Reading above average

[missrandom]

My 8 year old son is a very good reader. He reached a certain level at school and I was told that he couldnt progress any further as its school policy for children in year 4 or lower not to moved past this level (regardless of ability). His previous teacher allowed me to choose his books to read and he could bring them into school. No such luck with his year 4 teacher. He got told he cant read The Hobbit and has to read a school book, some rubbish thing that he reads in one eveing. Why are they stopping him from progressing? Should I go in and speak with his teacher (i'm worried i'll get really cross at the stupidity of it all and loose my rag).

[bednobs]

surely he can reAD whatever he likes at home?

[Goodsoulette]

yes, let him read something else at home as well as the school books. The guided reading often has some relevance to the lesson plans and help with the phonics and writing practice. They can't stop him from reading extra. Let him read the school book for half an hour and whatever he wants for how long he chooses to. It's what my son does.

[missrandom]

He can read what he likes at home, but he cant take the book he's reading at home into school to read for silent reading etc. He likes to read at bed time and i dont think its fair for him to try and read two books concurrently.

[CrazyCathy]

It can't be the policy of the school (or your son couldn't have done it last year) must just be the teacher. Did the teacher give your son an explanation? Seems extremley strange.

I'd go and speak to the teacher and see what happens and take it from there. Do you know anyone whose child was in this teacher's class last year?

[missrandom]

I know someone whos child was in her class years ago, but not recently. She has a reputation for being quite strict (which isnt a problem), but she not particularly approachable and quite stoney faced. I'll have to grow some wotsits, be brave and go and see her.

[cazzz1975]

sometimes in school they tie in the current book to school projects and some books are part of the curriculum.

reading should always be an enjoyable hobby, as long as he has the books he enjoys at home, I cannot see why reading a school book is a problem.

[annie0000]

I had the same problem with my son last year - apparently it is fine for them to sit bored out of their skull and stare out of the window for a year and become in the habit of underachieving- because that is easier for the teacer than to actually make any effort to allow them to read at anywhere near their real level. I complained to her and to the headmistress about her and got precisely nowhere.

My younger son has the same teacher this year with predictably the exact same results - funny that. Stangely, they don't seem to think that a child who has been described by 3 separate teachers as "a pleasure to teach" and has never lost a minute of golden time or been marked as anything less than excellent in behaviour or school work, who is suddenly not completing work and being distracted is any kind of problem as far as they are concerned. I think otherwise.

Whilst I am absolutely supportive of my childs education, I don't think it is acceptable to get kids in the habit of just doing enough and not being motivated and stimulated. A year is long time in a childs life.

Thankfully my elder son loves his new class and is doing really well again, but I am still in dispute with the schol about my younger sons teacher.

I would write down all your points first - leave them ovvernight so that you can look at them objectively, make an appointment to speak to his teacher and go through the points in a calm manner. Having that structure there will make sure that you get all your points across and hopefully stop you losing your temper. If that doesn't work, get her behind the bike sheds and punch her lights out!!!!

[annie0000]

Hi, by the way :o)

[Nannyjill]

If that doesn't work what about approaching the governors?

It's a long time since mine were at school though

[Ice.Maiden]

I agree with so many points here, but cazzz made a good point about the books being read in school possibly being of importance in various projects. Also, I assume that your son does comprehension. If he has to write his own account of a particular story, then by not having read it, he wouldn't be able to do the work. Whilst the stories may be "babyish" to your son, they also contain the correct, repeated punctuation and word sounds, which, by reading a more forward book, may get skipped. I think this's particularly the case with books like "The Hobbit". Your son may be able to read it well, but it's hard going, with it skipping from character to character, and points tend to get missed. Having said that, it's a great book for someone who's an avid reader, but perhaps should be read at home, where there's more time to digest it. Have a word with the teacher, and see if your son can move on ahead of the rest of his class, but if not, there'll be a good reason for it. Best of luck.

[trish432]

I have found with my grandchildren that some teachers are encouraging, and some completely the opposite.
Sometimes it seems as if they think the child is a clever little so and so, and go out of their way to keep them down
When I was at school we were encouraged to go as far as we could go, even moving up a year, and sometime two. I don`t really know what the school policy is these days, but sure in my own mind that some teachers don`t take very well to children with above average intelligence.

