Thank you for the many responses.

[Wish I lived in Fl]

And it ended happily ever after.

 

[DawnCt1]

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.

Then re read it for five minutes. I was a fast reader too. I still am but I wouldn't have expected special treatment for five minutes. That is 300 seconds!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Obedience yes, but not blind obedience.Know too many people who were wiped out of their life's savings because of Enron bring down Arthur Andersen.

oh come on! All she is asking him to do is sit at his desk and read ANY BOOK HE CHOOSES for 5 minutes a day. This is hardly the type of "blind obediance" that has brought down major corporations.

Go to your town Librarian and tell him or her that you have a kid who is tearing through 5 books a week, loves Science Fiction, and needs to be supplied.

They love this stuff. They will help put together a stack of books to be picked up every Monday afternoon.

 

[diznygirl]

Sounds to me like he is choosing to be punished.

I like to read - I read a lot and I read fast. But if I knew I had to read something or get a zero, you'd better believe I'd be picking up one of those "boring" books and putting in my 5 minutes with it every day!!!

 

[Sandy V.]

I want DS to have the moral courage to fight when the system is wrong rather than go along to get along.

"Moral courage" has nothing to do with this situation, in my opinion. I'm with those that side with the teacher here.

ETA: You can't be serious to compare the "injustice" of your son getting a zero for not reading quietly for 5 minutes at the beginning of class to the Enron scandal. Geesh. Give me a break. You've just taught your kid - "It's okay, honey - those stupid rules weren't meant for YOU." Not a great way to start longstanding academic habits.

 

[DawnCt1]

Since i was educated at a small private school(50 students,9 teachers), teaching was custom tailored to each student. Obviously at a school of 1200 that can't happen but even Burger King lets you order burgers "your way"

Your parents paid for a private education that customed tailored its approach to each student so that was the culture of the school and the general practice of the environment. If you would like that for your son, you may have to pay for it. I don't see this as an issue of blind obedience but following the rules of the school in which your child is a voluntary participant. He isn't being asked to do anything immoral or illegal. He is, at the most, being inconvenienced for five minutes. Burger King is marketing individual choice. Your son's school has to provide an education for 1200 students.

 

[tiggger1]

Then re read it for five minutes. I was a fast reader too. I still am but I wouldn't have expected special treatment for five minutes. That is 300 seconds!

I think that is the problem, The teacher wont let him reread it. She writes down where he was and he needs to read from that point. When he finishes a new book, he might not have a spare....

 

[Maleficent13]

I want DS to have the moral courage to fight when the system is wrong rather than go along to get along.

The system is wrong for asking him to read for 5 minutes? Even if they told him he had to read a book of their choosing for 5 minutes, it's still not wrong. Within the next year, he's going to start being assigned A LOT of books to read and report on that are MASSIVELY boring to most people. Guess what? He's going to have to do it anyway, or take a zero. I don't see any difference between that and the zero for not reading for 5 minutes.

Hell, I don't like some of my job, and find a lot of it boring. But, my choice is I either do it, or lose it. No one says to me, "Hey, I'll compromise with you. You only have to do the interesting parts of your job."

 

[luvmydogs]

"Moral courage" is an admirable quality, but does not apply in this circumstance. I'm not sure how five minutes of reading a "boring" book has compromising ethical implications or reprocussions?

I believe this was a good learning opportunity for your son, but that this was blown 200% out of proportion. He'll be doing many, many more boring and unenjoyable things in his life that are necessary--and for a lot longer than five minutes at a time. He should be taught to handle those types of responsibilities and obligations now--it will be a much harder lesson to learn in the real world.

 

[padams]

Conformity??????????? Compromise?????????

How will the rest of the class feel about your son who is above doing boring tasks such as reading a book for 5 minutes and gets to do something else? You won't need to worry about conformity if he's a social outcast whose peers don't like his "I'm better than this assignment" attitude and special treatment.

How will the teacher feel about your interference with her authority? Have you read the parent rant thread by the teachers? You might find it instructive.

How is your son going to deal with high school, college, and having a job in the real world if you teach him that he doesn't have to do what the teacher says if he doesn't want to do it? If one of my employees said, "I don't want to do that assignment, it's boring". I'd say "You're fired."

If he were my child, I'd tell him to read Webster's dictionary for those 5 minutes every day. When he knew every word and every definition, then I'd take him to a library to check out a book.

 

[Beth76]

How much conformity is desireable? Just reading Farley Mowats "Aftermath" where the german officers he meets after the war truly think they themselves innocent. I want DS to have the moral courage to fight when the system is wrong rather than go along to get along. Obedience yes, but not blind obedience.Know too many people who were wiped out of their life's savings because of Enron bring down Arthur Andersen.

OK fine. We get it. Your child is above the others when it come to the rules. That's fine. If you want to "fight the system" in the name of "injustice", more power to you! Just don't complain when your son gets zeros. If he's going to stand up and take a stand, he needs to take what goes along with it as well. Or maybe you should homeschool. That'll really stick it to the man.

