Okay so I guess I spoke praise of the school too soon.
So Ds tells me today he's been getting in trouble for reading non-100 book challenge books at 100 book challenge time. Not that the books themselves are not 100-book challenge but because they are books from home and not from the 100-book challenge class basket (and apparently that is "not fair to other kids"). I got these books because he complains relentlessly how insipid the 100-book challenge books are. So I looked up books that I knew he would be motivated to read (adventure, fantasy, magic) and their levels and bought them and put them in his 100-book challenge bag specifically so he would have something good to read at reading time and he is getting in trouble for it! (I actually started doing it last year for this reason and the teacher had no problem with it if it were on "his level.") Because I guess the goal is not really a love for reading or practicing reading - the goal is forcing kids to read a book they find utterly uninteresting every day.
He was reading Magic Tree House's Ice Wizard Book, which is on his level (RR) and teacher threatened to take it away if she caught him reading it again. And he also got his "caught being good" ticket pulled for reading Secrets of Droon (which think is actually a level below him). He really wants to read Bionicles books (which he reads at home but I can only imagine that if he is in that kind of trouble for Magic Treehouse and Secrets of Droon I am sure Bionicles would cause quite a stir, so I have never sent them in.)
I am really angry. What is wrong with these people? Are they educators? Because with each day they look less and less like educators to me.
And it seems another big part of their goal is proving to me my child is not "really smart." Meanwhile, when I do things the school's way (i.e., force him to only do THEIR math and move at their math pace and force him to only read their books only on the level they say - he just stagnates and is depressed. But I send him to mathnasium where they let him move as fast as he is capable and nurture his love for math and he went from the 60th %ile in math to 95th%ile on the Woodcock Johnson. When I let him read what he wants the same thing happens with reading. I am seriously starting to think he learns in spite of school and certainly not because of it!
Last edited by Irena; 10/02/13 01:57 PM.
