Thank you for the many responses.

[Maleficent13]

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.....

I highly doubt that books the teacher has available for 7th graders are "baby" books. And even if it is "The Cat in the Hat", just pick it up and read it for 5 minutes. What is so hard about that?

 

[tiggger1]

That is if the situation Tigger1 is pushing is the case.

wow, someone actually read what I posted!


I am sorry if it seemed like I was pushing

I am just not getting why everyone thinks that the OP is saying it is ok not to read and just saying that her son doesnt have enough to read and gets zeros.....

 

[DawnCt1]

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.....

So he is stuck reading a "baby" book for five freakin minutes. Is that the end of the world?

 

[CheshireVal]

I didn't realize we were calling bratiness and insubordination "moral courage" these days. My, how the times change!

And, you can be an individualist and a nonconformist all you want.... that doesn't quite equal anarchy. Sometimes you just have to follow the rules.

 

[BuckNaked]

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.....

Bottom line is that he is supposed to either a) have something to read or b) read one of the teacher's books. Period. If mom sends a book and he reads it before he gets to class, then he should be prepared to read what the teacher has, and mom should either send another book or tell her son to stop reading it before he gets to class.

IMO, this is much less an issue of a teacher being unreasonable than it is of a child deciding what rules he will or won't follow. So long as he's fine with taking the consequences (zeros) that go along with his defiance, then fine, let him sit there and not read. But to ask for special rules because he's "bored"? Please...this is 5 minutes we're talking about here.

 

[DawnCt1]

And, you can be an individualist and a nonconformist all you want.... that doesn't quite equal anarchy. Sometimes you just have to follow the rules.

But I don't want to!

 

[diznygirl]

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.....

So he's such a genius he can't figure out that he needs to take one of the teacher's books or get a zero??

I'm sorry, but he needs to follow the rules or accept the consequences. It's not rocket science.

 

[Nancyg56]

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.

I agree. One of the most difficult aspects of my job as a quality assurance analyst was to explain our employees that while I could respect that they did not care to complete all our their tasks, it was still important to our company and part of their job. Boring, not important, too much time, not enough time, not pertinant...you name it ...I heard it. This attitude had a negative impact on their job performance, and sometimes that impression carried through so that a promotion was compromised. Please, instill in your child that while some tasks are boring, or seem to have no reasonable explanation, it is still important to complete them. It is impossible to know all of the reasons that one is assigned a task, but the end result is such that it needs to be completed, or the job is not done.

 

[Beth76]

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.

So, then the son should be scheduling his reading time so that he doesn't finish the book early. He knows he needs 5 minutes of reading material for each class. He needs to plan accordingly.

This is along the lines of the assignment in which you need to limit a paper to 500 words. Yes, you can write a better paper with more information using 1000 words, but that's not the assignment!

 

[horseshowmom]

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.

As a former classroom teacher, I thank you!

 

[BuckNaked]

I'm quite fascinated by the notion that someone would equate open defiance and the inability to accept the accompanying consequences with being special and striving for excellence.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Originally Posted by tiggger1
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.....

ok, I'll be blunt

these are his choices
#1. Bring in a book that he wants to read for 5 minutes
#2. If he has not brought in a book then read one that the teacher has available for 5 minutes.

Is that so unreasonable? IF the kid had read every book that the teacher had available on her shelves - then I might have some sympathy, probably not but I might at least agree to listen to him. Otherwise, go grab a book and sit down and read. Refusing to read and getting a 0 when there is available material sitting right in front of your face is just being a little twerp to the teacher, and that is something that I do not allow in my house -- no ifs, ands, or buts.

I guess I also like for my kids to not accept things blindly. But I also expect my children to be problem solvers.

So if my child was not finding adequate reading material to get the easy points in this class --- I'd expect him to be "Gifted" enough to walk into the Library, check out the thickest Encyclopedia the librarian could hand to him, and then tote it into class everyday and sit there and read the blasted thing to get a good grade. Repeat as necessary.

And if a 7th grade child of mine had nerve enough to bring this problem to me, I'd fall over laughing at his pitiful whining that Mrs. ________ was flunking him for refusing to read and tell him that he'd better put his little thinking cap on and find a solution before report cards came home.

JMHO

 

[LindsayDunn228]

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.

 

[Hannathy]

I have seen all the queues in Disney so I shouldn't have to see them again right?

