DS's English class start reading books, then the teacher uses them to demonstrate some kind of grammar exercise or other construction of the English language - then they never actually finish it.
He's in Year 8, and they've only read one book from beginning to end in class since he started at secondary last year.
They're told they're not allowed to read ahead and often they're not even given the book, they're given photocopied sheets each lesson.
So, they read half of Animal Farm. The point of that was to teach them how to write a paragraph with a persuasive argument, apparently. Once they'd done that exercise, the module was finished and they stopped reading the book. DS loves reading and wants to discuss the content of the book in class. This isn't allowed.
This half term, they've done dystopian fiction but they've only read passages from books, not whole books (e.g. photo copied pages from the Hunger Games). The point of that was to demonstrate the elements needed to do a "creative" short story exercise - they were marked on the inclusion of these specific elements, not encouraged to be creative.
He's only read one whole book at school since he started nearly 18 months ago.
Do your DC read whole books in school?
We used to read loads when I was young! We did English Language AND literature when I went to school - it wasn't all about the mechanics of language, it was about appreciating books too and exploring ideas. I loved doing Animal Farm. We certainly read it to the end!
There's a similar focus on the mechanics and lack of creativity in his art lessons too, but that's another story.
Is this is the curriculum (fucking Gove's influence, still?) or his school, I wonder?