On Lending Books

A young one comes to ask:

May I borrow this 3-D drawing book over the weekend?

Ooooo…that book. That’s the book I don’t want ruined. That’s the book I don’t want wrinkled, bent, or torn. That’s the book I want to protect from grimy, careless young fingers. That’s the book I want to last for years to come so I can share with future classes…

These are the thoughts which shot through my head at the end of the day on Friday when a curious mind asked to borrow a book. So I told him,

No, I can’t let you take it home over the weekend. You can look at it when you come back on Monday.

What was I thinking? This 3-D drawing book exists in my classroom in order to satisfy curiosity, provide enjoyment, hours of entertainment, for skill-building, and for weekend pacification (thereby freeing parental units)

And here I am, denying my student because I don’t want my book to get a little wrinkled. I’ve just defeated the purpose of having the book to begin with. Ridiculous.

Next weekend, I plan to lend the book to the young man who wanted to borrow it. That’s what the book is there for. Who am I to get concerned about an extra wrinkle?

If I don’t follow through, someone please be sure to remove all books from my classroom and have them burned. This would provide more use than the anal habit of not allowing children to borrow children’s books (light, warmth, entertainment, heat source for roasting marshmallows, S.O.S. signals, excuse for a social gathering, etc.).

Thank you.

The State of Classroom Materials

Classroom materials should be kept as well as possible. A student came to ask to borrow a book overnight, which generally is not a problem, unless it is one of the more valuable books I like to keep for everyone to enjoy. The kids understand which books are/are not allowed to go home in the evenings and on weekends.

I don’t do this to be mean–I do it so that the books can last longer. I’ve wondered if I was doing a disservice by not freely lending every resource my classroom holds, but I’ve come to the conclusion that this is in the best interest of everyone involved.

The child still gets a chance to look at the book during the school day during silent reading, DEAR time, free time, etc. But at the same time others who would be interested in the book would also get the chance to use a nicer copy than would be available if every child took home whatever they wanted.

Right or wrong, this is my classroom policy. So far, it seems to work well.