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?

I didn't say it was an hour a week. In DDs case it was more, but even an hour a week where a DC feels under valued because their advanced reading ability & maturity are not valued by the teacher does have an affect whether you want to acknowledge that or not, it absolutely can & did for my DD.

She will tell you herself that feeling that she was forced into reading books that bored her ridged, when she absolutely loved reading something more challenging & interesting to her & that's had plenty to chose from at home, but wasn't allowed & made to feel like she was a problem for being clever, turned her off reading. It was the stupidity of the ruling that she had the biggest problem with. She's a big stickler from abiding by rules, when they make sense to her. This rule did not & it upset her a lot. She's sensitive, some people are & therefore affected more by silly rules like this, probably more so because she did love reading so much

I'm hoping it's a short lived thing & she will get into reading again, but it's been a few years now since she picked up to read just for pleasure. So for the time being at least, those few hours of forced boredom a week, as that's what it was for her, when she wanted to challenge herself & immerse herself in something more interesting, definitely soured her against reading for pleasure

I don't understand why you would force yourself to labour through a novel you hate and find dull. Surely that makes reading a chore and not fun? I mean, unless you have to study it if course. I studied "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and detested it, on the other hand adored "The Picture of Dorian Gray", which I borrowed from the library for fun.

As long as you're open to all eras and styles, and choose the books that capture your imagination, it shouldn't be a problem. I have to be emotionally invested in the characters and the story to be bothered to read it.

Much like a film - I won't sit through a 2 hour film if it bores me.

Perhaps the difference between reading for pleasure and reading for culture.

Hmmm.... I'm on the fence about this rule.
Fwiw I was a very advanced reader (I had to bring my own books into infant school as they didn't have advanced enough ones so my DM says) and the books I was reading at that age (yr 5/6) were:

Nancy Drew books
Wuthering Heights
The hobbit
Lord of the rings
Jane Eyre
Christmas Carol
Agatha Christie Poirot and Miss Marple
Sherlock Holmes
Enid Blyton

It is just one hour, but I've been there and I hated it. Reading a dull book is torture. Your eyes glaze over and you don't even want to turn the next page because you don't care what happens.

YANBU, perhaps if you talk to a teacher / explicitly say you approve then she will be allowed? I imagine they'd want to cover themselves if it turned out you didn't approve...

Wind singer trilogy by William Nicholson are very interesting

www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/1/100-best-books-9-11/

Start here, the book trust list is pretty good. I would also recommend The Hobbit & The Lord of The Rings, both are suitable for a 10 year old. You should both treat this as a challenge, what exciting books can be found in her age section of waterstones.

Of course reading what you feel to be a dull book is no fun. (Doubt it could be described as torture) The point here is that there are 1000s of interesting books that this 10 year old child could take into school, that doesn't need to be outside the guidelines of what the school deem acceptable. Being an advanced reader doesn't mean you are intellectually superior to your peers or gifted. Some kids just pick it up quicker than others. Brian Cox admits he was crap at reading. Look at him now.

Those new to reading, or those that aren't keen might be put off by a few hours a week. But a keen reader just isn't.

Reading isn't like daily lessons pitched way too easy. I'm a well read adult, I can still enjoy reading an old childhood favourite, even if I can finish the novel in 20 minutes. I pounced on the new additions to Malory towers when dd got into them, despite having read war and peace at primary age.

I've read loads of absolute shite in my time, plus plenty of ok, but stupidly easy stories, books I can appreciate but just not to my taste, 5yrs of secondary with incompetent, unqualified teachers absolutely butchering amazing literature. And none of it put me off reading. If anything it just made me more appreciative of good books.

An avid reader shouldn't have any problems keeping one easier book or series on the go at school and another the rest of the time.

Besides, apart from a random internet site suggesting the classics aren't age appropriate, there's no reason the teacher won't agree with her taking those.

Oh and another classic kids series imo is marmalade Atkins, and given how few dc have read it definitely worth mentioning.

I was able to read before I even went to school. Sadly shit at maths and everything else.

What I would be most concerned about is whether this was likely to have a detrimental impact on her love of reading. If that is likely, then I would make a strong complaint to the teacher initially, but if not then give her books like any of those mentioned on the thread.

Winnie the Pooh is my goto when I can't sleep. Nowt wrong with a bit of whimsy.

I have never suggested that this rule would put dd off reading, it won't she will read the books she loves at home but as I said in my title I do think it is a 'stupid rule' I can't see how it is of a benefit to anyone.
Yes we probably would be able to find a book she could read targeted at 10 and under but thats not the point, I dont understand why she shouldnt be allowed a read a book that suits her ability and interests even if it was written for someone a few years older than her.
The school introduced silent reading to encourage the chidlren to enjoy reading, improve their reading skills and be an opportunity or kids to wind down and this new rule isnt helping that.

