Thank you for the many responses.

[Cindy B]

5 minutes is nothing. My advisory periods sometimes they read for 25 minutes.. so he's got it easy for 5 minutes.

 

[aprilgail2]

5 minutes is nothing. My advisory periods sometimes they read for 25 minutes.. so he's got it easy for 5 minutes.

What grade is that?? I would have a real issue with the teacher giving them 25 minutes of silent reading while she should be using the time to teach..they can read at home.

 

[AMClvsMKY]

I also agree with everyone here. The teacher seems to be being reasonable ( fair ) in my opinion. And 5 minutes is a very short time to have to read, even if it is a "boring" book.

 

[CheshireVal]

Totally fair. I think it's great that there's reading time in class, and it's really not too much to ask your son to pull a "boring" book off the shelf and read for 5 minutes. I mean, sheesh, if nothing else he could stare at the pages and daydream!

 

[CheshireVal]

What grade is that?? I would have a real issue with the teacher giving them 25 minutes of silent reading while she should be using the time to teach..they can read at home.

Read at home?!?

Ha! A lot of kids *won't* read at home. In a lot of middle schools here, mandatory reading time is actually built into the school day, every day. Reading a book can be just as valuable as anything else learned in school.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

The teacher is being absolutely fair. Expecting a child to put forth 5 minutes of their time to read a book is a gravy assignment, even if the book is something he considers "boring". Wait until he gets into higher grades and the subject matter doesn't interest him - he will be wishing for those lost 5 minutes!

You need to tell him to stop judging a book by it's cover . Is he saying the books are boring because of the title, the subject matter? Did he read just a couple of pages and automatically banish it as boring? Not every book is going to reach out and grab you within the first 5 or 10 minutes. Some you have to stick with, especially if they are a different style or subject than you are used to. I had a friend suggest an author to me that writes alternate reality novels. I got one of his books and at first it was not wowing me and it was hard to read. By the time I got several chapters in, I was hooked and now I wait anxiously for this author's next release.

Aside from the fact that he should be more open to give "boring" books a chance, you need to look at what you are teaching him with this. You are telling him in the most vital, formative time of his life that what is most important is what HE wants, not what someone of authority expects of him. That is a grave disservice that will come back to bite him in the future years in high school, college and his career. The world is not about one individual and kids need to learn that. You do what is expected of you because you have to, and it doesn't matter whether it is boring to you or whether you want to. Life is not about making sure everything pleases you.

 

[Skatermom23]

I would say fair. Her rules and your DS needs to learn to follow the rules. My DD is going through something like this. Her Math teacher has decided that in addition to doing homework the kids needs to have a paper signed showing that the parents were told about the assignment. DD forgets to have me sign the paper but ALWAYS does the work. So a couple of times she has gotton zeros even though her homework grade was 100%. The teacher called me and I told her that while I thought she was wasting her time calling me, since DD is an A+ student and always is prepared, I would encourage DD to remember to have her paper signed since that is the rule.
I was happy to tell her that I disagreed with her rule and for enforcing what I teach my kids....life isn't always fair, so you do what you have to.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Fair. It is 5 minutes of reading. Anybody can get through 5 minutes of reading a book they don't like.

 

[simpilotswife]

Pretty much what everyone else said. There are going to be lots of boring tasks he will have to do in his life. He may as well get used to it.

 

[DawnCt1]

Your son is being insubordinant. Why should he be excused from doing what every other child in the class is doing.

 

[Nite0wl71]

I replied earlier, but I just asked DD12, she is also in 7th grade, this question. Here is her reply--

"What's 5 minutes, just suck it up and read, in High School you are going to have to read boring books whether you want to or not. Not chosing to read is like saying I don't want to do my math, or anything else that is class work. The most boring book I have read is "Jacob Have I Loved" the first 5 chapters were the most boringest ever, but when I finished it was one of the best book I have ever read."

