Age Banning… I Mean, Banding
Posted by alli on 07-02-2008
There's been a lot of talk about the issue of age-banding in the UK recently. The Guardian has posted a few opinion pieces from various folks in the world of children's literature including Phillip Pullman. But we've been having our say on this side of the pond too. Check out the discussion at A Chair, A Fireplace, & A Tea Cozy, for example. Here's my two cents:
When I worked at ReadBoston, teachers used to ask me to "level" their books all the time. I understand their requests were probably from lack of confidence not competence, and that they saw me as the expert, but it used to frustrate me to no end. I used to do workshops where I would emphasize the importance of knowing their students and their unique needs, likes and dislikes. I preached how essential reading the books in their classroom libraries was — getting to know the literature. In my opinion, age-banding is an excuse not to do these things. It also suggests that there is a one size fits all (age) way to approach readers — that a particular book is appropriate for say, every 5 year old, or every second grader.
Mostly I'm opposed to leveling books because I think it shuts down exploration. With young children, one of the ways they advance as readers is challenging themselves with a book that is a little beyond their ability or present skill set. At the same time, it's equally important for readers to revisit favorites that are below their reading level for enjoyment or comfort. Parents used to call me in a panic to say, "My child really wants me to read her an ABC board book that we grew out of last year! What do I do?" Um. Key words here: really-wants-me-to-read-to-her…. I know that concerns are different with adolescents and teens because of the issue of controversial content, but generally I believe these principles hold true with more mature readers as well. I agree with blogger Anne Giles, that children know what they need and generally have a grasp on what is appropriate for them. Developmentally they accept what they're ready for, and don't accept what they're not capable of understanding.
Furthermore, as teachers and librarians, we are responsible for making a wide variety of titles and genres accessible and helping readers find good fits. Age-banding makes it really difficult to do this. A label that tells a reader: "Don't open me. You're too young" or worse, "You better be able to get this. It's age-appropriate," usurps our training, our experience, our opinions and authority. Frankly, we have much better ways and language for advising readers.
It seems to me that when we do things like label, level and categorize, we exclude readers instead of including them. We head intrigue off at the pass and make assumptions about people's abilities and interests. I can't help recall some of the new studies we've heard about recently that discuss various drops in reading interest among such and such age group, or since this year or that year, or in reading for pleasure, or among boys. Generally I debate these facts as being too simplistic across the board, but if there is any truth in our nation's lack of enthusiasm about reading, maybe we should be looking at some of our antiseptic and prescribed notions around books — especially those for our burgeoning readers.
