The other day I received a bunch of letters from a third grade class. Quite brief, these letters had the look, and word choice, of a classroom assignment. Indeed, they were worded almost exactly alike. The class had read my book Nothing but the Truth. Ironically, the letters all noted that the part of the book they liked best was that moment when the protagonist expresses his hatred of the teacher. I am not surprised. Why third-graders should be asked to read this particular book is beyond me. Their frustration must have been high, indeed. True, it is a very popular book, but usually in middle school and even high school where it engenders vigorous debate, argument, and many a mock trial, all which deal with the complexities of the story, a text that tries to struggle with the idea: what is truth?. Third graders, I think, can make little sense of the book.
Nothing, I believe, will frustrate young readers more than requiring them to read a book they are not ready to receive, enjoy, and understand. There are so many wonderful books available, books for virtually every reading age and skill level.
Book choice need not have anything to do with censorship. It can—and should have—everything to do with giving a young reader the joy of reading.
3 thoughts on “Frustrated readers”
Ahh, yes!
Oy.
It may be a new teacher at one of those “academically accelerated” private schools, who thought it nifty not only to show the kids are reading a demanding book by a living author, but as part of the curriculum they write to the author. I wonder if (or how) you responded…
Smacks of teacher showing off.
Not so much showing off I think, but rather showing ignorance. In this day and age of laying off school librarians and closing school libraries, there are fewer and fewer “experts” on the premises to assist teachers in choosing meaningful and appropriate literature for classroom use. Teachers will often grab a book with a medal on it…it must be good, right?.…without even reading it before sharing it with students. A great disservice to the students and the book!
I have shared Nothing But the Truth with many young adult discussion groups I have led since its publication and plan to do so again this summer. It is a book rich with ideas and wonderful writing and kids between 12 and 15 *always* respond to it with fascinating questions and debate.
I hope those third graders discover it again in a few years.