I don't know how long I've been not-so-quietly grumbling in the back room about the "She's very advanced" phenomenon (in a snarky nutshell: just because she can read long fancy words like oh, say, necrophilia, doesn't mean she ought to) but I'm glad some folks beat me to the punch, particularly at the high water mark of the Chirstmas shopping season:
A Chair, a Fireplace & a Tea Cozy: "But my child is so advanced!"
Alexandra Flinn: "Why my books really are 12-up."
So now that you've read those smart and logical arguments, I can just moo a little bit on the subject:
I've been reading above grade level for just about as long as I can remember, and I was pretty darn smug about it, too. (I was very proud when I beat Katie Glover to the end of the SRA kit in elementary school. I can't believe they still make those things.) But do you know what my preferred choice of, um, "literature" was at age 10, when I was theoretically capable of deciphering 12th grade vocabulary? The Baby-Sitter's Club. When I hit junior high I graduated to Christopher Pike and Sunfire Romances. A might embarrassing to 'fess up to nowadays, but I somehow don't feel like I've turned into a slouch in the literacy department.
Gosh, I'm just oozing snark this morning, aren't I? Watch out -- I'm not done yet.
You know what really gets me about these folks who are so adamant about advanced books? The word advanced itself. It's like the kids are so smart that using anything less than a ploysyllabic word to describe their abilities would be insulting somehow. Only once has a customer ever said to me, "I need a book for a fifth-grader. He's real smart." I wanted to hug her, and I told her so. She even laughed a little when I explained why.
And another thing! (Almost done ranting.) Aside from the sticky matter of content, what's up with always needing to "challenge" these advanced little folks? I'm betting most of their mommies and daddies aren't wandering into the grown-up section thinking to themselves, "To heck with John Grisham, I want a challenge!" or "Wouldn't Dante make a nice stocking stuffer for Aunt Louise?"
For Pete's sake, let 'em have a little fun with a Magic Treehouse book, even if it's only good for 30 minutes -- coincidentally the same amount of time it takes to watch a TV show. If you want kinds to love reading, don't dose them with books like they're medicine, or pile them on like they're weights on a bench press. Kick back, open a book, and relax. Sheesh.
(Done.)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Doesn't ANYONE read at grade level anymore?
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19 comments:
I too read at an "advanced" level placing according to the achievement tests at a high school level in sixth grade and by the end of eighth I was testing post high school. But like you, I loved reading what I wanted to read. In fifth and sixth grade I loved the Babysitters books, the Gymnast series. And in junior high and high school, I loved, loved, loved the Sunfire romance novels. Which was why I was so so thrilled when I learned that Candice Ransom of Ellsworth Journal was THE Candice Ransom.
I think adults are the same way if they'll admit it. Just because you can read at a certain level--a higher, supposedly more intellectual, more stimulating level--doesn't mean that you want to. And it doesn't mean you're "better" or "smarter" than anyone else.
I completely agree, Sarah. I did read some relatively advanced stuff as a kid, but I was also always cycling back to my favorite mysteries: Trixie Belden, Nancy, Drew, the Famous Five, even the Boxcar Children. Eventually I made the leap to Agatha Christie, and many other adult mysteries, but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the books that made me love mysteries.
On an unrelated note, I published a review of Miss Spitfire today. Excellent work! I'm giving the book to my niece for Christmas.
I love this post. Thanks for ranting. :)
Cay
http://caygibson.typepad.com
I totally agree with you! Reading is only fun for kids if they like what they're reading. And there are so many Babysitters Club books that it would be a challenge to just read them all, haha.
Great post! As you know, I love adolescent literature and have never felt inferior when asked, "What are you reading?" Afterall, I have a book in hand and the one asking usually does not.
As a blogger, I have had to add a note to my reading recommendations list stating that my labels are based on the reading level and the content. However, I recommend that adults should please, please, please read through the books to make sure that they are the right match for the young adult reader-- instead of simply handing a random book to a reader. That being said, it does require the adults to read the adolescent books first.
I distinctly recall my mom laughing because in fifth grade I chose to check out Gone with the Wind and The Bobbsey Twins at the same time. Why not? I wanted to read them both.
As a librarian, I have found that children are innately capable of picking out books that are appropriate for them. Sometimes it's advanced reading that stretches them; sometimes it's "comfort reading" that they simply enjoy (I still sometimes read The Trolley Car Family or a Betsy-Tacy book when I'm having a bad day -- I call them my "happy books"). Children don't tend to pick out books that are too mature for them unless they are pushed into it. I firmly believe in letting a child read whatever they want to read, no matter what the level.
Anything and everything,bring it on. I am very fond of ceral boxes.
