Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy (Sigh) Should I say something?

I think this is a really valid point. The last thing we want to do is turn them against reading by creating an obligation that isn't aligned with their interests.

I remember being in elementary school and reading entire novels in a night (ie. Gentle Ben, Call of the Wild, that sort of thing) and having teachers try and shove harder books under my nose... it drove me nuts. Let me read what I want to read. Now I get paid to write, so clearly I'm literate.

My DD11 meanwhile loves reading as much as I did/do, and I've never required her to reading "certain" material. Meanwhile she has a friend whose well meaning mom made her read some of the classics (Little Women, etc) and this poor kid can't get far enough away from books.

I agree. FWIW, I read a lot of comic books when I was a young kid (mostly Disney of the Carl Barks variety). I was given two separate tests when I was 9 and was told after both I was reading at a 10th grade level. I remember reading Dante's Inferno and Dracula when I was 16 (not for school; for fun), so something must have changed.

Personally, I think that developing a love of reading is very important --- IMO, more important than reading industrially-defined materials and answering comprehension questions.

Irena, is your son complaining about the work at school? Does he get to read what he likes at home?

Good points all.

No DS is not unhappy. As long as he gets to choose something on his level *and of his interest* for independent reading (he is reading "count of monte cristo" for independent reading) he's happy ... He's fine with the instruction group... he says he is in the highest group so what else can they do?

I just wasn't sure if I should do something but these are all really good points. As long as it isn't hurting him!

And yes I let him read whatever he wants at home!

Just my opinion, but, yes, please advocate for the higher reading level. Hopefully, your state requires the school to meet your child's needs. I can only relate the frustrations that I felt. An advanced reader can jump right over babyish books. Our child preferred textbooks on science topics and was precocious with advanced ability in that area and, it never was received well. People do not understand it; they think the parents are pushing. They have nothing to compare it against. It confounds them. Meanwhile, a child who is an advanced reader is so lucky and rarely bored if the appropriate materials are provided. I found so many people who should have been helpful, just plain-out were not and I can't even blame them. They could not believe it. But, one way or another, I always went around the system and did what worked for our family and when our child grows up, he can advocate for himself. For example, I can already think of a handful of college majors that are just too easy for gifted students. I always took the hardest level classes and as many of them as allowed. A gifted brain needs to be challenged and constantly enriched or the person may not be happy. Hope it helps. Good Luck!

I would let this one slide if everyone is happy. We ran into dead ends with classroom reading thru 3rd, 4th grade too. He still read what he wanted on his time/all the time.

We decided to work on reading comprehension stuff at home. I just let the school stuff go. I mean, they HAVE his scores. They *know* what his reading level is. The fact that they honestly have no real way to accommodating him is sad, but, whatever. There's not much to be done about it there.

At home we read together, or, I'll have him read a book after I finish it, and we discuss it, talk through the plot, the characters, define any words he doesn't understand, yada yada yada. I'm waiting on his latest MAP scores to come in the mail, so we'll see what they say.

In 4th grade it shifts from learn-to-read to read-to-learn in any case.

One hopes for accommodation, but I try to also regard this phase as short-lived. Once you're in the higher grades, nobody gives a hoot about your reading level, as long as you understand what you read.

My family might be weird but sometimes we basically have our very own book club. Luckily my husband and I like children's literature. Sometimes I have to preread books to make sure they are appropriate for my younger son...sometimes they aren't that inappropriate just not necessary for a 9 year old to read. But many times they are fine. Sometimes my 13 year old will let me know if he has read it. Once all of us have all read the same book we do sit around and discuss it, sometimes over dinner, sometimes in the car.

This started when my older son was young and homeschooled...he would insist I read books he loved and then lead the discussion. I fondly recall a book "club" discussion on captain underpants as one of our first.

We have a similar situation with DD8, only she doesn't like to read independently. I still think there is something more going on than her just not wanting to read and we will continue to look into that...but I digress. She is in the top reading group for her grade same as your DS, however, there could very well be a huge difference between her level compared to the level of the other students in her group. She likes her group and they seem to get along well, but I totally agree with what you have said are your concerns - if she is a more advanced reader than the others in her group are we hindering her by not speaking up. I don't know what level the others are at and I wouldn't ask, even though I could probably guess.

Last year (1st grade) the AR levels were posted on a chart in the classroom, so all one had to do was go check it out. She set a goal of getting to a 4th grade AR reading level on the chart. Soon after making that goal she got to somewhere around AR 4.2 on the chart and she stopped. I asked if she wanted to set another goal and see how far she could go and she wasn't interested, so we let it go. There was one other boy in her class that she was sort of competing with and he also made it to 4th grade AR level. Other than that, no other student on the chart was close.

When I first read this thread I agreed with several other posters that you should just let this one go (no harm, no foul). But the more I thought about it and compared it to our situation the more I wondered if we too are just letting this one slide and I started getting fired up. You say what else can they do? Once again how about school meeting the student where the student is at. If an 8 year old reads and comprehends at a higher level, then why can't they go to that higher level for reading? Now I don't mean I want my petite 8 year old 2nd grade baby going to a hormone filled 6th grade class (just a joke people, don't get upset) just because she can read at a 6th grade level, but why can't she go to 3rd or 4th grade (probably also hormone filled in this day and age) for reading? Yea, yea, yea - the school's class schedules don't match up - we have heard that plenty of times before - poppycock people, make it work!!!