What’s Right With Our Schools: Rossville Middle Schools Book Vending Machine
ROSSVILLE, GA (WDEF) – A healthy love of reading is the foundation for a solid education. Our friends at Rossville Middle School have come up with a fun and creative way to get kids excited about the written word. The Book Vending machine is a good example of what’s right with our schools.
Dr. Paula Reed is the Media Specialist for Rossville Middle.
She explains, “The book vending machine was a dream of our principal, Dr Stinson. I had actually never heard of one. I knew it was possible, because you can put just about anything in a vending machine. I saw that when I went to Japan. We’ve had the TVA Energy Right Grant and we have the ability to choose, or the students chose what to do with those funds, and this was on the selection of the list that they picked.”
8th grader Aaron Tackett says, “I really like the vending machine because, it’s really cool looking, like you walk in and boom! You get to see them all, and you get to have fun talking about them. And like oh I want that book, or ooh that one looks really cool.”
Fellow 8th grader Lei Jones chips in, “Yeah, your parents might not be able to buy you books. So, with the vending machine all you got to do is just work in school and you can get the books for free without your parents having to buy it.”
Dr. Reed adds, “Most of the books, uh especially the newer books are going to be expensive. That’s just how it is, especially the graphic novels, and this is an equalizer. It doesn’t matter how much I paid for these books to the kids it all costs the same. If they earn the token, they’re able to get whichever book they want. There are times when our kids don’t have books at home, and this is a way to provide a book that is theirs.”
7th grader Adam Schoonover says, “Instead of them having to constantly return the books and not being able to have books. New books over the summer is good, because they can just own the books.”
Dr. Reed concludes, “Not every kid’s a reader. So, I saw several kids, and our own superintendent, chose diaries.”
