School denying access to reading book and telling me hard books will damage his brain

[3boys1girlandnotime]

Hi, hope someone can help, this is my first time posting. My primary school is not allowing my son access to appropriate reading books for his ability. My 2nd son is in yr 2 and very bright, he's got the reading age of a 9 yr old and the school is using the accelerated reader scheme (tested via iPad rather than reading with child directly). In yr 1 he had a great TA who read with him every week and he was reading books like Dick King smith sheep pig (to level 4.9AR). This year despite reading and testing on his last 2 books he chose from home of Dahl Matilda and the BFG (level 5.0ish AR) they are refusing to let him have a school book above a 4.0 e.g. the enormous crocodile. When I ask why as he had them last yr and he wants to be challenged and enjoys reading a lot they told me it's "not safe" and he may "damage his brain" if he reads something too hard. They tried telling me there is research he will damage the receptors in his brain and will not be given harder books. All I want is what he read last yr plus a bit. He's taken a star reader (to do with AR system) test which this time came out with a lower level than last year. Even though I've asked for them to read a harder book with him manually to prove his reading has improved and not gone backwards they are refusing. How do I deal with this? All I want is a book to challenge him. I've met with the assistant principal who was the one refusing. His teacher is new and just told me to go to the assistant principal!

My kids are both strong readers so I've always asked the school if they can read home books. Actually there are loads of books on AR and teachers have on the whole been fine about it, so long as they're reading on AR. One of them was told she should read more non-fiction, as I don't think there is much fiction at the higher levels. My youngest is sometimes told to read more books as she doesn't do enough quizes, because the books she does read are longer, but since she's read the most words in her year, I just ignore it. Luckily their school uses AR as a guideline rather than forcing them to read proscribed books.

The reading damages your brain comment is completely bonkers.

Thank you so much for your message, this is hugely useful. I'll get my son to start playing the system to get him access to what he wants at school!

Well their words were daft but they might have been trying to communicate something much more mundane - namely that it might be offputting, daunting, counterproductive for your son to risk giving him books that are too hard for him.

That's a reasonable concern on their part (even if it is wrong in your son's case), given that they can't know his reading level as well as a parent is likely to (and also given that so many parents are stressy and fretful about the 'need' to ensure that schools recognise their child's precocious ability).

But if they are wrong then, meh, just give your son the books he needs. It's not as if he can't get them without the school's participation.

It is SO easy to get hung up on othe people seeing your own child's wonderful abilities, or to get hung up on the (false) idea that if school doesn't provide exactly the learning support they need they will somehow suffer. The reality is that school is only ever going to give an approximation of what a child needs, based on generalities and limited resources. It DOESN'T MATTER. Just fill in the gaps as needed, as any parent should.

I would actually challenge this. Ask them for the research to back up their batshit claims. I’m a teacher and this is arrant nonsense. Alternatively if you can’t be arsed just buy/ get from the library books that he enjoys.

This is completely bonkers.
Just take your child to the library. Let them put books they want on their Christmas wish lists. I can't believe anyone puts this much energy into 'measuring' what their child is reading. School books are just what you have to read to tick a list somewhere. The other 90% of what you read is what you choose to read and love.

Ignore the school reading scheme and just let him read what he wants from books at home or the library. Makes for an easy decision for Christmas presents!
At that age DS liked the Guinness Book of Records - he knew so many random facts!

I find this very very hard to believe

I don’t believe you OP. Certainly that’s not what they said. I think it was something along the lines that the books might be developmentally inappropriate (meaning content). My DS is an exceptionally good reader, he exceeded expectations since year 1. At home he read whatever he wanted, what I felt like is safe and appropriate for him, just like at school he had access to the library, but maybe not to something year 6’s would read when he was in the year 2, if you know what I mean.

Wanted to add, we never followed the scheme either. I remember looking into it once but I don’t have time for this, as my child is reading as a champ, I don’t care about the scheme.

they told me it's "not safe" and he may "damage his brain" if he reads something too hard. They tried telling me there is research he will damage the receptors in his brain and will not be given harder books

I have a hard time believing someone
a) said this to you
b) you didn't immediately pull him out of the school for worry he might damage his brain being taught by an actual idiot

It certainly isn’t a state school in UK!

We have a winner.

My DD 's great uncle would lend her books much more difficult than what was recommended and she would look up words she didn't know, which I don't see as a bad thing. She did read the latter Harry Potter's early but some of the themes frightened her, so you have to be careful sometimes. I pushed her to the children's classics like The Secret Garden and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe until she was old enough to handle YA fiction. She loved the library, definitely try it!