[Ice.Maiden]

If it becomes obvious that a child's a good all-rounder, it might be worth thinking about moving to a school where their intelligence is given more of a chance to shine through. The thing is, ALL classes have at least one child who's ahead of the rest, but given another couple of years, this could even itself out.

[curiosity]

I had the exact same problem, with my daughter. In year 2 I thought she was a better reader than the books she was bringing home, but thought that because I knew she was reading stuff at home it wasn't a problem. Then I learnt that some kids were on "higher boxes" which made me think the teacher actually didn't know my daughters ability. It wasn't the fact that kids were on higher, it was that I was concerned that she was perhaps part of the wallpaper for this teacher. We endured 2 years, (years 1 & 2) our daughter liked & respected the teacher, but we knew that a lack of praise or pushing was ultimately going to affect her motivation to bother learning, she was reading books that were so unstimulating that it was a chore, potentially putting her off reading for pleasure for life. In year 3/4 with a new teacher she is recognised as gifted and talented in maths and reads her own books (as do many others) and gets points for her team if they read at home. Teachers get paid to teach, you are not asking this teacher to cope with unreasonable behaviour or huge demands from your Son, you are asking for basic good teaching, which is free in this country. Have a look at their OFSTED report, not all teachers are good teachers.

[trish432]

My feelings exactly, you would think teachers would be happy to have a well behaved, clever child in their class, but this isn`t always the case.

[terambulan]

Err on the side of caution. From my experience of complaints I found the staff kept reports of my complaints and taunted my sons for it. I used public schools for my daughter (who is much younger) because of this!

[curiosity]

I'm glad Trish, it's not that we are anti teacher, it's that we want a fair deal for our kids. My husband commented after 2 parents evenings with the teacher that he felt she didn't really know who she was talking about, and basically told us her curriculum, instead of any personal stuff, "she's a nice kid" would have done backed up by some anecdote, but we never got that. Our daughter hasn't struggled either academically or socially, and shes our 3rd child, so we tolerated a lot, knowing we would act if it really affected her. But it was frustrating, and we vowed that if she got the same teacher for a 3rd year running we were going to take it higher. This is by no means boasting, but being the youngest in an IT "savvy" household, she is better at some things on the PC than I am, yet according to this teachers report, she could handle a mouse and keyboard nicely. This confirmed what we suspected, she had no idea about her ability.

[trish432]

I really don`t think that the teacher doesn`t realise your child`s ability, she just doesn`t want to state it to you, some teachers are all for the underdog and don`t want to know about clever children. In fact some teachers should still be in the playground, they are petty, and think parents are being pushy if they state that their child isn`t being stimulated enough in the classroom.
I`m not saying all teachers are like this. when one of my grandsons was six, his teacher recognised his ability and put him forward for a scholarship, which he won and enabled him to go to an independent school on a full bursary, when he turned seven.
Unfortunately, they didn`t realised that this ended when he turned eleven. they had to either start paying or take him out of the school. they managed to get him a half bursary and kept him in, working their fingers to the bone to do so.
I find this so unfair as he has four siblings, two as bright as him and one much brighter, but no help for them.
I really believe in the eleven plus system, that was in when I was at school, why should anyone have to pay for a decent education? At least in those days teachers recognised a childs ability and would never hold them back. Sorry to have gone on so long, but this is a sore point of mine.

[Rosetta]

I don't see why he can't read two books concurrently.If you don't get anywhere with the teacher, have a word with the Head. It seems stupid to hold him back just for the sake of it, love of reading should be nurtured not stifled. If she cant cope with children of various abilities in her class she can't be a very good teacher

.Good luck in tackling her, it sounds like she isn't particularly flexible in her thinking though

[Lil O'lady]

It might be a good tactic to ask the class teacher, or at the office, for a copy of the schools policy for Gifted and Talented children (some local authorities call this Gifted and Able children). This policy should tell you how the school proposes to accommodate a child's needs for additional stimulus and to be stretched intellectually. It is simply easier for the teacher to pretend this is not needed but it is your child's entitlement. At the same time ask for the contact details of the school's local authority adviser, and the local authority adviser with responsibility for gifted and Talented children.
If there is no such policy or if it is inadequate, you need to decide whether to let the whole thing go, or take it up with the governors and the school's local authority adviser.

[skyscott25]

my daughters the same i send her with libary books anyway they can deal with me if they dont like

at one point they made her read the same book 3 times because they didnt believe she had read it!