[CALIBK12] Textbooks/Library Fines and Collecting of Monies

[Hedstrom, Pat]

Education is preparation for life, among other things.  Try not paying
your speeding ticket or not renewing your auto registration, or ignoring
your parking ticket.  We are not doing our students any favors by not
teaching them accountability. We are doing a great disservice. We can
court their favor in numerous positive ways, such as providing great
reads, internet service, homework resources, etc.  But they must learn
to respect the library as a valuable social institution.  And we must
respect ourselves.
Citizenship records should follow the students just as letter grades do.
A 
District that does not want to do this has gotten its priorities wrong.
There are ways that kids can make up for lost materials, such as working
off fines, depending on the situation.  But they need to be held
accountable.
Pat Hedstrom
Piedmont Hills HS
San Jose   

-----Original Message-----
From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu
[mailto:calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu] On Behalf Of Catania, Amy
Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 2:13 PM
To: Blanche Woolls; Glenda Webb
Cc: calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu
Subject: Re: [CALIBK12] Textbooks/Library Fines and Collecting of Monies

I will speak not from a textbook point of view, but from the main
library's point of view.  At the risk of fueling this argument further,
I would like to know what people would do in place of fines for lost and
damaged books.  There needs to be some kind of accountability.  We
cannot just say, "Oh, poor baby, let's give you another book."  That
sends the wrong message that it is all right to borrow something and not
return it.  At the high school level, incentives for returning books on
time do not work.  They complain about the incentives and believe that
we should have better, more expensive things (oh, the lovely entitlement
generation).  And really, should we give prizes or incentives for
something that students should do in the first place, namely return the
materials that they have borrowed?  Something needs to be done whether
it is fines or something else.  We cannot eat the cost and constantly
try to replace books.  Our budgets are frozen, and we do not get SLIP
funds.  Right now, only fundraisers and grants (none of which we have
been awarded) are our only funding options.  Without the fees collected
for lost and damaged materials, we would not be able to replace any
books at this point.  Maybe it is not the best way, but without the bill
slips, many of our overdue books would not return.  We do not charge if
the books are returned, only if they are lost.  Something has to happen
in order to teach these students responsibility and accountability.  So,
let's open up the discussion.  What should we do instead?

-----Original Message-----
From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu
[mailto:calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu] On Behalf Of Blanche Woolls
Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 11:30 AM
To: Glenda Webb
Cc: calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu
Subject: Re: [CALIBK12] Textbooks/Library Fines and Collecting of Monies

Since collecting fines in the first place makes an adversary role for
the 
teacher librarian, why would you want to be chasing these students for 
their entire school lives? The very thought that some mother or father
are 
telling their children not to set foot in the school library because
their 
last name might get them an overdue fine notice from 20 years before is 
mind boggling.

The children and young adults in our schools are there because it is
their 
school, and their library and their gymnasium. It might help them
refrain 
from trashing or even burning their school or their library (some do,
and 
the cost to "fix" is horrendous) if they saw it as their property and
not 
a "them" and "us" situation.

Or maybe I misunderstood your question.

Blanche

On Fri, 30 Jan 2009, Glenda Webb wrote:

> Our district recently went to Destiny.  To clean up some of the
records they want to delete any fine before the beginning of this school
year, including those fines for students still going to this school
and/or are still in our school district.
>
> The new district directive regarding future assessment of fines is:
once a student leaves elementary school, all fines are deleted.  Once a
student leaves 8th grade, all fines are deleted.  Once a student leaves
high school, all fines are deleted. The district says this directive
meets the ed code.
>
> Can any one give me some logical, convincing arguments to sway the
district to reconsider their decision.
>
> Or give me some logical, convincing arguments that the district's
mandate is reasonable.
>
> Glenda Webb
> LCMS Library
>
>
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