said: the undead (a sequel)
People are coming forward in various places to defend the list of said-bookisms some teachers have provided to encourage kids to use in place of "said" (a movement with the catchy but infuriating title said is dead). Kids don't read, goes the argument. Kids resist writing. Kids are too busy watching movies and tv and playing video games. Teachers are desperate! Anything to expand their vocabularies. Anything to get them to sit down and write.
I just don't buy this argument.
I can see the need for ways to broaden vocabulary and to get kids motivated about writing, but this said is dead approach is, in my opinion, just silly (at best) and at worst, it will teach bad habits rather than good ones.
And to really get into it: I don't believe reading is in trouble, not even for the younger generation. Of course kids spend a lot of time in front of televisions and computers and don't reach for a book first thing when they have a half hour to spend. When did they ever? When I was a growing up, kids were out in the street teasing old ladies and throwing water balloons and telling each other about the facts of life; they came in to watch television, eat dinner, do homework, and go to bed. Except me. I was a geek. I was in the house, reading. I got in trouble for reading too much.
The truth is, the kids in the neighborhood turned out fine, and so did I. Some of them are great readers; others aren't. I don't believe that you can predict long-term dedication to reading and writing from one particular set of behaviors or a particular classroom experience. There's a greater variety of ways for kids to spend their time; books have more competition, but that's true for readers of every age, and in fact, books do sell.
From Making Light and an excellent older post on literary whining
[...] by our best calculations, using every scrap of reliable data we can lay hands on, at this very moment more people are reading more books, reading a greater variety of books, continuing to read them later in life, et cetera and so forth, than ever before in the history of civilization.
Now, I don't want to minimize the challenge that comes along with teaching, especially the middle school age. Dog bless every middle school teacher a hundred fold: you have more stamina and dedication than I do, and you do what you do for less money that you deserve. And while one set of behaviors can't predict life-long reading habits, I believe one excellent teacher can make a hugely important and positive difference in the way a child goes about learning. However, that doesn't mean that every teaching method that comes down the pike is well thought out or effective. Said is dead is (I hope) a passing fad.