Teachers...what is the point of this?

[declansdad]

First, I wasn't exempt, I just didn't read it, or skimmed enough to pass whatever test we had. I tried reading it, and I was bored to death. I read something else in the text book. ANd I do like Greek mythology...just not the Odyssey.

Second, I never had a bias to the Scarlett Letter, another poster did. I happened to love the Scarlet Letter and read it on my own. I liked Hawethorn.

Third, I never said DD would despise LOTR for its made up language, my DH felt that with her attention span, she might not be mature enough for it right now. Plus with the length of the books... there were other choices for her that would be a better fit.

And yes, she loved Shakespare, but that is not a made up language, it's just old English adn she loves stuff like that.

So what exactly was your problem?

 

[JoiseyMom]

And......

Sorry but she needs to learn that you have to do somethings you don't like to do sometimes and if she fails the class, lesson learned. I wouldn't let her get away with that personally.

Letting her get away with it? Let's see, there is groundings, no tv, no video games, no computer, no.... There is just so much you can do. If you have any suggestions for punishments I am open to all legal suggestions .

 

[tar heel]

Sci fi author who is a homophobe -- Orson Scott Card, maybe? Sci fi isn't my thing, but my oldest son and DH think he's an outstanding writer, and they definitely are not homophobic.

I think this is a good opportunity for your daughter to stretch her ideas about what to read. I think an author study is a very sound literature lesson, too. Didn't you have to do a paper on an author, which meant reading multiple books by him/her. We did that even at my podunk rural high school.

 

[JoiseyMom]

So what exactly was your problem?

My problem with not reading the Odyssey?

 

[Plannin'Shannon]

If she doesn't like it, she will not read it, she will refuse. She will just take an F in the assignment/s that are involved with that book.

Uh...does she have plans to attend college? Or get a job?

There are a lot of assignments and tasks I "don't like," both in school and in the workplace. Unfortunately, my surname is not Rockefeller or Trump, so I have to do them anyway. I learned that at a young age. Thanks, Mom!

 

[Maleficent13]

Are you kidding?
That is what makes Literature so fascinating!

Little Dora was based on the author living in a debtor;s prison also....

Jane Austin 's books were based on society at the time...

Little Dorrit, perhaps? Last I heard, the girl with the bowl cut and her little monkey friend never spent any time in a debtor's prison.

I have long since resigned myself to the fact that many people don't understand that for a lot of people, part of "recreational reading" is the analyzation process. It's enjoyable. The OP's DD may enjoy it as well, if she's permitted to try it.

As far as the "if she doesn't like it she won't do it" attitude: 13 is old enough to learn life isn't always about doing only what you like. Better to learn it now rather than first semester of college.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Sci fi author who is a homophobe -- Orson Scott Card, maybe? Sci fi isn't my thing, but my oldest son and DH think he's an outstanding writer, and they definitely are not homophobic.

I think this is a good opportunity for your daughter to stretch her ideas about what to read. I think an author study is a very sound literature lesson, too. Didn't you have to do a paper on an author, which meant reading multiple books by him/her. We did that even at my podunk rural high school.

No, I never did, not that I can remember. It was always about the subject matter and compare and contrast and summaries. Proof that you read the book and understood what you read.

In JHS and HS it was all the assigned reading, some I liked some I didn't. I was lucky enough in HS to be able to take elective English classes and read fun stuff. I still remember my favorite class was Literature of the fantastic. We read Stoker (the abridged..I was sad it wasn't the full version), Henlien, Poe, and so many others. I loved that class!!!!

 

[Plannin'Shannon]

As far as the "if she doesn't like it she won't do it" attitude: 13 is old enough to learn life isn't always about doing only what you like. Better to learn it now rather than first semester of college.

 

[declansdad]

My problem with not reading the Odyssey?

No your problem with the reading list. What is wrong with your daughter expanding her horizons?

 

[JoiseyMom]

Uh...does she have plans to attend college? Or get a job?

There are a lot of assignments and tasks I "don't like," both in school and in the workplace. Unfortunately, my surname is not Rockefeller or Trump, so I have to do them anyway. I learned that at a young age. Thanks, Mom!