After I reread my response, I'm not sure it really conveys my thoughts. I am totally against parents pushing children to read more difficult books simply because they will be "challenged." I'm not sure that came across in my original comments. For the most part, parents need to trust kids to read what they want to read. Sometimes a parent may have to say "I'm not sure you are ready for that book," but for the most part I think kids are smart enough to figure that out for themselves.
Thanks everyone for chiming in. Ranting is more fun in herds. ;)
Jen -- I saw your review this morning. LOVED it.
Just because they CAN read above their grade level doesn't mean that they always WANT to. We're always pushing our kids to succeed, succeed, succeed, do, do, do these days that I'm not sure if some parents allow time for their children to actually be CHILDREN.
And, uh . .so. Are there any children's books that DO involve necrophilia? Because, I'm just saying. . .I'm very advanced.
Bah-ha-ha! I always vow never to be surprised by anything you say, but I never seem to be able to pull it off...
I started reading at a young age. I've never liked being read to (or being catered to in any way, actually, preferring to do things myself!) and I've always loved challenging, lengthy books. I devoured the classics. I read The NeverEnding Story repeatedly. I also collected the BSC. I read challenging books because I wanted to, because I liked them, because I preferred in-depth stories.
Casey:
You really ought to write for SNL.
You pack such a gut bending punches into so few words.
Love,
"Mom"
I've been enjoying this discussion (love Blogger's new subscribe to comments feature). I especially appreciated Sharon's point, about noting that parents should read the books themselves first - I'm a big advocate of "read the books that your children read", and I think making a note to that effect on reviews makes a lot of sense.
And Sarah, glad that you liked the review.
I totally agree with your post and I must also chime in that I loved Christopher Pike when I was in middle school, too. So much, in fact, that I belonged to a Christopher Pike e-mailing list (it would be a listserv now, I guess). No shame in that. ;)
I'm just coming up for air after my Cybils reading and weighing in late on this, which means that probably no one will read my comments anyway. But I wanted to say that parents use the word "advanced" because the word "gifted" is somehow taboo and using it brands one as an arrogant, pushy parent who thinks their child is better than everyone else. Even "smart" is somehow indicative of a sense of superiority. So if "advanced" is now also on the taboo list, just how are we supposed to describe our child's reading needs to librarians and booksellers and others who might be able to help us find books that our children will love?
And sometimes a parent asking for a book for an "advanced" reader is doing it not because they're trying to challenge the child, but because they know that if they come home with the Magic Tree House (or Babysitters Club) book, their child will look at them like they have three heads. I'm all for letting children read what they want - above grade level, below grade level, at grade level. (And frankly, as a homeschooler, I dislike the term grade level anyway). I once saw a parent at the library tell her child, "Oh, no, honey. You can't get that book. It's too easy for you," and I wanted to smack her. My son loved the Secrets of Droon books for a long time, even while he was also reading Harry Potter. But I'm just saying, don't assume it's always the parent doing the pushing. Sometimes the parent is just hanging on for dear life.
You've got a point, Sheila. It's just as hard to find an appropriate book for a high-reading youngster as it is to find one that won't be insulting to a low-reading high school student.
To me, "advanced" is not so much taboo as overused, and it's definitely the pushy parents who've soured me on it. People will use "advanced" nowadays to describe a toddler when what they really mean is that Johnny will sit for longer stories than most kids his age. (The most extreme example I've had of this whole thing is the lady who requested an abridged version of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD for her three-year-old. She claimed the kid was "really enjoying MOBY DICK.")
On the other hand, I had a terrific lady in last week shopping for her 4-year-old -- a kid with a long attention span and a taste for non-fiction. She bought high-level things like SEVEN BRAVE WOMEN, and VHERSES, but also stories a typical preschooler would love, like MARY AND THE MOUSE, THE MOUSE AND MARY and THAT RABBIT BELONGS TO EMILY BROWN. I just wish I saw more of that kind of balance.
I totally agree that balance is the way to go. I think that kids should be encouraged to read anything that interests them, without pressure or ridicule of their reading choices. When kids are reading what interests them, they are much more likely to become lifelong readers.
Sorry if it sounded like I was ranting. I really thought I was writing it in a humorous tone, but I don't do humor very well, and rereading what I wrote this morning, it just sounds like a rant. I guess you hit a nerve. It's hard sometimes being the parent of a gifted child, when people assume that you are somehow pressuring your child or trying to appear superior.
The hard thing about finding books for high-reading kids is that many of the books that would interest them in terms of depth and complexity contain material - violence and sex - that they aren't emotionally ready for.
Don't worry -- you didn't sound ranty to me. Just thoughtful and in earnest. Matter of fact, I'm working on a post in response.
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