Bear with me here. When my brother was about ten years old, he had his book confiscated my our mum. I thought he was being punished for something. I found out a while later that, actually, his teacher had said the book was too advanced for him and Mum kept the book for the best part of the year. It was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. My brother wasn't exactly the best reader and writer in the world, but at this point he had read the first three books already and loved them! It was a very odd thing for our mum to do, even as a punishment.
The reaction to me reading them at the same age was totally different, but, I couldn't take them to school. Not because I didn't want them damaged or nicked, but because my teacher said I could only read books from a certain box in the Library. I didn't always finish them very quickly because I was reading other things outside school and my teacher said I was a slow reader, although my Dad did emphasise that I read other things. In Year 6 I was moved up a reading group or something and allowed to bring books from home and I can remember getting much more enthusiastic about reading because of it. Here's my question:
Is it possible that Primary Schools could hinder students progression with reading?
My daughter was an early reader and in Year 2 was, reluctantly, given a Classic book to read. She went from the Reading Scheme books to a paperback of The Prince and Pauper - nearly put her off reading! It was definitely an 'under the counter' book to make matters worse. The message was that her reading was out of the ordinary...not necessarily in a good way.
As a Teaching Assistant in primary schools I came across all sorts of problems - reasonably bright boys who did not like reading yet had to read through all sorts of ridiculous stories and girls wanting to learn facts but being put off by standard non-fiction books. I wrote a book of stories and it was well-received and is available on Amazon. Sadly it has not as yet reached a wide audience that way although it is being taken out from my local libraries.
I don't know what the answer is. Having written to Theresa May and got a bog standard 'we are doing all we can' response, I am not optimistic.
Most definitely, Emelia. That's a stupid and short-sighted thing for anyone to do, because it kills the child's enthusiasm. Your brother may not have been the best reader, but he found a book/series that he loved and it would have encouraged him to persevere.
You were reading, enjoying, getting lost inside your books. There's no set speed limit on that! In fact, you were moved up a group, which proved that teacher wrong. When allowed to read what you liked, you were not slow; it was the classroom reading environment that did the damage, for both of you.
All children should be encouraged to read outside of the classroom and its lists. Schools have measurable targets to hit; children should not be corralled within those targets - but that's a huge subject, so I'll climb down off my soapbox before I get going!
I worked in a school library, and you can't set levels for all children - some will read anything they can get their hands on, others will never want to open a book. Individuality should be catered for, but the education system simply can't cope with it.
In your brother's case, your mother seems to have been in awe of the teacher. I'd have stood up to him/her and let my child read to his heart's content.
Lorraine