This is just WRONG! Big vent

[Wishing on a star]

Here is another thought,

Okay, so it is 'Just one book'.

Let me turn that argument around and throw it right back at you.

If possible, as a parent, if this assignment is so 'trivial' then the moment I got that assignment, I would make sure that it was whizzed thru, with as little effort as possible, perhaps even being finished before the bell rang on the last day of school.

Believe me, I would NOT be spending my entire summer on that 'one little book'. It will quickly be gone and forgotten, and I will go about my summer break.

In the case of this material being tested, then it would be done in a few days or so preceding the start of the school year, so it will be in my childs mind.

In any case, this is definately not taking up my and my childs entire summer. We will enjoy our break.

Now, somebody please tell me, just how is this "one little book" supposed to make any kind of life or death difference in a childs education?

Must be some miraculous book!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I have to wonder how high my score would be on a test that I took on a book I read 10 weeks ago.

We're going to Disney for the 9 days prior to the first day of school, so even if DS waits until the 8th week of summer to read the book it won't be like he JUST finished it when he goes back to school. I planned our trip with an eye towards avoiding being prosecuted for truancy and fined $500. I wasn't considering that there would be some mandatory assignment that would necessitate staying home and studying.

 

[auntpolly]

Now, somebody please tell me, just how is this "one little book" supposed to make any kind of life or death difference in a childs education?

Must be some miraculous book!!

My answer would be that one little book is better than no books at all.

I'm going to assume this is a more entertaining book -- like I said, it's not War and Peace; is it? It's not the History of the World or anything, right.

If for no other reason I think parents should support this program as an overall effort to promote reading for fun. There will be kids that wouldn't have read at all all this summer if it weren't for this one little book. If good parents dismiss it then there will be no hope for the kids from families who don't put enough emphisis on education.

This shouldn't be looked at as a punishment, but as a fun summer activity. If you really think it can't be that, then I really can't see as you were going to be even making sure that they read anything.

 

[auntpolly]

I have to wonder how high my score would be on a test that I took on a book I read 10 weeks ago.

I can only comment on my own experience with my DD's school, but it wasn't really that big of a deal. As I said before, alot of kids blew off the whole thing. My DD obsessed about it and then found that there was just a little quiz that didn't even count and a discussion of the book which she enjoyed (especially since she had read it and could show off a little.)

 

[ducklite]

My son was a special ed student, and still had reading over the summer, but the list had a couple hundred books on it, and they only had to write a few sentences on each book. The number of books that had to be read varied by age. The list had books for readers of all skill levels and in a wide variety of topics. I saw nothing wrong with him having to read three books over two months--considering that some of them were so easy he could have read them in a few hours.

One year he actually wanted to read a few books not on the list which were definitely more advanced than most of the books--he's a Civil War buff and he wanted to read the Jeff Shahara trilogy. He requested and got special permission to do this, and wrote a much longer essay than they were looking for.

I think that is the key to getting kids to read--letting them read about something they have a passion for.

But back to the OP's post, I don't think that there's anything wrong with schools giving summer reading assignments--but I do think there should be a list with choices as opposed to a single book. Summer reading should emphasize reading for pleasure, and allowing children the choice of books from a large and varied list will allow them to find something they WANT to read, as opposed to have to read.

Anne

 

[auntpolly]

But back to the OP's post, I don't think that there's anything wrong with schools giving summer reading assignments--but I do think there should be a list with choices as opposed to a single book. Summer reading should emphasize reading for pleasure, and allowing children the choice of books from a large and varied list will allow them to find something they WANT to read, as opposed to have to read.

Anne

OK, I'd agree with you if we were talking about more than one book and no choices ever -- but as someone else has said, it's just one little book. I'm not sure what is exactly bothering me but I think maybe some people are seeing a book as "the enemy". With adult support across the board, this could be an exciting assignment and not a chore at all. There are so many good books. Your kid likes to read about sports? Well, lets expand his horizons a little and have him try something new.

