tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27584252.post9004652210279689928..comments2024-03-29T20:08:42.437+11:00Comments on Boy on a bike: Kids with no booksUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27584252.post-81879122853680912852012-01-11T00:59:03.860+11:002012-01-11T00:59:03.860+11:00re: a household's books vs. a child's own ...re: a household's books vs. a child's own books<br /><br />I'm surprised that the Guardian would be propagating a position against the communal ownership of property.Col. Milquetoasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02663068441544498425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27584252.post-42226084147233591592012-01-11T00:56:30.226+11:002012-01-11T00:56:30.226+11:00I'm less sure about the survey. I have an uncl...I'm less sure about the survey. I have an uncle and aunt who are voracious readers but they keep a very sparse house and other than work related & technical books they give away practically everything they read to the local library. Others read from the library and now there is this internet thing that people read. Books are not necessarily the best proxy for literacy.<br /><br />But the main reason I am skeptical is that I took a similar survey when I was a kid and I wildly underestimated the number of books in the household. While trying to figure out a number I decided that the 20-some volume encyclopedia was a single title and so it should only count as one. I didn't include my younger brother's books because they were "little kid books" and so I didn't think they counted as real books. I didn't even think about my older brothers books because we spent most of the time pretending that the other didn't exist. <br /><br />When I got home I counted the books in my room and the total was well over twice what I had estimated for the entire house. I looked around the house counting books and it turned out they were everywhere - sprinkled in places I hadn't remembered. I assert that :<br />1) kids do not make good estimates, <br />2) kids (or at least some) are self-centered and don't pay much attention to their surroundings <br />3) a kid taking a survey is a lot like taking a test except the kid realizes that he can't get in trouble for flunking it, rushing it or faking it. <br /><br />(in 7th or 8th grade we took a survey about drug use and several of us decided put down as many drugs as we could name. In truth, we weren't really doing LSD, PCP, speedballs, etc we only knew the names from TV.) <br /><br />I also question the causality and I wonder if something called the National Literacy Trust would ever do a survey that suggests everything is fine. That said, I have come across semiliterate bozos who don't teach their kids.Col. Milquetoasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02663068441544498425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27584252.post-91150380487353067492011-12-19T23:32:32.079+11:002011-12-19T23:32:32.079+11:00Although she has some at her house, too, there are...Although she has some at her house, too, there are a few books here that we read to BEEootiful Granddaughter that begin with "This book belongs to Lovely Daughter." And then she says, "That's my mommy."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27584252.post-16387373832746171782011-12-17T16:34:05.452+11:002011-12-17T16:34:05.452+11:00Heh. My brother was around 50 before he finally co...Heh. My brother was around 50 before he finally collected the last of his stuff and took it to his own place. You have that to look forward to.<br /><br />Save them for the grandkids - thankfully, mum and dad saved all our kids books and now our kids are reading them when we visit.Boy on a bikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14452119541546978454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27584252.post-77423149618519935182011-12-17T14:47:58.554+11:002011-12-17T14:47:58.554+11:00Wait until your kids grow up, leave home, and don&...Wait until your kids grow up, leave home, and don't take their books with them. We have thousands - and they ignore all ultimatums of the "take them or we'll sell them" variety.1735099https://www.blogger.com/profile/17945140949290600423noreply@blogger.com