Child Punished for Excelling

A librarian in New York told a boy to stop reading so much because he was winning too often during the summer reading club’s annual reading contest.

Librarian Marie Gandron, director of the Hudson Falls Public Library, accused nine-year-old Tyler Weaver of reading too much and “hogging” the prize in the “Dig into Reading” competition.

Weaver has taken the prize five years in a row thanks to keeping his head in the books throughout the summer.

This year, he won by reading 63 books in six weeks. And, over the past five years, he’s knocked out 373, which was too many for the librarian.

She wasn’t happy about Tyler’s accomplishments because his efforts supposedly caused other kids to give up on the competition.

“Other kids quit because they can’t keep up,” she said.

Gandron wants Tyler to “step aside” from the competition because his ambition is too strong for other kids to compete with.

When did this become OK? Why do all kids have to be 'equal'? This kid obviously has a thirst for knowledge. Maybe he's not great at sports or math or science, but he LOVES to read. So he's discouraged from doing something he loves and he's good at because it's not fair to the other kids?? Do they make the fastest kid in school race with his legs bungied together or tell him he can't compete anymore? Is the best hitter on the baseball team benched? What is going on with the education of our kids and grandkids? All kids should be encouraged no matter their skill levels, but if you find one who shows ambition, drive, a knack for something, it should be fostered, not quashed. Sad state of affairs