Right now her class is reading "The Devil's Arithmatic" and just finished reading "The Pigman". They also read "Tuck Everlasting" So far she has liked both of these but says "The Devil's Arithmatic" is boring right now but it sounds like it will get better. The one thing she doesn't like about the class reading is they can't read ahead. They also have 15 minutes a day of reading a book they bring.


She has learned not to judge a book by it's cover.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

And it ended happily ever after.

 

[DawnCt1]

I don't think it is "too kind". I think you did your child a MAJOR DISSERVICE. I think it is catering to his refusal to comply with the class rules, conform to what is required of the other kids and setting him apart from his peers. I don't think the teacher did you any favor by "compromising". If he had to sit and read Websters dictionary, it would have been better than what has been offerred. You describe his reading as "too much". Is he showing early signs of compulsive behavior and are you feeding into that?

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Ok let me make sure I'm understanding you:

Your husband won't let you buy used books for your son because he is a germaphobe, but will let you buy books from a library book sale. Um, dear, these aren't brand new books.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I don't think it is "too kind". I think you did your child a MAJOR DISSERVICE. I think it is catering to his refusal to comply with the class rules, conform to what is required of the other kids and setting him apart from his peers. I don't think the teacher did you any favor by "compromising". If he had to sit and read Websters dictionary, it would have been better than what has been offerred. You describe his reading as "too much". Is he showing early signs of compulsive behavior and are you feeding into that?

I agree 100%!!

 

[DawnCt1]

Ok let me make sure I'm understanding you:

Your husband won't let you buy used books for your son because he is a germaphobe, but will let you buy books from a library book sale. Um, dear, these aren't brand new books.

That's interesting; I missed the reference to "germophobe" which is an obsessive compulsive behavior. The child may be exhibiting early signs of this. I

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Dawn, she said her HUSBAND was the germaphobe, not her son.

 

[DawnCt1]

Dawn, she said her HUSBAND was the germaphobe, not her son.

I did understand that Lindsay but it is not unusual for members of the family to have similar "issues". OCD isn't necessarily a "learned behavior" but may have a familial or genetic componant to it. It may have more to do with brain chemistry than anything else. How we process and metabolize is often inherited.

 

[tiggger1]

I think I understand what the Op is saying. I read alot. I like to reread the books over and over. IF I understand the OP is not saying her son doesnt want to read. He enjoys reading and is probably a fast reader and after the 5 minutes teacher writes down the page.he is probably way ahead of the kids who hate to read. So after a few days (or less) the book is done. It might be in the middle of the day when he finishes his book. so for the next class period he doesnt have a new book but wants to read one he already read but teacher wont let him, so he gets a zero. While yes he should read one of the teachers book, but if the teacher already said she doesnt have books at his level than that is her fault. So yes he did bring a book to read but when he finished it there wasnt anything left for him to read. So yes spending $50 a week or 2 for books to read during school is a little harsh and the teacher should have a few books that are his level. So its not like the kids thinks he is too good to read or doesnt want to, its because he already finished his book from the last minutes reading period and didnt have something new to start. I think everyone assumes that they only have to read 5 minutes a day when he really has to read 5 minutes before each class period which adds up at least 30 minutes a day. Heck when I was that age I could read a series book in less than an hour. So its not like he doesnt come to school without a book to read, he just might not have a book to read at 1 :45 pm after finishing it before lunch. seems to me his is getting punished because he is a fast reader.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

but her son doesn't want to read the books because they are boring, not because they are dirty.

P.S. For those who think this is too kind. It will actually be hard on him getting to read only 5 minutes and then having to wait to read more.

ok, then I guess I don't understand the problem here. Because the way you were stating it --- it is hard to get him to read for the 5 minutes because he is refusing to read the books that are available to him.

If it isn't hard to get him to read for the 5 minutes, then you shouldn't have to be asking the teacher to compromise with a special assignment designed just for him.