My favorite line to her is repeat after me "Do you want fries with that???" LOL... it pisses her off. She does want to go to college, and she is going to learn the hard way what is required of her and what she has to do, and part of that is doing her job as a student and passing her classes.

We have tried bribery too...didn't work. I am hoping since she is in a community and classes with several friends this year she will do better. Only time will tell. Her first semester last year was great...it went downhill after that.

The most frustrating part is how intelligent she is and capable...she just doesn't do it. I am hoping she has matured some and realizes the folly of last year. Only time will tell. She should be getting straight A's and be in honor classes.

 

[golfgal]

My favorite line to her is repeat after me "Do you want fries with that???" LOL... it pisses her off. She does want to go to college, and she is going to learn the hard way what is required of her and what she has to do, and part of that is doing her job as a student and passing her classes.

We have tried bribery too...didn't work. I am hoping since she is in a community and classes with several friends this year she will do better. Only time will tell. Her first semester last year was great...it went downhill after that.

The most frustrating part is how intelligent she is and capable...she just doesn't do it. I am hoping she has matured some and realizes the folly of last year. Only time will tell. She should be getting straight A's and be in honor classes.

Sometimes it takes letting them fail to figure it out. It is better to do this in 8th grade then in college or with her first job. It is frustrating but as long as you allow the behavior with no consequences at school, it will continue and all the grounding, bribes, etc. aren't going to do anything until she decides to get her act in gear. It might take failing a class and being embarrassed in front of her friends before she gets it unfortunately. Been there, done that, it isn't fun but it is reality.

 

[cabanafrau]

Letting her get away with it? Let's see, there is groundings, no tv, no video games, no computer, no.... There is just so much you can do. If you have any suggestions for punishments I am open to all legal suggestions .

Here's my suggestion -- tell her she is now living as if she's Amish and stand your ground. Her room can have a bed, blanket, pillow and chores are the order of the day. If she still won't cooperate, provide her with a custom-made reading list especially for her. First selection? Silas Marner.

 

[JoiseyMom]

No your problem with the reading list. What is wrong with your daughter expanding her horizons?

If you read the entire thread you will realize I was first let to believe it was to be her "recreational" reading, the reading they want you to do, but were forcing them to read what they wanted them to read on the kids free time. ANd yes I have issues with that.

When they want them to read..just read, then I feel the child should be able to choose what THEY want to read. If it is an assignment then yes, the school has every right to make the read their choices.

There is nothing wrong with my DD expanding her horizons by having assigned reading.

Before school let out I took my kids to the Scholastic Warehouse sale, we do this a few times a year. DD picked out 12 books, we were looking for the one she had to read over the summer, but they didn't have it, but they did have the sequels to it which we did purchase. Within the first month she read 10 of them!! She then started reading other things she had at home, and then onto some books I picked up for her.

If she had been told to read 15 books from a list for school, she would have never done it, and it would have killed her joy of reading. If you want a child to enjoy reading, then you besides assigned books, you need to let them read what they want to read.

She had a 6th grade teacher that wanted to approve what they read. It was ok in the fact that she wanted to make sure they were reading books that was at their reading/grade level. The teacher though, didn't like my DD genre, and we had to talk to the teacher about it. The book was the correct level for DD, then she should be able to read what she wants in HER SPARE time.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Sometimes it takes letting them fail to figure it out. It is better to do this in 8th grade then in college or with her first job. It is frustrating but as long as you allow the behavior with no consequences at school, it will continue and all the grounding, bribes, etc. aren't going to do anything until she decides to get her act in gear. It might take failing a class and being embarrassed in front of her friends before she gets it unfortunately. Been there, done that, it isn't fun but it is reality.

Well she had a D and 2 F's (in what is called cycle classes) last year. She wasn't happy and she realized it was her issue. She is really gung ho about this year, so we are hopeful.

I have also told her that I never had to study through school and got great grades and got the poop knocked outta me in my first year of college. College..you HAVE to study!! Hopefully she will listen.

Also, for some reason she feels like she is dumb. We have no idea why. She had issues early on in school due to ADD, but we had hoped she had realized it is the disorder not her, and that she is smart. Plus she made the John Hopkins program last year and took the SAT's, which she did really really well on, so we just hope that she meets her potential.

 

[3boymthr]

What is it about this thread and english majors? I majored in Literature - LOL. I've been reading thru this whole thread and got a little lost at first but here's what I think...

