iamthatis4536 t1_jdeb1w6 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 7:50 PM

It’s surprisingly common just because they don’t think kindergartners can actually read books like Percy Jackson on their own. I just wish there was a little more wiggle room.

walrussss t1_jdf49mb wrote on March 23, 2023 at 11:01 PM

Surprisingly common? I’m a third grade teacher and have never heard of this happening. Teachers do extensive training to identify reading levels and then you are supposed to have kids read slightly above their level if possible unless instructing something specific (like sentence structure or non fiction text elements). The only time a library would do this is if a student wants to read something that may be too mature. Then the teacher or librarian will probably double check with a parent or talk to the student about it. We do use various leveled systems so that kids can find ‘just right’ books on their own but you are never supposed to discourage a child from wanting to read something above grade level.

CuriousHaven t1_jdfq0lz wrote on March 24, 2023 at 1:36 AM

Yeah, this is pretty common. I used to work for a major K12 vendor (in over 1/3 of all schools in the US) and I heard about this practice all the time from different customers (e.g., schools and districts). Sometimes it's locked by grade level (concern about kids reading material with themes that are "too mature") and sometimes it's locked by reading level (poor understanding of how leveled reading works). It shouldn't be implemented this way, but that doesn't stop plenty of schools from doing exactly that.

iamthatis4536 t1_jdfqbkb wrote on March 24, 2023 at 1:38 AM

I think you are in an area with a lot more resources. We are a title 1 school and I’m pretty sure a lot of the parents aren’t actually literate.

My school in a different state was like then when I was growing up. I actually “failed” reading because I read everything in the library and they didn’t have anything else. Reading at home didn’t count. My spouse went to several schools in multiple states and they all had rules about which books you could check out when.

I’m actually surprised this is so surprising to so many people. These smaller school districts just don’t have the resources to keep track of which kid is reading at which level.

To be very fair to our staff, I have one child who is way, way above their expected reading level and the staff occasionally helps them “sneak” books. They are doing the best they can, and I’m in a situation to supplement reading at home.

But in all the areas I’ve lived in, there have been massive hoops to get through with reading. These are our current struggles, but some have been kind of insurmountable. I had one library that kept charging us for ruining books we had never even laid eyes on. Like we wouldn’t go for a month and get a fine for ruining a kids book when we didn’t have kids. Mostly I just wanted to highlight that sometimes just getting something to read can be really hard.

janellthegreat t1_jdhomc0 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 1:55 PM

Related to limited resources, a second-hand story. A friend had a high school daughter who was graded on how much her reading level improved each semester. The daughter was a great reader, yet was at threat of receiving a failing grade. The friend had to go in and and demonstrate that the entire darn school library only had -three- books above her daughter's reading level, so how did they expect her to improve when there was nothing challenging left to read?

iamthatis4536 t1_jdhv4m9 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 2:40 PM

I had a friend whose kids’ typing teacher only graded on improvement. So she had her kids bomb the test at the beginning of the term, then each week count the words, draw a line where it was one more word than the week before, then stop typing when they got there. All her kids passed with flying colors. That’s exactly how I would have handled the reading. My kid would be reading at a kindergarten level at the beginning…

Hour_Squirrel_4914 t1_jdhf495 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 12:43 PM

My sister was an incredible reader and had a fourth grade teacher who did this. My mom pestered him asking if her reading level could be tested so that she could check out books that were more challenging. He finally agreed and she tested at 12th grade level.

His argument then became, "Just because she can understand the text, doesn't mean she can understand the theme. So, she needs to stick to the fourth grade reading level."

No compromise. No flexibility. No interest.

You can guess how many books she borrowed from the library that year.

Historical_Spring800 t1_jdmkbta wrote on March 25, 2023 at 2:49 PM

I have come across this with school librarians for years at my kids’ elementary school. We took our kids reading into our own hands. I read a ton as a kid so was able to direct them toward my old favorites depending on the kid and their interests and they now find their own books. Everyone gets new books at birthdays and Christmas such as a fancy illustrated Harry Potter for the youngest or a Steven King series for the oldest. My second grader reads at a 6th grade level and tests in the 99th percentile consistently on standardized tests. His teacher still put him in a mediocre reading group because she wasn’t satisfied with his “decoding” skills. My older kids were also forbidden to read beyond a certain level during elementary school but still tested into the gifted classes and thrived in them. I think elementary teachers can only do so much when they have more kids reading below grade level so it is our responsibility as parents to do what we can at home.

