“Rick” summer reading

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mcps parents: I wish that our kids would read more books in ela class

Mcps assigns a bunch of high quality books

Parents: nooooo we can't have our kids reading those books! They might have independent thoughts and feelings

Nope. This is not a ‘high quality book’.

MS English in MCPS is a depressing mess of crap, low-quality books (like The Pact - nice, motivational story for lower-income kids, but very poorly written).

[Anonymous]

If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

Your middle schooler is not a “little boy.” You do your child no favors when you infantilize them like that.

Also, you don’t known that he isn’t starting to “feel those feelings.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

Your middle schooler is not a “little boy.” You do your child no favors when you infantilize them like that.

Also, you don’t known that he isn’t starting to “feel those feelings.”

I mean, I asked him. He was like no way, ew. He is definitely no where close to being a man or even a teen. He would want to sleep in bed with me (his mom) every night if I let him. Is a young boy in basically every way, and so are his friends from what the moms say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

Your middle schooler is not a “little boy.” You do your child no favors when you infantilize them like that.

Also, you don’t known that he isn’t starting to “feel those feelings.”

I mean, I asked him. He was like no way, ew. He is definitely no where close to being a man or even a teen. He would want to sleep in bed with me (his mom) every night if I let him. Is a young boy in basically every way, and so are his friends from what the moms say.

Why do you assume he would tel you the truth? Most kids don’t talk to their parents about feelings of attraction to others, especially at first.

I have a 14 yo who is well into puberty, had crushes on girls, and still like to curl up with me to watch tv sometimes. These things are not mutually exclusive. Obviously your child is not a teenager yet, but he also is not 5. If he’s not there yet with these feelings, he will be soon. And it’s much better for them to know in advance that whatever they’re feeling is okay than to worry they’re somehow abnormal until they find the person who will tell them otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

Agree. Again, not all kids develop at the same rate.

Also, none of this is necessary for the school to be discussing with our 11 year olds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

Agree. Again, not all kids develop at the same rate.

Also, none of this is necessary for the school to be discussing with our 11 year olds.

Because you want to free to tell them at home that cis-het is the only acceptable way, and don’t want them to ever get a different message.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

Do they ask students to decide if they are asexual or do they just teach the word?

My middle school taught Romeo and Juliet, which portrays kids who are open about their sexual orientation, and totally defy their parents, and make some terrible choices. I survived.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

Your middle schooler is not a “little boy.” You do your child no favors when you infantilize them like that.

Also, you don’t known that he isn’t starting to “feel those feelings.”

I mean, I asked him. He was like no way, ew. He is definitely no where close to being a man or even a teen. He would want to sleep in bed with me (his mom) every night if I let him. Is a young boy in basically every way, and so are his friends from what the moms say.

Why do you assume he would tel you the truth? Most kids don’t talk to their parents about feelings of attraction to others, especially at first.

I have a 14 yo who is well into puberty, had crushes on girls, and still like to curl up with me to watch tv sometimes. These things are not mutually exclusive. Obviously your child is not a teenager yet, but he also is not 5. If he’s not there yet with these feelings, he will be soon. And it’s much better for them to know in advance that whatever they’re feeling is okay than to worry they’re somehow abnormal until they find the person who will tell them otherwise.

Why do you assume that he wouldn’t?

And either way, why is it necessary for the school to be asking my kid about these feelings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do think MCPS has gone very deep into many social justice/political topics in their choice of reading materials. As a contrast, I looked up the summer reading for incoming 6th graders in our old Brooklyn neighborhood. Much more innocuous than the mcps selections.

They don't even have to be innocuous. How about good books? These books are being assigned precisely because of their subject matter, not because they're well written or worth reading.

When i think of all the actual **literature** I read by the time I had graduated from MCPS, it just makes me want to cry. These assignments are a joke.

Rick got positive reviews from kirkus, school library journal and publishers weekly.

For the ideas it’s pushing, not the quality of the writing. How about some Hemingway instead?

DP. You expect 11 yos to read and understand Hemingway? And even if they can, why can’t they read both?

This discussion has certainly taken a turn for the dumb.

