Biking Peoria part 2

Last weekend I hosted a bike maintenance workshop at our church to help encourage people to get their bikes out of the shed and get them ready for summer.  While just a few showed up, it was still a great event. We invited local bike advocate Tim Beaney to share his repair expertise.  It was the first time I had met Tim and he left a lasting impression.  It was nice to meet someone who is so passionate about biking.  His passion has led him to open a self-help bike shop.  The Bike Peoria Coop is a place where you can bring your bike and rent space to use a bike stand and all the tools you would need to do repairs.  Used parts are available for purchase on site and volunteers are on staff to offer assistance.  To my knowledge, this is unique in our area.
Tim's love for biking doesn't stop at the shop.  His plan was to create a place where the biking community can come to tinker around, visit and talk biking.  While the shop is fairly new and just getting going, Tim shared that there have been many times where he saw that vision of people of many different lives coming together to work on bikes, share experiences and talk biking.  This also meets his third goal of the shop.  And that is to not only build a biking community, but to just bring community together through biking.

According to the flier that Tim gave me, the mission of the shop is "a cooperative organization of bicycle users whose mission is to educate and empower the community by providing a welcoming space to learn about bicycle repair, maintenance, practices and road safety through outreach and advocacy activities."

Congratulations to Tim for getting this vision into practice and continue to build and strengthen the biking community in Peoria.  I can't wait to visit the shop.  Jump on this link to the Bike Peoria Coop to visit their Facebook page.

Biking in Peoria Part 1

I was looking at my infrequent posts on the Cycling Librarian and discovered that one might think that the Cycling Librarian hasn't done much cycling lately.  While after the winter and polar vortexes that we have been through, that statement is true; however, I have done several cycling related stuff recently.

First, I thought I would share that my daughters and I got our first crash of the season out of the way early.  We were riding down a hill in our neighborhood, and she got tangled in the wheel of the bike carrier her sister was riding in and took all of us down pretty hard and fast.  That description makes it sound like it was her fault, but I have no idea what actually happened since she was behind me. The slightly humorous sight (now that the event is over) was seeing our three year old strapped in the trailer laying sideways just screaming yet perfectly safe.  I couldn't hear her though because one of the residents in the neighborhood was running his snowblower out of gas and it was loud.  So bruises and cuts are now mended and it made for a good lesson on why we wear helmets even on short rides.  We are ready for a good and safe summer.

Second, is our excitement at the new biking bridge going over Knoxville Ave, a busy route, that will open up our riding to new adventures.  The Rock Island trail now extends into the city.  This will definitely expand our options to where we can go and how we get around.  Can't wait to make the ride downtown to the main library, museums and the riverfront.  Also, we are going to work on more street riding to build the girls' confidence in rules of the road and to remind drivers that by law we share the road.  We cyclists need to stand up for our rights to the road and foster a safe coexistence on the road.

That's a middle school book in the high school library!!!

I've read some discourse over the last month on the library listserve regarding below grade level books in "upper" school libraries.  In my case as a high school librarian,  I often wonder if I should have Tim Green, Mike Lupica, Rick Riordan, Christopher Paul Curtis, Rita Williams-Garcia or Melody Carlson on the shelf to name a few.  These authors are poplular and kids have often read them by the time they have gotten to the high school, but I find that the titles are frequently requested and other students are constatntly recommending them to their friends who haven't read them yet.

In the back of my mind I have this phrase "college and career ready" that makes me think, "Jeez, these kids have already read these books or these books are written at a really low level for high school." so should I offer them to the students?  Is my library "Common Core?" Are Riordan or Williams-Garcia's books getting the students "career ready?"  I mean, they are just "kids books," right?

While that is all true (I guess), is there harm in reading something for fun that is "below level?"  Reading is reading, especially when the books are written by award winning authors and they are well written.  This is a problem I have when looking at schools that have tight Accellerated Reader reading rules for children.  I have heard numerous horror stories and have heard some from my daughter's school that students are not allowed to read anything at school that isn't in their exact reading level.  That is a shame.  I get it that students can read at home and that parents should be there to help choose books, but we all know happens in fewer households that we want to know.  I understand the basis of the AR rules but what a way to discourage a student from reading something that is exciting to them whether it is above or below level.  I do not  understand why a student can't choose something in his or her level to measure progress for the school and choose something that is of interest to them outside (above or below) their level.  If the book is out of the realm for a student, a teacher or certified librarian making suggestions if the book is way below or above with a comment like, "I see you want to read "blank" I think it will be to "hard/easy," why don't you try "blank? It is a lot like the book you chose." would be really effective.  However, if the student insists, the conversation ends with, "Okay, let me know what you think of it and keep this book in mind when you are finished."  I just don't see the benefit of taking a book a student is excited about reading out of his or her hands.

With that idea in mind, I proudly purchase a mix of reading levels (I do not label the books with reading levels by the way!) and encourage even the best and highest readers some of the "easier" books just because they are great stories.  And, who is to say an "excellent" reader might not enjoy the break of reading some "brain candy?"  Another benefit is having a collection of books kid have already read that empowers them to take ownership of the library by recommending good books to friends.  It gives them confidence in their ability to read and choose good books and strengthens their friendship bonds.  And, gasp, what if they were to actually talk about the book with their friend!  A travesty, I know.

If you have had the debate in your head of whether you should or should not put easier reads in your library, do it!  Go for it!  Your students will love you for it and be sure to shamelessly give a "simple" book to your best readers.  Also, challenge your readers with higher level reads as well.  College and career ready?  You bet!  Reading is reading, and if the kids are reading books they want to read in their free time, that is preparing them for life long learning.

Do you have any thoughts on this topic?  What are your thoughts on using AR in schools?  What do you think about offering "easy" reads to students who are capable for high-level reading?  Comment below, I look forward to a conversation.