 

[Crankyshank]

You know he's going to have to read many boring books over the course of his educational career. Just because he's a reading superstar doesn't give him a pass from reading things he doesn't want to read.
It's 5 minutes. Even if he has to re-read a book he all ready owns or read a book the teacher has in her library it's not going to kill him. In fact he might actually open his mind and enjoy the books he thinks look boring. I know I enjoyed a lot of books I initially turned my nose at. Fortunately for me my parents never used my love of reading as a cop out to get me out of reading books I didn't want to read.

And I'm sorry but I find it hard to wrap my brain around how refusing to participate in 5 min of reading is fighting against injustice and blind obedience.

 

[laura001]

I would tend to agree with most of the posters here. If the assignment is to read, then your son should be reading, whether it is something interesting or not, give him a copy of War and Peace or something, that should keep him busy for awhile. (that was a joke) What about some classic literature?

As he goes through school not only will he have to "jump throught hoops", he will have to do a lot more than that. My DD is in 3rd yr. University, studying English and History, she called me only 2 days ago complaining about a book she needs to read (she disagrees morally with the book and has NO interest in reading it all and had to pay 80.00 for the book). I can't imagine her going to her professor and saying that she doesn't want to read it....if she did, I would assume she would receive a "0".

I do know what you mean about the expense of books, trust me it only gets worse! Second hand book stores can become a very good friend!

 

[RadioNate]

I can not even believe that 1) I'm going to type what I'm about to say and 2) that I agree with DawnCT.

This is what is wrong with kids these days. I don't like the asssignment so Mommy runs up to school has it out with the teacher and I get to do what ever I want. Ha ha ha.

It is no wonder why students have no respect for their teachers and threat them like doo doo.

What happens the next time your DS doesn't want to do something? Gonna get him out of that too? For how long, HS, college, when his boss assigns an unpleasant task. No your DS is so much better than the rest of the students that he can't suck it up for 5 minutes and read a 'boring book' or *gasp* a book that is below his level. We all have to do things in life we don't like. I don't like changing the cat litter but I spent 5 minutes doing it this morning.

The kid isn't 5. He knows full well he needs a book to read for 5 minutes in class. How about NOT reading it at lunch so he has enough to read in class? That is if the situation Tigger1 is pushing is the case.

I'm ALL about fighting the power, standing up for fairness but that isn't what this is AT ALL. This is a mother who thinks her child shouldn't have to do what the rest of the class does because he doesn't like it.

And we wonder why teens these days have a huge sense of entitlement.

 

[Planogirl]

Again, keep in mind that he will HAVE to read what the professors assign in college. They won't be interested in his reading level or what he thinks is boring. He needs to get used to a certain amount of conformity.

 

[DawnCt1]

I can not even believe that 1) I'm going to type what I'm about to say and 2) that I agree with DawnCT.

.

Hi RadioNate; Now we only have 99 things we disagree about.

 

[BuckNaked]

Excellent post, RadioNate!!

I got a call from DS's (age 9) teacher a few weeks ago. She wanted to let me know that she was concerned about his math grade because he hadn't done his speed drills (1 minute) in 6 days. Her words were "Don't get me wrong, he hasn't been rude or disrespectful, he just tells me that he knows the math and he doesn't want to do the speed drills because it's boring". As I told her, regardless of his tone of voice, refusing to do the work WAS rude and disrespectful.

She offered to let him make them up, but DH and I decided that DS should take the zeros, and the resulting lower grade from his refusal to do his work.

So I guess that when he grows up with no moral courage to fight injustice, we'll know that it's our fault because we expected him to do his assigned work, boring or not.

 

[tiggger1]

Ok I must be missing something, Where does it say that her son doesnt want to read and do something else? from all her post I get that the son finishes his book and doesnt have another so the teacher gives him a zero because she wont let him reread a book he already has read. Yes the teacher has books but not for his level of reading. so since her son likes to read she spends tons of $$ on books. Heck I buy 99 % of my books used and I still spend at least $40 a month on books. I can see where the mom is upset. but I still dont see where the OP said her son hates reading and wants to goof off while the other kids read. She just said her son finishes his books and doesnt have another one to read and the teacher wont let him read one he already read, so he is stuck reading a "baby" book or taking a zero.....

 

[laura001]

Again, keep in mind that he will HAVE to read what the professors assign in college. They won't be interested in his reading level or what he thinks is boring. He needs to get used to a certain amount of conformity.

so true ...so true....so true!

 

[shortbun]

I think it's just fine for your son to march to a different drummer when it is really important. This is a 5 minute assignment and can easily be resolved. It is also not requiring that he compromise morally. Could he read the daily newspaper? Could he read the business section? How about Time/Newsweek/Mother Earth News? Periodicals are worthy of his reading. Perhaps the teacher would agree that these are "books." Don't worry about the folks who have made you a demon for setting your child apart from his peers....it's those who realize they are special and strive for excellence rather than acceptance who set the bar for the rest. You are correct that blindly following is mundane. Perhaps your son could wow the teacher with some really different and wonderful reading material. Make it a goal!!! Everyone will benefit and he will feel that he has made something he hates into a good thing.