Stupid school rule?

[upsideup]

DC's school recently introuduced an hour of silent reading per week, dd absolutely loved this (DS doesn't but it has encouraged him to read more). Untill now they have been taking in a book from home, DD10 who spends hours reading for pleasure anyway takes in the book shes reading at home. I dont choose her books and I am also not strict about what she reads, was already aware that some of the books she enjoys were targeted at an age range slightly above hers.
We have had a letter home saying that dd's book this week was rated as 14+ so is not suitable to be read at school and I should send her in with a book suitable for her age so under 10's as teachers are not going to be closely monitoring what books the children are reading. That is ridiculous right?
She had not told us this all week as shes worried shes in trouble with the teacher but her book was taken off her and she was given a random book from the libary by the teacher which is not the sort of thing she likes and was too 'babyish' for her so she spent the whole lesson doing nothing.
To be clear the books she is reading are young teen fiction books, not gory or sexual true crime books, theres maybe mentions of kissing or mild swearing but nothing harmful or frightening for a 10 year old to hear, mine atleast and as its silent reading and not being read aloud surely its nobodies business what shes reading and it should be mine and her dads decision if its suitable or not for her, not the teachers?
We are going stuggle to find a book aimed at under 10s that she enjoys and I also have know idea how to find out what age rating a book has and surely its just a reccomendation to what age group may enjoy the book not a strict rule?
I can see the benefit of quietly reading at school and definately not one of the many parents who complained when the silent reading was introduced but what benefit is forcing her to read a book that she dosnt enjoy and is below her level? Shouldnt she be encouraged to challenge herself and have an enjoyment for reading not punished?

Do your schools do the same? AIBU to want to challenge this stupid rule?

YANBU. At 11 my own reading age was deemed to be 18+. I found even books aimed at teenagers boring and was encouraged towards some serious classics. My youngest DD was similar and she developed a love of Jane Austen and George Elliot.

I would talk to school to discuss how you can make sure your DDs love of reading is supported and developed.

Try her with The Secret if Nightingale Wood. It’s amazing!

You do get to decide what your dd reads at home. And the school set the rules for what the pupils can read in school.
I think the school is right tbh. A book aimed at 14yr olds isn't going to be appropriate for a 10 yr old.
Just because you allow it at home it doesn't mean it is something the school wants to promote. Parents may feed their children junk at home for eg while the school has a healthy eating policy.

I don’t think the school is BU. Yes, you as the parent can say what your child may or may not read. However, the school are acting in loco parentis and if they deem it inappropriate then that’s fair enough.

Their building, their rules.

Common sense media also suggest it is appropriate for age 14 plus.

There must be material that would challenge her that is suitable for school. Maybe time to introduce her to the classics?

YANBU

It's silent, personal reading. I was always above the average reading level as a child and would have been bored too if in that situation.

Famous Five?! I’d read the whole lot be the time I was 7!

Assuming that other dc aren't sat near enough to read anything they shouldn't, and she isn't reading aloud, then it shouldn't matter if she's reading adult horror. Both dd and I were at that age.

The compromise might be finding some of the easier adult classics, still suitably challenging for her but nothing content wise to object to. Eg mocking bird, Jane Austen etc

The Wolf Wilder
The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow
Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth
Hour of the Bees

I would say it’s a fine book for a girl her age to be reading. Definitely challenge. The famous 5 series and other Enid blyton are not as relevant nowadays and is at this as someone who has had to reread them for work. But maybe try her and some true classics, send her in with Shakespeare. If they were concerned by that book a midsummers nights dream will have them spinning

DumbledoresApprentice From that synopsis, it sounds fine to be too.

I thought the OP was talking about something like Sweet Valley High which is evil and should be banned.

Famous Five

I don't censor books but I think you'll need to be seen to toe the line with school. Or stick it in a different dust jacket as a pp suggested.

I would send her in with some classics.....

Little Women
Anne of Green Gables
Heidi

Save the teen fiction for home.

The content posted by DumbledoresApprentice sounds completely appropriate for a 10yo imo. I'd take it up with the teacher.

I think the school is right. You, as parent, decide what you allow your children to read.
The school, though, must follow guidelines, so age appropriate if an age range is given.

I wouldn't make a fuss. Just choose a book she can enjoy reading at school and leave older books to read at home.

I don't think it is a stupid rule.

If nothing else there is the possibility of her sharing the book with a friend and then the friend's parents complaining to the school about access to a book with unsuitable themes or language.

So I agree with some others that the route to go down is classics. The books have challenging language and interesting plots, but not the more adult themes.

Some that haven't been mentioned yet

• The Hobbit
• Alice in Wonderland
• Wind in the Willows
• Ballet Shoes

I would perhaps avoid To Kill a Mocking Bird owing to the rape accusation and trial.

I would challenge this politely with the school (I too have a ten year old advanced reader) and don’t really agree with censoring their reading unnecessarily.

If they stick to their position perhaps look at the classics they are less likely to complain about those.

Although saying that I see that Common Sense judges Oliver Twist as 13+ and Lord of the Rings as 12+

Perhaps non fiction is the way to go.

But Lweji is the suggested age based on mature content or just reading level? They're not the same as film classifications.

Sympathy from me x my 4th child was a reluctant reader until she discovered YA horror at almost 9 (got it off her brothers bookshelf)

She had the book confiscated due to the swearing in it (sod off and bugger off iir)

I may have gone in and pointed out that it was the first time she had been enthusiastic about reading, I had read the book and was happy with the content, and that I didn’t see the language as an issue as we listen to fairly heavy metal at home and to my knowledge she had never told her teachers or peers to fuck off.

She now reads anything she can lay her hands on but definitely prefers horror (like her mom 😉)

Yabu.
There will be thousands of books suitable for her.

Hogfather Jane Austen is full of themes the school wouldn’t like,

"I should get decide what my daughter can and connot read and whether it is suitable for her not for every other child is the class"

That's fine for when your DC is not in the class

When she is, then the teachers decide what's OK and what is not, based on the school's policies and ethos, and the nature of the classroom for every pupil in it.

Individualism is curtailed in a group setting. But there is plenty your DC could read and enjoy other than modern (fairly explicit) teen/YA books.

What does she like in a book, and we could perhaps help come up with ideas for her. Jane Austen, Nancy Mitford, Arthur Ransome, HG Wells, Conan Doyle, Anthonia White, Neville Shute, HE Bates?

Has she read all the Narnian chronicles? What about Inkheart? Sophie's World? The Three Musketeers? The Redwall series

I loved the Agatha Christie books at that age.

Some of the classics suggested might be a good idea. You could also start her on Dickens, good preparation for GCSE.

Dear gods, at not much older than her I was asking to be able to use the adult section of the library as I was so bored - not much YA in those days. My parents allowed me to but kept an eye on the books though I'd been reading my aunt's Georgette Heyer and my dad's historical fiction books for a while. Classics are pretty good too.