Teen and homework hell

You're welcome.

I've fed DS (not a keen reader) a diet of the classics on long car journeys eg Treasure Island, Frankenstein, 1984.

This is a bloomin' brilliant idea and I will be stealing it!

As he is a voracious reader I would just let him read what he likes. Don't make something he clearly enjoys a battle ground. A compromise way of exposing him to the suggested wider genres/vocabulary is to listen to the books eg Audible app. I've fed DS (not a keen reader) a diet of the classics on long car journeys eg Treasure Island, Frankenstein, 1984.

Middle class, not a teacher.

Your son is reading for pleasure, going through books quickly. He is doing his English homework and course work and is on track for a good /very good grade. Relax! You're clearly doing a good job and leave him to it.

My DS was similar at that age, just didn’t do hw he thought irrelevant (which covered science, re and English) and did the minimum for most other subjects. I wish he’d read anything, unlike your DS he won’t read anything at all, unless it’s needed for an exam. He did engage when they finally got their gcse texts and read them and worked on them to the extent that he felt secure in passing the exams, but not bothering to go the extra mile he was capable of had he put the effort in. He’s doing a levels now & still does the minimum possible. Good luck! In your position I’d email his English teacher and see what he wants done and enforce it. My DS got away with many missed homework’s, not sure why but he rarely got sanctions/ detentions, perhaps because he was quiet and never a trouble maker in class. I used to confiscate his phone until all homework was done, but as not all teachers used the electronic homework system reliably he got away with a lot.

That all sounds good to me, OP. If he is reading more and more adult books now he'll be picking up the vocab and grammar that'll be helpful to his own writing. I'd maybe point him in the direction of some older sci-fi - Jules Verne maybe? - as they have to be able to cope with a fair bit of pre1914 text at GCSE.

If you are worried about the reading homework, chuck a quick email to whatever contact point you have for the English department. They can decide if it's important or not and have a word with him.

Lang, I don't either. But I thought she wanted him to do it. So trying to find out a good reason behind why children sometimes need to work on something they don't like. But clearly, op is happy he won't. So no reason for me to care either.

Stormy, I still don't see that there is a causal connection between "doesn't want to do the wanky reading scheme that even his own teacher doesn't care about" and "won't meet full potential in four years time".

Op, focus on him working hard in lessons, make sure he knows his strengths and weaknesses in the subject and what his teacher wants him to do to improve. Keep him reading, stuff he actually likes, and make sure he is reading things written for an adult readership. Teens tend to fall into a YA fiction pit at about 13/14, which is unhelpful for developing more sophisticated vocabulary, syntax etc.

If he likes sci-fi and fantasy, has he read any of Pratchett's discworld? Pratchett was an amazing writer, and there's loads of novels, enough to keep him going for a while! Would recommend the ones focused on the City Watch for a boy his age, if he likes them he can branch out into the others.

Then why did you start this thread? If you don't care about either he does his homework or not which isn't important for him, then just leave it. Tell his teacher the things you said to me.

I said waste of a talent, not a waste. Can you really not see the difference?
From what I think, if the child has no interest of doing better and parents are happy with it, then I think it's fine. I just thought a child who reads all the time for pleasure had more potential.

Yes, he reads things that he enjoys all the time. His English teachers will introduce him to new styles and genres in their lessons, and hopefully he'll find more things he likes. So why should OP force him to read things he doesn't like? What good are you expecting to come from that?

Lang, don't get it. If he truly hates reading, he won't be reading at all. But OP says he reads all the time. I just think it's just a waste of talent. I was the same. I was a great reader from early age, but had very limited preference. My teacher changed that. You don't even need to be a good teacher, tbh, you just need to be an inspirational teacher to change the pupils's life.

I really doubt it if you were a good English teacher, Lang. They should be able to encourage children to read something they never liked.

Rude. I was a brilliant English teacher. I would definitely be able to get a reluctant student through a text they didn't like while they were in the classroom with me. Because I'd be there to make it interesting for them. And cajole, bribe and threaten as needed. But this isn't the same. This is asking him to read things he doesn't want to read at home, on his own. For what reason? What proven benefit? He will cover a range of different genres and text types in his lessons. At home he ought to be able to read what he likes.

If I were in his shoes, and being told to read some shitty books I didn't enjoy, or thought were dire (i.e. Marian Keys type drivel) I'd take the detention too.

Also having spent over a decade as a teacher, I have come to the conclusion that the kid who gets a 7 in English but isn't driven to hate the subject by constant pushing, nagging and whatever 'intervention' strategies the school have pulled out of their arse lately, has had a better deal than the kid who gets an 8 but never picks up a book again. And are usually more independent learners who cope better with a level study.

Btw, if the reading scheme is in place of other homework in English, it's being done to reduce teacher workload. That's all. That'll be why his English teacher didn't want to see the OP at parents eve., because they don't much care if it's being done either.

I don't know. It's up to you as a parents and your ds. What I think is, either reading or writing won't improve in a short period of time.

I haven't with yr9, but my dc's teacher with yr7 dc did. Or yr6/5/4/3. It's English teacher's job to make some books interesting, isn't it? My dc reads only limited stuff at home. But I have no problem them reading something they need to read. Maybe I am really lucky I that I my dc have some great teacher.

"he's just not that good at English."

Yet he reads constantly? I wouldn't worry about the homework specifically, I'd worry about what is holding him back from higher grades. It doesn't seem right that someone with that level of enthusiasm for the written word (and a reading age of 16 at 11) should not be getting a top grade in GCSE especially if they are performing highly elsewhere. Why do you think he 'isnt that good'? Is it still writing holding him back? Are there possible physical issues or dyslexia? It doesn't necessarily always affect reading skill. My ds (much younger) is also a serious bookworm but writing is a struggle and he needs extra help accessing the curriculum. He has the brains and imagination to shine but not if he's expected to show it via the medium of handwriting! Don't see his current level if English attainment as set in stone, it isn't.

I really doubt it if you were a good English teacher, Lang. They should be able to encourage children to read something they never liked.

@Stormyjupiter I think that's unnecessarily harsh. Have you ever actually tried to get a Y9 to read something they didn't want to? If you've had success with this please can you share how you did it?

I think he's doing very well overall then and would leave him be in English. I was forced to read in English books I hated, it probably did help my grade but never picked up a fiction book since and would never make mine do it. I also have a DS who is very maths / sciencey and not too keen on English, he rarely reads and all non-fiction, he is ASD. He's year 8 on 7/8 border for English and I'm delighted with that. He got 108 for English SATS (118 SPAG) so think it's roughly where he should be.