So an 11yo is expected to understand sexuality, but “The Old Man and the Sea” is beyond them? Seriously?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do think MCPS has gone very deep into many social justice/political topics in their choice of reading materials. As a contrast, I looked up the summer reading for incoming 6th graders in our old Brooklyn neighborhood. Much more innocuous than the mcps selections.

They don't even have to be innocuous. How about good books? These books are being assigned precisely because of their subject matter, not because they're well written or worth reading.

When i think of all the actual **literature** I read by the time I had graduated from MCPS, it just makes me want to cry. These assignments are a joke.

Rick got positive reviews from kirkus, school library journal and publishers weekly.

For the ideas it’s pushing, not the quality of the writing. How about some Hemingway instead?

DP. You expect 11 yos to read and understand Hemingway? And even if they can, why can’t they read both?

This discussion has certainly taken a turn for the dumb.

So an 11yo is expected to understand sexuality, but “The Old Man and the Sea” is beyond them? Seriously?

Not the whole range of human sexuality, but the level of it that many 11 yos are in or will be soon. You teach it in a graduated, age-appropriate way, like this book is intended to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

Agree. Again, not all kids develop at the same rate.

Also, none of this is necessary for the school to be discussing with our 11 year olds.

Because you want to free to tell them at home that cis-het is the only acceptable way, and don’t want them to ever get a different message.

No. Why would you assume that? I don’t care if my kid is gay or straight. But I don’t want the school teaching my pre-pubescent kid about these topics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

Agree. Again, not all kids develop at the same rate.

Also, none of this is necessary for the school to be discussing with our 11 year olds.

Because you want to free to tell them at home that cis-het is the only acceptable way, and don’t want them to ever get a different message.

No. Why would you assume that? I don’t care if my kid is gay or straight. But I don’t want the school teaching my pre-pubescent kid about these topics.

What are you afraid will happen if they do? You are clearly worried about something. If you don’t want to tell us what that is here, on an anonymous board where no one knows who you are, perhaps that’s a sign you should examine your own motivations here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do think MCPS has gone very deep into many social justice/political topics in their choice of reading materials. As a contrast, I looked up the summer reading for incoming 6th graders in our old Brooklyn neighborhood. Much more innocuous than the mcps selections.

They don't even have to be innocuous. How about good books? These books are being assigned precisely because of their subject matter, not because they're well written or worth reading.

When i think of all the actual **literature** I read by the time I had graduated from MCPS, it just makes me want to cry. These assignments are a joke.

Rick got positive reviews from kirkus, school library journal and publishers weekly.

For the ideas it’s pushing, not the quality of the writing. How about some Hemingway instead?

DP. You expect 11 yos to read and understand Hemingway? And even if they can, why can’t they read both?

This discussion has certainly taken a turn for the dumb.

So an 11yo is expected to understand sexuality, but “The Old Man and the Sea” is beyond them? Seriously?

Again, why can’t they read both? Feel free to hand The Old Man and the Sea to your middle schooler if you feel it’s that important they read it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the assignments/slides the school has with this book, there is a whole glossary of terms. How is my prepubescent little boy supposed to discern whether he is asexual (absent sexual feelings) or just a prepubescent child who is not developmentally at the point to feel those feelings yet? I am finding this to be unnecessarily confusing.

Agree. Again, not all kids develop at the same rate.

Also, none of this is necessary for the school to be discussing with our 11 year olds.

Because you want to free to tell them at home that cis-het is the only acceptable way, and don’t want them to ever get a different message.

No. Why would you assume that? I don’t care if my kid is gay or straight. But I don’t want the school teaching my pre-pubescent kid about these topics.

What are you afraid will happen if they do? You are clearly worried about something. If you don’t want to tell us what that is here, on an anonymous board where no one knows who you are, perhaps that’s a sign you should examine your own motivations here.

Because they are too young for this discussion. There is ZERO good reason for the school to push sexuality on our kids age age 11.

I said this before - they can put books about LGBQT issues on a high school reading list and offer it as a choice amongst other choices. But not on a list for kids who are entering 6th grade.