Books at Home

Re “Do Rewards for Reading Really Work?” Sept. 26: Jeff McQuillan found that incentive programs have no real effect on the motivations of students to read.

As a teacher of first- and second-graders, I absolutely agree that the best way to reward them is to give them more books--and time to read them. However, both books and time are precious. Our schools still do not seem to have enough grade-appropriate books to lend, and even fewer for children to take home.

In addition, the new LAUSD policy for grades K-6 is to structure reading and language arts into a full two hours a day, leaving valuable minutes for all remaining subjects, never mind time to get “stuck in” a good book.

The answer, I feel, is for corporations to fund boxes and boxes of good books for students to take home. Sure, a few will get scribbled on or lost, but our low-income families will have books to be enjoyed at any time--and isn’t that the point of learning to read?

TRICIA HOYE

Mid-City Magnet, L.A.