OP - Sounds to me like you and DD have done a good job picking out her books. But you are right expecting them to sort through over 60 authors with the massive number of books they have published in the number of days alloted is crazy. The teacher should be asking for the first author by that date with the first three books and then the next two authors 30 days after that or she should allow the students a little leeway like the ability to switch either one author or the books by an author so that as minds and activities change the assignment can flex a little too. I have a 13 yo too and can totally see where you're coming from. They can barely make up their minds about tonight's activities never mind for the rest of the year. Talk about pressure for a kid that age.

I totally understand you nixing a few authors as you sort through the authors. If you don't like their message or feel it appropriate for your family then you have the right to do so. Yes, you are limiting her choices a little but you are steering her clear of ideals that you don't feel are appropriate for her at this time. I also understand the sorting through the books for her if my DS had to pick his reading now he'd be totally overwhelmed. He loves to read, but limitless choices that must be resolved on a timeframe are not something he can deal with.

I agree with PPs though that this is a great assignment otherwise. There is a ton of flexibility in what she has to read. I think if my DS had been given this assignment he'd have been thrilled with the number of authors he had to choose from. Last year the kids had just one book to choose from for their summer reading; a book about a girl and the pressures she's facing of entering middle school and hitting puberty at the same time. I did not speak to even one boy who liked it - why do they do things like that to kids (I mean really, what boy wants to read about a girl's angst about getting her period???).

As far at the other posts ---Most of the books you're picking on are good and certainly have their moments of OMG this writing style is going to drive me insane, but you haven't read a horrible, deadly dull impossible to get through book until you've read Dombey and Son by Dickens. Try it - you'll hate it. After that you'll think those other books were utterly awesome. I made it thru 4 pages. Faked my way thru the rest of it and thus an entire month of classwork - the teacher never gave any pop quizzes on it I think she new after the first day that we weren't really reading it. The girl who won the unofficial award for reading the most pages made it to page 31. We called it a surefire cure for insomnia. The only good thing was tearing it apart and dissecting it did save me $800; it was on the AP test - that's how obscure and awful this book is.

 

[declansdad]

If you read the entire thread you will realize I was first let to believe it was to be her "recreational" reading, the reading they want you to do, but were forcing them to read what they wanted them to read on the kids free time. ANd yes I have issues with that.

When they want them to read..just read, then I feel the child should be able to choose what THEY want to read. If it is an assignment then yes, the school has every right to make the read their choices.

There is nothing wrong with my DD expanding her horizons by having assigned reading.

Before school let out I took my kids to the Scholastic Warehouse sale, we do this a few times a year. DD picked out 12 books, we were looking for the one she had to read over the summer, but they didn't have it, but they did have the sequels to it which we did purchase. Within the first month she read 10 of them!! She then started reading other things she had at home, and then onto some books I picked up for her.

If she had been told to read 15 books from a list for school, she would have never done it, and it would have killed her joy of reading. If you want a child to enjoy reading, then you besides assigned books, you need to let them read what they want to read.

She had a 6th grade teacher that wanted to approve what they read. It was ok in the fact that she wanted to make sure they were reading books that was at their reading/grade level. The teacher though, didn't like my DD genre, and we had to talk to the teacher about it. The book was the correct level for DD, then she should be able to read what she wants in HER SPARE time.

I have read the entire thread, and this is the first post in which you explained everything. That being said, if the school gives her a list of books to read that are part of an assignment, as a parent I would think that you would have her do it.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Here's my suggestion -- tell her she is now living as if she's Amish and stand your ground. Her room can have a bed, blanket, pillow and chores are the order of the day. If she still won't cooperate, provide her with a custom-made reading list especially for her. First selection? Silas Marner.

My DH actually emptied her room on year of everything but furniture...but it wasn't because of school, it was behavior related.

I wouldn't do that now at her age. It is going to cause more problems at this age, and she knows that at some point she will get her things back. If she doesn't do her school work and pass, then she fails and risks being left back. Not going on to HS with her bff...that is scary to her.

I LOVED Silas Marner!!!

 

[JoiseyMom]

What is it about this thread and english majors? I majored in Literature - LOL. I've been reading thru this whole thread and got a little lost at first but here's what I think...

