Pizza Hut: Book It

Pizza Hut's Book It scheme is an incentive scheme that has been running for 25 years in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico. The program reaches out to 50,000 schools in the US and 22 million children, encouraging them to read with the reward of a free pizza for their efforts, if they can achieve individual targets set by their teacher.

"The Book It program was first started in 1985. It runs from The 1st Of October to the 31st of March every year and is focused on children from K through 6th grade. It also has a program which runs two months each year for preschool aged children. It encourages children to read at least 20 minutes a day. Teachers involved in the program set a monthly reading goal. When the child reaches that goal, they receive a coupon redeemable for a free personal pan pizza."

While some people have criticised the program for encouraging children to eat pizza when child obesity is on the rise and the fact that children are receiving a commercially sponsored education, I feel that the incentive of a class being able to go for a pizza at the end of term is something that would have really spurred me on. Whether it pushes children to read an extra few pages a night, or encourages them to help their class mates with their reading, I believe this is a worthwhile idea that could really work if implemented in the UK.

However the idea of certain incentives for learning is something that could be used all around the world where willing sponsors exist. One consideration when taking a scheme like this across the world would be the incentive offered to children. For example Pizza Hut would not be such a popular incentive outside of Western culture, where this style of food is less prominent. But the idea of giving kids incentives and rewards for working hard in the classroom is something I would like to see implemented wider than just North America. I certainly wish it was implemented in the UK whilst I was at school.

Kim
Westminster, MD
Favorite book(s) as kid: Island of the Blue Dolphins
"My family didn't have a lot of money, so when I received my free book it pizza, it meant my family went out for the night. Mom and Dad could get a sandwich or split a pizza themselves and I got my own personal pan pizza. It was incredibly fun. It was a great reward and a good memory."

Yasmeen
Seattle, WA
Favorite book(s) as kid: Julie of the Wolves
Everything about the BOOK IT! Program, but especially the status afforded by donning the jumbo hologram button (it's proudly displayed in my bookcase today, more than 15 years later!). Getting to finally wear the button on my jean jacket was like a modern-day rite of passage as a budding bookworm. Equally memorable was driving home from Pizza Hut, in the back of my folks' Chevrolet, with a hot personal pan pizza on my lap. I practically was on a first-name basis with the Pizza Hut employees in Columbus, Georgia. Pride for me back then was wearing my BOOK IT! button and redeeming countless personal pan pizza vouchers.

http://www.bookitprogram.com