Dad defends daughter and becomes ‘hot gossip’ in teacher’s lounge after teacher confiscates book for reading at recess
Many years ago when I was in school we would just run through the hallways at recess and teachers would at least try to convince someone to sit down and read a book to no avail. I remember it well because I was one of the successful…
Decades later, the situation is completely different.And now, school officials let kids run around at recess, and teachers may even confiscate a book if they see one of their students reading too much. User u/iguessimthatdad‘s 11-year-old daughter.
The author has an 11-year-old daughter in 5th grade
Image credit: Arthur Krijgsman (not actual image)
Girl does a lot of physical activity outside of school, but rarely plays with classmates
Image credit: u/iguessimthatdad
Father says his daughter has ADHD and was even bullied at school years ago
Image credit: RODNAE Productions (not actual image)
Image credit: u/iguessimthatdad
One day, the teacher saw a girl reading a book during recess, so she confiscated the book and demanded that she go play instead.
Image credit: Pixabay (not actual image)
Image credit: u/iguessimthatdad
Father went to school to stand up for his daughter, but was criticized instead
So, according to the original poster (OP), daughter Cleo is now 11 and very active outside of school. The girls play soccer, take swimming lessons, and hang out with the neighborhood kids. At the same time, her friendship did not go well at school. Perhaps her father’s reason is that Cleo is her ADHD and she was bullied in junior year and her senior year. That said, now that she’s in fifth grade, everything is already under control, but her classmates still cool her down.
Meanwhile, Cleo enjoys reading and playing alone during recess. Her teachers have cautioned her parents several times, but she simply explained that the girl gets plenty of exercise after school. But OP’s daughter really loves to read, reads her mother’s books with pleasure and treats them very carefully.
One day, the girl came home from school and was very upset. Her teacher saw her reading her mother’s favorite book during her recess and found that she confiscated it. She needs to reassure the girl that, firstly, her mother is not upset, and secondly, her father is determined to go to school and get her justice for her daughter. Did.
As dad himself recalls, the teacher somehow tried to justify himself, but after all, he had no right to deprive children of books during the break. So the OP went to the principal and after a short conversation first returned her book to her daughter and then got a promise that her book would never be confiscated again if she read it during recess. I was.
However, the original poster’s cousin, who works as a teacher at the same school, later criticized him, saying that what he did was “hot gossip” in the teachers’ lounge, and that now he and his wife ” One of them is regarded as “…their parents”. Either way, OP believes he did the right thing by standing up for his daughter. In particular, the girls will be attending another school in August.
Image credit: Max Fisher (not actual image)
Of course, in the modern world the importance of children’s play, especially physical activity, is paramount. “Our society knows that this is a major contributor to the childhood obesity problem and is also linked to depression, but most teachers are unaware of the demands of a test-preparation-obsessed system.” Yes,” wrote Lisa Nelson. on her blog innovative educator“Watch out for them. Watch what they like. See who they are when they’re not telling you what to do.” It was this sage advice that I never followed.
“Certainly no one would dispute the importance of games during breaks.” Vedic private school in Odessa, Ukraine who bored panda I asked for comment on this story. “On the other hand, if a child likes to read and parents repeatedly say they get enough exercise outside of school, ideally there should be no problem.”
“However, people often try to impose their health or happiness on others because they literally follow recommendations ‘from above.’ In other words, if children are encouraged to play at recess, they literally “should” play. This is fundamentally wrong and can of course be resolved by talking to your teacher. In any case, if your child is passionate about reading, that’s great and deserves all sorts of encouragement, not punishment.
By the way, many in the comments wrote that they experienced something similar during their school days, but mostly when they read at inappropriate times. , they always returned the books at the end of the same day. “How can I actively discourage reading and call myself a teacher?” people in the comments wondered.
But schools are often places where you have to deal with a lot of bureaucracy. for example, this post of usthe newly created superintendent of schools postponed the start of PTM at a rural school by her own decision, and was incredibly surprised when no one showed up. If you’re reading, please tell us how it happened and how it ended.