OP - Sounds to me like you and DD have done a good job picking out her books. But you are right expecting them to sort through over 60 authors with the massive number of books they have published in the number of days alloted is crazy. The teacher should be asking for the first author by that date with the first three books and then the next two authors 30 days after that or she should allow the students a little leeway like the ability to switch either one author or the books by an author so that as minds and activities change the assignment can flex a little too. I have a 13 yo too and can totally see where you're coming from. They can barely make up their minds about tonight's activities never mind for the rest of the year. Talk about pressure for a kid that age.

I totally understand you nixing a few authors as you sort through the authors. If you don't like their message or feel it appropriate for your family then you have the right to do so. Yes, you are limiting her choices a little but you are steering her clear of ideals that you don't feel are appropriate for her at this time. I also understand the sorting through the books for her if my DS had to pick his reading now he'd be totally overwhelmed. He loves to read, but limitless choices that must be resolved on a timeframe are not something he can deal with.

I agree with PPs though that this is a great assignment otherwise. There is a ton of flexibility in what she has to read. I think if my DS had been given this assignment he'd have been thrilled with the number of authors he had to choose from. Last year the kids had just one book to choose from for their summer reading; a book about a girl and the pressures she's facing of entering middle school and hitting puberty at the same time. I did not speak to even one boy who liked it - why do they do things like that to kids (I mean really, what boy wants to read about a girl's angst about getting her period???).

As far at the other posts ---Most of the books you're picking on are good and certainly have their moments of OMG this writing style is going to drive me insane, but you haven't read a horrible, deadly dull impossible to get through book until you've read Dombey and Son by Dickens. Try it - you'll hate it. After that you'll think those other books were utterly awesome. I made it thru 4 pages. Faked my way thru the rest of it and thus an entire month of classwork - the teacher never gave any pop quizzes on it I think she new after the first day that we weren't really reading it. The girl who won the unofficial award for reading the most pages made it to page 31. We called it a surefire cure for insomnia. The only good thing was tearing it apart and dissecting it did save me $800; it was on the AP test - that's how obscure and awful this book is.

THanks . She asked me for help and in this instance I did help her. I saw nothing wrong with making suggestions and showing her the books and having her decide if it was what she wanted. One of her favorite authors was already there so that was easy.

Wow...that book sounds painful!!

I know when DH and I saw the books she had to read last year, we were going to get her the cliffnotes if need be. Thankfully she loved them . We were very happy

 

[3boymthr]

THanks . She asked me for help and in this instance I did help her. I saw nothing wrong with making suggestions and showing her the books and having her decide if it was what she wanted. One of her favorite authors was already there so that was easy.

Wow...that book sounds painful!!

I know when DH and I saw the books she had to read last year, we were going to get her the cliffnotes if need be. Thankfully she loved them . We were very happy

You know I was just thinking about how you said if she didn't like a book she'd just stop and not do it and take the F. Unless I've confused you with another poster - You also mentioned that she has ADD - DS does too which is why I totally see where you're coming from. ETA - DS would do the same thing. I think it's an aspect of ADD if they don't like a task they won't finish it no matter how much you harrass them, they just don't have the attention span to devote to a task they don't like.

Given the amount of choice in this assignment I don't think it's about getting the kids to read something that's "good for them" whether they like it or not - finish it or get an F. Seems to me it's about getting the kids to expand their horizons and make sure they're not just reading Stephanie Meyers and the like; lots of kids will only read the latest best seller or what evers being touted by Scholastic this month (I can't tell you how many copies of hanna montana books we sold at the last book fair ).

Someone else said getting through it whether you like it or not teaches a life lesson - true - but that's what the class books are for, not a list of this depth. (I was also have a minor in education but I'm not a teacher - I'm a medical underwriter and spend my days analyzing numbers - lol - don't ask how that happened )

I'd recommend if you get to midway through the year and DD really did hate one of the books/authors, you and DD should approach the teacher about a switch (especially as she probably has a 504/iep which might help accomodate this switch). Most teachers don't want you to fail - they want the kids to succeed and will do what they can to assist in getting the kid to learn and embrace what they are doing and to succeed. If she's any good at all she might just let you switch rather than get an F, especially if you ask to switch to a book/author that she recommends.