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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to write this in DD’s reading record?

182 replies

BikeRunSki · 25/09/2018 16:28

I did not make DD read all of this book. In her words it is “Stupid, boring and poop”. She read the first and last chapters, and a few pages of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone instead.

I didn’t write this, but she asked me to. She’s 6/Y2 and the school reading scheme is seriously putting her off reading.

OP posts:

Usernumbers1234 · 25/09/2018 16:30

Yep and you would be unreasonable and a bit cringey if you posted about it on a public forum, ah......

Holidayfromreal · 25/09/2018 16:30

Seems rude and PA for no reason. Just put something like " read a book from home instead"

StarfishSandwich · 25/09/2018 16:32

As PP said ‘DD did not enjoy this book and chose to read X instead’ would be sufficient.

minisoksmakehardwork · 25/09/2018 16:32

"Dd is struggling to engage with this book. Could it please be changed". Is what you need to write. Anything else is confrontational and smacks of 'my child is a genius'.

And I say this as a parent who's is exactly where you are. Do you have the comprehension questions?

Dd2 (6, year 2) came home with a horrible histories book, AR level 5.5 (reader age 9-13). She was capable of reading and decoding all the words but I was concerned the content was too mature for her to be bringing home from school (she is also reading HP at home).

She has been officially levelled as a 3.3 (still above actual age) but we are working on her understanding of the story as much as her ability to read the words.

TwoOddSocks · 25/09/2018 16:32

Why not just write a reasonable comment? "DD was reluctant to read this: she did read two chapters with good expression and flow and we went on to read Harry Potter at home".

Rebecca36 · 25/09/2018 16:35

What TwoOddSocks said.

reallyanotherone · 25/09/2018 16:36

I had a long issue with school prescribed reading matter.

Biff and chip were fucking boring. We all hated it. The books she wanted to read were well beyond her reading ability.

I just read to her at night, looked at her books etc. I ignored the reading record and never filled it in.

In about yr 4 it all clicked with david walliams and she came in leaps and bounds doing very well in yr. 6 sats.

My sister was the same, and was made to read every night. She still sees reading as a chore and I don’t think she’s ever read a book for pleasure.

I did once get another childs reading record by mistake and opened it to pages and pages of script about how wonderfully darling suzie was and how she amazed them with her reading and marvellous abilities and super speedy progression through the ORT. So many verbs and adverbs i was left reeling. Still not sure if it was a piss take- i suspect not- as it was a brilliantly over the top reaction to the childs rendition of biff and the lighthouse.

Elephantinacravat · 25/09/2018 16:41

Is this a joke?

loveyoutothemoon · 25/09/2018 16:41

Just "DD found this book boring, so read Harry Potter instead."

The teacher should help her find something she's interested in to bring home.

When my DD2 was little she hated reading altogether and the teacher was happy for her to choose something at home. Better than not reading at all/forcing them to read something they don't enjoy.

RonniePickering · 25/09/2018 16:45

Is this a joke?

Pretty sure it’s just a ’’lighthearted” thread, although you’re damned if you do or don’t put that as a qualifier in the title on MN.

I know what you mean OP, just carry on encouraging her to read at home too.

Youvegotatoadonyourhead · 25/09/2018 16:49

Well yes you would be, but you know that. Just wrote something normal. Is the bit about Harry Potter meant to make us think she’s sooooo ahead? Because describing the reading book in that way makes her sound hugely younger than 6 so I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make.

Youvegotatoadonyourhead · 25/09/2018 16:53

*write

Sigh. Now I sound younger than 6!

ReanimatedSGB · 25/09/2018 16:54

Fair enough to put that she disliked the book and read one of her own instead. I ended up getting DS' class teacher to agree we could just read our own books and keep a list after we had been assigned the same fucking thing eight times in a row because 'we don't have anything else that's suitable for his reading age.)

(he was about 8, a good reader in terms of vocabulary and fluency, but not emotionally mature enough to get much out of eg Harry Potter: the school wanted to move him on, mercifully, from Biff&Baff&Fucko which we both hated, but had nothing that was the right 'fit' for him, while we had a shelf full of Horrid Henry and Roald Dahl.)