Schools aren't fit for purpose.
Children aren't allowed to be too far ahead now, the TA last year was breaking the rules. Right thing to do IMO, but now allowed. Otherwise it makes it harder for teachers having a wide ability range, but at the expense of holding bright and capable children back.

Won't be - child had reading books last year in year 1. At this point very few Steiner children would be able to read, I doubt they'd be given books to read yet, they'd be focusing on learning to write and hope the children naturally pick up reading. They'd be pretty early on in that process

It took a while but I've learned to just jump through the hoops with the school books and then give DD decent books to read at home.

She's making her way through The Worst Witch books, Magic Faraway Tree and more recently Roald Dahl's books. She is able to summarise what has happened in a chapter and talk about how the characters in the book might feel.

Despite this, people delight in telling me all the time that 'your DD may be able to read the words but comprehension is important too'. You don't say...

Really? They really said that? Surely you just read a few pages of the school reading book, pay enough vague attention to ask a couple of comprehension questions, sign to say they've read it and then give them something far more interesting to read anyway!!

Definitely this as well as going to the library regularly and getting the right level books for him.

I don't like the idea of completely ignoring the school

You don't have to, you can still let him read assigned books by school, as well as getting him a book to read at home. Since the books are so easy, it takes no time to read anyway.
Ignore the nonesese claim that reading hard books damages children, don't ignore the work that is required by school.

In KS1, my dc was reading 3 school books a day, since it's so easy and short. We went to library every week to get the books he actually wanted to read too. Easy books are still worth reading, imo.

It will be easier in KS2, ime.

Goodness, I’m shuddering at the memory of all the Biff, Chip and Kipper nonsense my son was given at his first school. You sound like your problem is different from the one we had though. Our first school wanted compliant, sporty sheep not bright sparks who were rubbish at football. In Yr4 he presented his teacher with some extra research he’d done on the class topic. She wouldn’t entertain bothering to look at it. We moved to a new school in Yr5

Go to the library. Change school.

Absolutely rediculous. Some teachers seem to want every child on the same level. I had the same when my dd was well ahead in Maths. I just ignored them, let them crack on with basic work in school and taught my dd more advanced work at home.

My dc only read their school books during reading time at school. At home, they basically free read whatever takes their fancy.

We listen to 8yo read - again, books of his choice but we have a very broad range of ability. 10yo basically consumes books every evening and we never tell her she needs to read the school books at home. She is (confirmed by the teacher) reading way above all the children in her class (including her comprehension) so frankly, at home, we focus on the stuff she needs more help on.

I'd just let school do what they want, and supplement with your own reading at home.

Ha ha ha ha ha damages the receptors in his brain! What rubbish. Did they actually say that OP, really?

Some children do 'read' well but not comprehend/understand at the same level of course and I trust my child's teachers generally with her learning because they are the experts in educating children, not me. However I had to have a chat with my child's teacher when she was still reading at a level that really was too low for her. It was a bit advanced for her age (she was mid-Y1 and it was the purple one, from memory) but they were boring her rigid and she was reading similar short chapter books to other posters children for pleasure.

Teacher told me she was already on a band that was 'too high' for her age, I was lucky she'd let her have those books and she couldn't move up. Gave me a big lecture on comprehension so I thought ok, it's likely she is right and I am wrong perhaps she doesn't fully understand the vocabulary and content.

Over the summer she had to do a 'fun project' mini book report and it was supposed to be from a list of titles. She refused to do it, read The Magic Faraway Tree and did a two pager on that. I've read that book myself - she understood it/themes/characters etc perfectly well and when she came across a word (there were a few) where she didn't know the meaning she asked me. That's how vocabulary expand,s right? You read a new word, don't understand what it means, so you find out and then you know!

They're not always right. Luckily mines got a different teacher this year. Two weeks of guided reading into term and she was two bands higher (and she got a gold star for her report).

I should add to this that my child is autistic and is cognitively advanced. She doesn't know how to begin a game with a friend during a lunch break without help, or how to not collapse into a terrified heap at an unexpected loud noise but her academics are one small area where I don't worry as she's doing really well. Before anyone says this is a stealth brag - it's not, she's v strong in one area and not so strong in another!

OP I wouldn't get hung up on scores (I don't even know what those are, I only know colour bands and I get an education age compared to actual age on her SEND reports) as I'm sure they don't mean much. I would ask them to clarify that nonsense comment for a start, and maybe speak to whichever teacher is in charge of the literacy at the school. They may be able to explain or change something. If not, just encourage him to read whatever he likes in his own time.