Good gravy that title sounds as dry as an over-cooked rotisserie chicken. Please notice the title does not say "intelligent" child. Intelligence comes in all shapes and forms and being academically successful is not the only measure of intelligence. I am a citizen and parent who believes in academic choices. Ever throw a large dinner party with more than 20 people? When I do I need to have gluten-free options, vegan options, dairy-free options, and still some child will just want a single hot dog. If we respect the variety of stomachs and taste buds, why wouldn't you respect the variety of learning types, academic challenges, and social needs of each growing little body? Our house has it's own unique set of challenges when it comes to education.
When my husband and I met I was working on a second degree in Education (my first degree is in Communications with a minor in marketing). We got married and had three children while I was still a teacher. I then stepped back from teaching because day care would have been as much as a mortgage. My husband has a degree in English and was a high school teacher before we met. I was a middle school teacher who focused some years on Social Studies and some years on Literature. Our boys have all picked up on reading quickly and by first grade they fell into the advanced reader category. Braggy McBraggerson here is just trying to provide a base line of where I'm coming from. Today my oldest is in sixth grade with a 1300 reading lexile, leveled reader Z. My fourth grader has a 1000 lexile leveled T, and my second grader is at 800 leveled R.
If you're not familiar with lexile ranges
https://www.lexile.com/about-lexile/lexile-overview/.
Leveled Reading
https://www.readinga-z.com/learninga-z-levels/level-correlation-chart/
High level readers have a unique set of opportunities and challenges for families and educators. Through the massive amount of testing children go through and the complexity of finding the right books, education reaches a bizarre intersection. My boys attend a smallish Catholic School that is blocks from our home. Our school is part of the CHOICE Program (
http://www.schoolchoicewi.org/) and some testing is required. This year our school has jumped into testing and scoring each child like a kid jumping into a foam pit. Sink or swim you have to get to the other side. I have heard all of the complaining. I've heard all the praise. I'm still greatly conflicted! Also, I over-think stuff.
Our first dilemma is finding books our boys can read. Reading at a high level at a young age makes it challenging to find content-appropriate material. Even more so if they have to read in their lexile range. I don't want to shelter my kids but I also don't want my 9 or 11 year olds reading about detailed sexual relationships. Even if I didn't care, these boys still cover their eyes when two characters kiss on TV, they don't want to read about sex; let alone the teen books that cover topics like rape, human trafficking, and child molestation. I still can't imagine teaching
When Kambia Elaine Flew in From Neptune no matter how much my professor told me I should. They're just not emotionally ready. However I do have them focus on books with some complex societal issues. My sixth grader has read
Wonder twice and my fourth grader has read and will be performing in a play version of
Mockingbird. Also I recently discovered this list of
books that teach empathy at various reading levels. I'm constantly searching for what-else-can-they-read. All my mommy groups on social media recommend the classics. I completely agree! My oldest has already read most of them. However it's a perfect place to start if your advanced reader is looking for something new.
Rather than focusing on a lexile range, one educational theory can be brought to basics with "let kids read what they want, create a love of reading and leave them alone." This is a valid theory and certainly has worked for some kids. This is an especially important practice for reluctant readers, or even great readers that lost interest for a bit. My fourth grader has a wide variety of interests so occasionally he just doesn't feel like reading. We throw comic books at him and it isn't long until he's back to chapter reading. We allow the boys to take breaks and read brain candy before getting back to nutritional brain food. Brain candy books are books below their reading level and books that resemble comics i.e.
The Adeventures of Arnie the Doughnut. Read what you want at times and at other times, read what you should.
In our house, brain candy books are breaks and moments, and not the only way one reads. There are several reasons for this. First, my kids will get stuck in reading a single genre and never push themselves out of it. My oldest would only read fantasy, my second only magic and fighting, and my third only brain candy. We all need to be able to read a variety of genre's because at some point you'll have to. Learn how now and make later easier on yourself. Plus, you may end up really enjoying something you would not have picked up naturally. Second, "because I said so." There are some titles that are just too good, or too part of our culture, to not even attempt. My children are required to read at least one book from the Chronicles of Narnia, and the beginning of both Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, Something from Laura Ingalls Wilder and Roald Dahl. These titles are important connectors to the rest of society as well as our family's imaginations and humor. For this reason we pushed the second grader to try Percy Jackson. He's now on the fourth book in the series in less than three weeks. Third and finally, because teachers ask you too. I've heard so many complaints about having to find a book in a child's lexile range. I can understand the complaint if that's the only reading a child is doing (no brain candy breaks) but as a requirement, I agree with teacher. The range your child tested into is their educational level. It has been tested and tested and tested to prove this is the level you're child is still learning something but not struggling, nor breezing through. This level allows your child to further their progress. Here's the other thing, and I always tell my kids this, you have to prove yourself. You can tell everyone you encounter how brilliant you are but if you never prove it then your words are empty. Be an expert at your lexile or reading level then move up. I tell people my kids are good readers but my oldest testing into reading level Z before eighth grade is him proving it. Insisting your brilliant child should only read whatever they want regardless of the level of book does not teach your child to prove how smart they are. It also doesn't teach them to follow directions. Two traits necessary to be both a good employee and a good boss someday. It makes me think of a manager I had once upon a time who told me how great she was, and how she knew more than everyone above her, yet, she never showed up at presentations, she never taught us assists anything, and she never proved herself. Don't let your ego get in your own way.
This whole area leads me to the other side of raising academically successful children. Testing for testing sake. It sounds like I'm all for testing based on my aforementioned book challenges but I truly struggle with testing. The problem with testing is the reliability on the test for measurement. My kids get A's because they're above level. Therefore the tests show me if they are improving more than their report cards do. My two older boys both had test scores lower than previous scores on the last two
MAP tests. This is where my Mom over-think goes into over-drive. On one hand, OK I agree with your teachers that your test scores are still crazy high so we're good here. Besides, these scores aren't going to help you get into high school nor college, they're simply measurements and we can move on. However, why aren't you showing improvement? What's going on? What should you be doing differently to improve that test score? Why are your teachers blowing off a reduced score rather than providing you the skills you need to improve. So has standardized testing crippled the academically successful child? After all, if you're above what the school wants to prove then your individual needs end up not being addressed.
I know it's a blessing to have these problems. As parents we're all trying to do the best we can for our children. My children being academically successful is something we have focused on and encouraged for our children. I hope as time moves on there are more resources, books, and care given to successful children as well as those who's intelligence lies outside the classroom. I'm supportive of the needs your children have so please don't ignore the needs of mine.