Basecamp65 · 25/09/2018 16:55

Personally if at 6 she is reading Harry Potter then i'm not sure why she is still doing a reading scheme - why is she not free reading and choosing whatever she wants to read.

Record her reading at home or not in her reading record - she can read - encourage her to continue reading - job done.

FermatsTheorem · 25/09/2018 16:55

Yup, go for the diplomatic "DD read some of this very fluently, but isn't finding it very interesting. She also read some Harry Potter on her own initiative."

(I feel for your DD. I remember getting into trouble in mid primary for not keeping up with my "Ladybird keyword readers" - I was reading Lord of the Rings at home! Mind you, it never occurred to me to tell the teacher this. So they went on thinking I was a bit dim, and I went on thinking their reading scheme was a pile of poo - with your DD on that one - but neither of us voiced those thoughts to the other.)

DuckbilledSplatterPuff · 25/09/2018 16:59

Its just rude.

SassitudeandSparkle · 25/09/2018 17:03

I think you can use more tactful wording than your DD's OP - glad you said you didn't actually write that in (I think PP might have missed that bit in your OP).

Fine to say that she doesn't find the books engaging. The teacher may well get the uncensored version from your DD anyway, tbh!

Fiffyshadesofgreymatter · 25/09/2018 17:03

It's not just about the reading. It's to make sure they've got the comprehension and understand the more advanced sentence structures.

My kid can read whatever I put infront of him, but he can't always parse the text for the deeper meanings and the conclusions an adult would draw. Because they need to learn how to do that.

Can she do that? A sentence like "Sam was upset because he couldn't find his toy. Bob went to find Sam's mum to help". If you asked her why bob went to get sam's mum would she say "because Sam was upset" or "because Sam was upset and she could help him find his toy".

It's not just about reading why words on the page.

Kitkatmonster · 25/09/2018 17:06

I opted my children out of school reading schemes, teachers never had an issue, I went in for a quick chat and said they weren’t enjoying the school books and that we valued reading at home so would continue to encourage them to read home books instead.

EndOfDiscOne · 25/09/2018 17:11

We just have so much of a mix on the reading book shelves that there's usually something for the kids to choose from the colour they're on that they're OK reading. I've bounced stuff back to school a couple of times when it's just been too hard-going in terms of avoiding it being a total slog getting through it and they've been fine for the kids to go swap it for something else.

HeadsDownThumbsUpEveryone · 25/09/2018 17:12

It's not just about the reading. It's to make sure they've got the comprehension and understand the more advanced sentence structures.

Exactly this. Just because she is reading Harry Potter doesn't mean that she understands all they small details and that the plot wont go completely over her head.

Schools do not have a huge assortment of books, sometimes she will choose one that she does not find exciting or that she doesn't enjoy, just like adults do. You could use the opportunity to help broaden her reading knowledge by getting her to explain why she does not like the book and what sort of books she might like. Or you could just leave a passive aggressive note in her reading record. I know which is more likely to make a difference.

user1472334322 · 25/09/2018 17:15

Agree with fifty. It's most important that they understand what they're reading. This is said as a teacher and a parent of a year 2 child.

I would write something like:
'Dd was not really interested in this book so we read a book from home instead. I have asked her to choose another one tomorrow.'

If the teacher is anything like ds's teacher, then they'll regularly check the reading record book and see that comment and hope fully do something to help dd find a better book.

FermatsTheorem · 25/09/2018 17:17

Mind you, comprehension tests (as they used to be called back when I was at school) can give a very misleading impression of what a child's actual understanding is. I was rubbish at them, simply because I couldn't believe they actually wanted me to do a task so utterly pointless as to regurgitate the text in my own words. So I kept needlessly over-complicating the task, and getting low marks - not because I didn't understand the text, but because I didn't believe the teachers wanted me to do such a pointlessly time-wasting task! Reading comprehension was the bane of my fucking life round that age (I still remember it all too well).

taratill · 25/09/2018 17:17

some schools like the children to be able to write at the same level they read at and check comprehension so unless she is able to write at several years above her age then I think you are being unreasonable.

SoupDragon · 25/09/2018 17:22

Why not just write a reasonable comment?

It says right there in the first post that she’s not going to write it.

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