Of course reading what you feel to be a dull book is no fun. (Doubt it could be described as torture) The point here is that there are 1000s of interesting books that this 10 year old child could take into school, that doesn't need to be outside the guidelines of what the school deem acceptable. Being an advanced reader doesn't mean you are intellectually superior to your peers or gifted
This.
What a sad world we live in if we are saying the defining feature of an advanced reader is being a 10 year old who will only read teenage books dealing with subjects such as suicide and substance abuse and couldn't read anything else for an hour a week.

There's a wealth of opportunities and thousands of books to read. A keen advanced reader would be more than capable of finding another book to read which doesn't mean complaining that a primary school doesn't want books aimed at y9/10 students in y5/6.

I'm about to read The Bone Sparrow after a Y7 read it. Our librarian said it best suits mature y7s into y8 because there are a few upsetting moments but they are more thought provoking as well for children age 11-13. The language on a quick scan doesn't seem ridiculously advanced for their age, but the crafting of the book is apparently what makes it fabulous for KS3. They have the extra life experience etc to really benefit.

I also want to read Running on the Roof of the World, but no sooner had it gone in my book box, it has been borrowed by a pupil.

@upsideup - people are tying to help you find books that, even if they are for over age 10, will still be acceptable to the school - I suspect it was the modern teen genre they were objecting to, rather than a blanket ban on any book written for over-10s.

The Hobbit might be a good one - and I cannot see any sensible teacher objecting to that.

At that age Dc2 had a reading age of a 17 yo

Married3children what does this even mean? Who grades 17 year olds reading?? 😳 How could your DC be bored of all those amazing books aimed at children and teens, or have the maturity to really understand adult books? I’ve read most of the Morpurgo books for example, that my DS reads (age 10), and find them brilliant, as an adult.

Complete agree MaisyPops

Reading ages of 17 would generally mean accessing a full range of texts and genres (including a range of non fiction).
Across a range of texts (not just their preferred style), being able to identify main arguments and paraphrase a level type texts or easier undergraduate articles. 6th form reading ages also cover the subtleties of meaning, picking up subtleties of sarcasm and irony and linking the use of those to the overall meaning created in a text. They'd be able to identify a full range of implicit ideas and disucuss how they contribute to the big picture. They would be able to confidently identify bias and agendas in texts. They would be critically literate and able to read with a questioning approach, assessing the validity of claims made and being able to identify where things may have been overplayed/underplayed etc.

Having the reading skill of a 17 year old is more than following a teenage book and understanding the story.

One thing you find when you start looking at assessing reading is that there are limits to reading age assessments. (E.g. one we do in school has a morr vocabulary focus and shorter passages so students can score highly on them, whilst having weaknesses in retaining subtle elements of plot across a chunk of a novel).

even if they are for over age 10, will still be acceptable to the school - I suspect it was the modern teen genre they were objecting to, rather than a blanket ban on any book written for over-10s.

The letter states that only books targeting for 10 and under are suitable fo her age group. It reccomends commonsensemedia.org to check whether a book is 'suitable' for my child and according to dd that is all the teacher did type the title of her book to see it suggests 14+ and then decide its not suitable. The majority of the 'classics' suggests on this thread when searched on that website come up as 10+ anyway, so under the schools rule are not accepted.
The rule is not no modern teen books but not books targeted at an age group above the childs.

Ah yes, I guess if they are taking A level English then they would be graded!

Well even if a 10yo had the literary/analytical skills if of a 17 yo I still think there are so many brilliant books out there that the OP and other parents could help their DC choose.

The rule is not no modern teen books but not books targeted at an age group above the childs.
So you find books designed for more advanced readers but aimed at the middle years or you find really good stories which are enjoyable to read. If you're going to suggest you avid reader can't/won't read anything other than young adult books with mature topics then that's actually quite sad and also a sign of weakness in their reading repetoire.

I'm currently reading a lot of books aimed at KS3 children. They are interesting and enjoyable reads. I'm not gaining less by opting to read them over war and peace or some adult romcom book all about some 30 something's failing sex life.

There's a lot to be said for reading a range of stories and styles. The more this thread goes on, the more it seems that you have a very fixed and limited view of what an advanced reader looks like.

Not that I'm suggesting she could write well enough to show it in an a-level exam, but dd would have been capable of meeting the criteria listed for a reading age of 17 at 10yrs old.

It didn't ever prevent her also enjoying books aimed at her age. Let alone reading them in school. And in fact right now, age 14, she has my naughty little sister on the go yet again, alongside whatever teen drivel she is reading and some more worthy adult literature.

Cakecrumbsinmybra
We don't grade their reading style, but that is the expected standard (and pulling together of things I've read about teaching secondary and post 16 reading).

No primary child can possibly have the reading skills of a 16/17 year old if they have a limited knowledge of texts & read a limited range of texts. They just can't build up the capital to work at that level.

I've seen some well read KS3 students who have been phenomenal readers, but they weren't fixated on being an 'advanced reader', nor did they exclusively read mature teen topic books. What they had was breadth of readinf experiences.

Using that website @upsideup there are 1500 books in the 8-10 yrs range. Surely your DD can find one she likes out of that list?

I have no time for censorship of books. This would be seriously challenged if it was done to my child.