Three things just let the teacher write down whatever page you are on, read where ever in the book you are and then before she writes it down for that day turn back to about 10 pages from there and show her. If he can't figure this out by 7th gr. I am worried. If he has to re-read the same book so what make it a good one. Do you think Lincoln or Jefferson etc had a new book everyday. My DD has reread the Harry Potter books about 10 times and she is an advanced student but says they are fun.
2. Read the dictionary and learn 2 words a day the SAT's are just around the corner!
3. Pick your battles. and my DD would be mortified if I fussed with the teacher over this! Wow what the other kids must be saying let alone what the teachers are saying.

 

[Bob Slydell]

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.

Made her a demon??

When did this become a moral issue?? The teacher has a simple reading policy -- one which a number of posters have provided very good solutions to dealing with. But the OP doesn't seem to want solutions, just people to tell her that she's right.

 

[CheshireVal]

What really amazes me is the title of this thread, which indicates the OP has already made up her mind about how wrong the teacher is on this issue.

 

[jim and meesie]

DS (7th grade) has to have a book to read for the first 5 minutes of each class. The teacher writes down what page the kids are on each day. ........
So- fair or not fair?

Wow, I think there is some excess hostility towards the teacher here. Don't get me wrong, I have dealt with obnoxious overbearing teachers whose motivations were suspicious. The most important lesson your DS can learn from this is respect for authority (sometimes whether they deserve it or not). Just like in the business world we sometimes have to deal with situations and people who are in charge who we don't agree with!

At 7th grade, (12 years old) your son is old enough to learn to "suck it up and play by the rules". Previous posters have given great solutions to the problem ie; have a book for just classroom silent reading. Let me add, make it a long one. My daughter's eighth grade English class read "The Odyssey" this past fall and she LOVED it (OK, that even surprised me!). I challenge any 12-13 year old to finish "The Odyssey" in one day!!!

This isn't a money issue, you don't have to buy books for your son. Does your son's school have a library. Also, if he's reading a book a day you should encourage more challenging & longer books. "The Chronicles of Narnia " 7 books in one, "Lord of the Rings", "War & Peace" (don't laugh, kids 12-13 years old do read these books), "The Odyssey", (I assume that if he is a voracious reader he has already gone through all the "Harry Potter" books, they take more than a day or two each).

As you did post looking for opinions I think you need to hear that possibly it's you who are wrong here. Teachers in public schools need all the support they can get from parents!!! (even when their assignments seem ridiculous).

Just as an aside, when my "brilliant" college son was in sixth grade he had a social studies teacher who would give out outlines of country maps and the assignment was to color them in. These maps were major grades, like tests! They were graded exclusively on how neatly they were colored!!!! My 11 year old son was so far beyond coloring, it was never a talent for him and his maps though accurate weren't pretty, and unfortunately it was the only B (the rest all As) he received that whole year. She would also prescreen the newspapers and cut out articles that she didn't think that the kids should see. It was exasperating at the time but now we can look back and laugh about the crazy coloring teacher!

 

[Sandy V.]

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.

I respectfully disagree. I would hardly say refusing to plan ahead so that the kid has reading material for 5 minutes each class period so he gets zeros instead is "striving for excellence".

And in this case, "special" means "special treatment" to me. It's a simple assignment; the first of many he may not feel like doing. Time to buckle down and do the work. Learning for life!

Many excellent students in today's schools set their own "bar" high without protesting required assignments or "mundane" work that is beneath them. Or taking some careful thought to how they accomplish the task without having to fight "the man."

 

[RadioNate]

That is if the situation Tigger1 is pushing is the case.

wow, someone actually read what I posted!


I am sorry if it seemed like I was pushing

I am just not getting why everyone thinks that the OP is saying it is ok not to read and just saying that her son doesnt have enough to read and gets zeros.....

He DOES have pleanty to read. He just doesn't want to because they are 'boring' or not at his level.

The OP says he read 1/4 of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and still found it boring. That leads me to believe that he stopped reading the book. He COULD have finished it but CHOSE not to. SSR is generally a state mandate and children can read anything...so for 5 minutes there IS something. The dictionary, the encyclopedia, a text book...just suck it up.

Believe me in HS and college there will be tons of books he doesn't want to read and if he doesn't he'll get zeros on his assignments then too.

 

[jim and meesie]

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?

I don't think "War & Peace" would be a joke. This is a very advanced reader and there are some people in the world who actually have read it!!! (OK, not me)