rules (which is wrong since rules should not change during an event/contest whatever). Naturally she is upset that this is unfair to her kid.

You could use Google, or the tags on the website the initial story was on to see the follow up stories.

On Tuesday night, WTEN-TV in Albany also did a story on the ongoing controversy.

In that story, Channel 10 contacted Gandron. She told the station that she was “misquoted” and that her words were “taken out of context.

“Because those quotes from Ms. Gandron were so outrageous, we reviewed that story very carefully before publication,” said Post-Star Editor Ken Tingley. “Our reporter tape-recorded the interview and transcribed the tape before writing the story. Ms. Gandron was not misquoted and her words were not taken out of context. We stand by the story as factual and accurate.”

Ms. Gandron did not contact The Post-Star to report she was misquoted.

They also received a reply from the President of Hudson Falls Free Library Board of Trustees, in which he calls the comments "unfortunate".

Originally Posted by Jovvi

3. As someone else here said, most of us agree the librarian did wrong. I do too, but I try to read between the lines and sort of get what she seems to want, to encourage more kids to read. I think she made a mistake by making it a competition in the first place because while the kids that like to read, are fast readers and like to compete will be encouraged, other kids that already know (or feel) that they are not as good readers, or as fast and can only imagine themselves as losing this competition will not want to participate. Some people may want to compete anyway (but I think few kids will) and some that are "just belove" may be encouraged to strive harder. Those kids are not the problem, the ones that give up beforehand are... To you they are not a problem because you don´t think they participate anyway. You could very well be right, my point however is how can we get those kids to participate to? I argue against competition as a way to make those kids learn to love reading. I talk about "joy of books" becaus that is what I wish those kids to feel. I think Tyler in the article already love readin, he has already discovered the joy of books and with him it´s the adults (parent, librarian, teacher) job to nurture that joy.

The librarian was really wrong in putting him down, and of cause this year he won this contest fairly since she made it a contest. I don´t believe if she changes the rules for next year so it´s not a contest or have a rule that former "champions" can´t participate again or whatever, will make him stop reading. Do you? If he can´t "win" next year will he put all books down never to read again? I don´t think he will, I do feel kids that are made to feel a failure by losing in competition after competition might. So I think the library should have a reading club in which everyone wins by participating (even if it´s just a pen, a bookmark, a diploma or an invitation to a "bookparty").

Again, Google it and read the lines instead of reading between the lines. But start with the article:

Prizes were also awarded for the top reader in the kindergarten division, best rock people creations and best coloring entries.

This wasn't just the party invitations and the title of having read the most books, there were other prizes as well.

Then search the club/competition: http://hudsonfalls.sals.edu/?p=647

36 area children in grades K – 6 (you must have completed Kindergarten)

joined between June 24 – August 3 of those 36, 30 met (and many surpassed) the 10-book requirement.

This is interesting because it means that there could have been for example children that joined in the last week and read 10 books in a week the same as Tyler, but didn't start from the beginning, so they wouldn't have had the same total number.