My work is with reading for children who are learing English so I guess I think alot about this. I see children become passionate about books and develope new interests all the time, after having been given a book that has been chosen for them. I try to keep a certain level of anonymity online and this is all I'm willing to say about it, but we almost always have the full support of the parents because they have put them in the program to learn English, but the kids always just think it's fun. It's all in the approach from the adults.

 

[wellesleyprincess]

This type of thing has been going on in school districts for quite some time. I'm in college and I've had summer assignments in public school since the summer between 3rd and 4th grade. In fact what, I read seemed pretty light to me (but I don't know what grade your kid is in). In my school system, there were 2 assigned books over the summer for upper elementary, 3 for jr. high, and 4 for high school. Over the course of the summer, a book w/ workbook is not that much. If he does a little each week, and not wait until the end of the summer it won't be that much each time. Also assignments like these make sure ALL the kids in a grade remain academically involved over the summer.

 

[ElizaB39]

Here I was going into 10th grade, moving to a new town and new school. I decided to join the volleyball team and luckily one of my new teammates told me about the required summer bug project. Over the entire summer every student was to collect 50 bugs, put them on pins in a shadow box, identify and name them. Hand it in on the first day of school. I had TWO weeks to do this project. To top it all off, the biology teacher was new as well and he didn't give a rats butt that I HAD JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THE PROJECT TWO WEEKS AGO! What a crappy way to start my sophmore year in a new school. I got a D! Summer work stinks, mandatory summer work stinks even more.

 

[Beca]

Wow!! I cannot believe this thread has been resurrected from so long ago....but, since I did not see it before....I will add my 2 cents.

First, I think people do not realize how strict Texas schools are about attendance. I just moved here from Arizona, a place where parents own weeks at timeshares during the school year, and routinely take their kids out...it is no big deal there. In my new school district in Texas, any child who misses more than one day of school at at time....the school requires a Dr's note. There is no "trust" of parents. When I was a child (in Texas), there was a death in my family that was far away. It was sudden (car accident) and we did not have the money to fly (plane fares were a LOT more expensive then), so we had to miss 4 days of school to attend this funeral. My sister and I were straight A students who always tested 95-99 percentile...but, the schools threatened to hold us back a year!! Texas does have a "we make the rules, and will punish you for not complying" attitude.
The schools here are (IMHO) much better than AZ schools....but, there is certainly a middle ground to be found. This makes parents VERY protective over having complete control over how much/little work their children do in the summer. I totally understand this. It is very much a "if you cannot be flexible during your time, how dare you "mandate" that I be flexible during mine" situation....OP, I am totally with you on this one!!

Secondly....seriously, worksheets are terrible ways to teach!! And, reading a book and doing worksheets over that book for 10 weeks...there are VERY few books I would care about studying for 10 weeks...yuck!! This is the WORST way to teach a child anything, except that school work is dumb and boring. In AZ, I was artistic director of a children's theatre. We had a 9th grade girl come in who wanted to act more than anything, but because of severe dyslexia, she had a VERY difficult time reading. She had been in resource classes her entire school career. She was mortified to learn that "cold readings" were part of the audition process, and refused. She spent her first two years with us getting only chorus roles. At the beginning of the third year, she decided to audition for a lead. I was SOOO apprehensive about asking her to cold read, but she stepped up and read like a normal kid. I was so confused, so I asked her mom. She said that, because of her LD, her daughter HATED reading and never tried to learn....she figured it was a lost cause. But, she wanted to perform SOOO badly, that she decided she would overcome her LD, or die trying. Her senior year was spent in "regular" classes, and she was just accepted to a local college. There are SOOO many "creative" ways to learn.....worksheets are NO ones definition of a rich learning environment.

Thirdly, a child who struggles with "book learning" is much more in need of free time than any other type of child. Learning occurs in SOOO many ways, and IQ is only one of many intelligences that children need to learn to be successful in this world. They work on IQ rigorously for 9 months. During the other three months, I would like my dd to focus more on attaining physical prowess, and building social relationships with peers(the kind that can only be attained from HOURS of play with friends).

To the OP....I hope you can find many hours of "stress-free" time, so that you can find a way to press your son's "reset" button before the rigors of school start next year....my heart goes out to him, and you.



Beca