Beamarchionesse t1_jdf0a38 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 10:33 PM

For some reason "AR" is ringing a bell in my head, but I can't remember what it stood for. [Searches] Accelerated Reader?

Reading was the skill that came easiest to me. This unfortunately ended badly. Because in the 4th grade I was testing for a 9th grade reading level. That meant I wasn't allowed to use any books below that grade level for my assigned books. Since the elementary school was a little short on books that advanced, I got stuck with dreck like The Yearling. Do you have any idea how boring The Yearling is for a nine year old?

Projectsun t1_jdff4ju wrote on March 24, 2023 at 12:17 AM

Oh wow ! What a flashback. I remember AR ! I feel on the spines, there would be a grade or something. I also learned quite early ( my mom read to me from a young age and I wanted to do it on my own during insomnia bouts) but i do not feel we weren’t allowed to read above. And if the school restricted me, my parents never would. I remember vividly , Sorcerer’s Stone being my first large chapter book , getting it right when it came out.

After absorbing the Roald Dahls and such. I think a key part missing, and there are studies to back this, is parents reading to the child from 0-3.

Beamarchionesse t1_jdfhj5a wrote on March 24, 2023 at 12:34 AM

I got lucky in that respect, I think. For reasons, my grandmother paid for me to go to Catholic school. There was a nursery attached, and from 8 weeks old on, I was with the nuns from 7am to 6pm, Mon-Fri. They read to us. A lot. They also made us copy pages of the encyclopedia or the Bible anytime we misbehaved.

...I had an excellent vocabulary by the time I was seven. I had also developed a deep love of reading. Nuns are perhaps not the best judges of what children should be allowed to read. They let me go through their library and pick whatever I wanted. The school went up to eighth grade, so there I was, eight years old and trying to read The Count of Monte Cristo. [I needed Sister Barbara to explain a lot of it to me, but she was usually doing needlepoint and actually never seemed to mind.] [TBF I did not grasp the book until I was older, I just thought it was super cool that he escaped from prison and went on a Quest for Revenge]

Projectsun t1_jdfxd99 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 2:32 AM

My parents are just avid readers ( tbf my dad is also a writer ) so I think they just naturally started us early. I was a bored child so my mom just kind of homeschooled me before K and it made it hard to get me in the right class after.

However, they did the same with my younger brother , only 2 years younger , and he is definitely not the same type of reader. He went full on comic / graphic route which makes sense ! I think the underlying solution is freedom Of thought and expression. Let kids enjoy and experience new things and they will continue that later :)

Now, I yearn for that free reading time of youth. I have to divide so much now, and decide where to put it

Beamarchionesse t1_jdj09lr wrote on March 24, 2023 at 7:02 PM

Yeah, I don't like when people get judgy about what kind of books people like. Lots of fiction is written for entertainment. I don't like Scorcese movies [they're always depressing]. It doesn't mean they're not good or that I'm dumb. People who read Tom Clancy and John Grisham books just want a fun spy thriller/government intrigue book. People who like graphic novels like the combination of art and story. People who like Colleen Hoover probably would have been the same people reading the novels that Catherine Moreland of Northanger Abbey loved so much in 1812.

I might not like everything, but what do I know, I love a good fairy tale retelling or a Sarah Dessen book as much as the next girl.

Projectsun t1_jdj4p05 wrote on March 24, 2023 at 7:31 PM

Exactly! But I think the base understanding is that entrainment / etc is opinion based. Then it opens up much more. Still seems to come down to: let people enjoy what they want if it’s not hurting anything :)

Why Kids Aren’t Falling in Love With Reading

VisualGeologist6258 t1_jde0sg6 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 6:45 PM