reading: son says he is the worst in class

[olguis]

My son is in Y2, he is yet 6. He is bilingual, English is the second language for him and I focus a lot on his mother tongue to keep it up. And - I don't fully understand the English school culture, but am trying very hard :)

He is a kind of child that never causes trouble, is peaceful and kind, and all school reports are always praise, praise, praise.
Last year, I was worried about his English reading and writing but was reassured he is doing just fine. I actually talked to our headmistress (it just turned out that way, it's not that I went to see her for that) and she looked at his work, talked to him and told me that he is at the level he should be.

NOW: today he came from school and said that they were set down and were asked to read a book, any book, and all children around him chose complex books and read them confidently and he couldn't. His self-esteem is very low and actually, I have trouble getting him to school in the mornings as he doesn't want to go.

I am sorry this is getting long, and I would be greatful for any advice, especially books or things to read. I just want to understand what is hapenning. He claims a mixture of things: things are too easy - that's what he tells about phonics, but then other kids are much further advanced than him.. He compares himself to the strongest in class and gets very upset. He is ambitious with kind of lacking grounds for his ambition. I would say he is bright but it kind of manifests in independent creative/technical abstract thinking rather than in reading and writing in English.
His self-deprecation really bothers me; of course his writing/reading as well. Is it that he is ok and I should relax, or he wants to be among the best and he needs to accept that he is not, or he needs to be supported to achieve that? How? Private tutor? - teachers used to think he was doing fine for maybe what they perceived as average ability...

The extra difficulty is of course that we are having a supply teacher since the beginning of the year, so no useful talking to the teacher either..

hi are you sure he is in Y2 if he is not yet 6 - he will be in the 2nd year of school which is called y1 - just to clarify.

My DS is in Y1 - 6 in december- he is still on red level reading books -which is quite basic, there are quite a few children who can read very well and sometimes he does get upset that he can't yet. but I am sure it will come

definatly don't go for a tutor at this point

the teacher will still be worth talking to -is it the same teacher since the start of term

Do you read with him every night in English?

couldn't go without offering a bit of support/ hope. DS1 is now 8. at age 6 I could have written the same as you ( apart from the bilingual bit!). He didnt get reading as quickly as his friends he used to feel he was the worst in his class. We had MAJOR drama getting him to school and flatly refused to read his ORT books.

So I took the pressure right off.... he chose some books that were too advanced for him at that stage but that he wanted to be able to read..... the Twits and an encyclopedia type book called "wow" with loads of pictures because he likes scientific type stuff. we read them "together" ( so I started off first then him doing alternate sentences... until we gradually got to the stage where he was reading by himself). I think it took him a bit longer for him to click with reading.

I wouldn't go for a tutor at this point.

And I know its a cliche but by the time you get to GCSE's and A levels it wont matter a jot what reading level he was in Y2 :).... him being bilingual plus competitive will be more important then

You could ask the teacher. I suggest this because a friend's dc said in yr 2 they were the worst in the class, really upset they were about it too.
When she told me I was a bit because I was helping with guided reading that term, and they were in my group, which was the second group, and this child was well up with the rest of the group.