*Lord of the Flies* is the 9th grade reading for Wilson. sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If schools went by the curriculum outlined, students wouldn’t repeat a novel. It clearly states that LOTF is a 9th grade read. It shouldn’t have been assigned in middle school. DC has curriculum issues, but the novels are clearly outlined. They had a milllion others books to choose from.

Regardless, a reread won’t hurt. Your child has grown and matured a great deal over the past two years. Perspectives change.

Perhaps that cohort of students were advanced. Should the teacher hold students back because "the curriculum dictates when they will get to the material?" That line of thinking is absurd and its why DCPS has never had a gifted education program. The city is essentially saying in so many words there is no such thing as gifted education, all children are the same. This is not true as the research at multiple universities across the country have departments and write curriculum for gifted education. Johns Hopkins, Duke, UConn, William & Mary, Cornell, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are we talking about summer reading?

As a teacher, I can tell you that summer reading needs to be at a significantly lower level than school year reading for the same text. School year reading should be, for most kids, something that pushes their skills a little or a lot. It should be something where a kid needs some structure from the teacher to understand. Summer reading should be a few levels down from that, something at kids' independent reading level, similar to what they'd read for pleasure. It should be something that most of the kids can get a lot of meaning from 100% on their own, that is used to keep up the habit of reading, and to serve as the basis of conversations and activities that build momentum at the very start of the year while the teacher builds the expectations, structures and routines that will help them tackle more challenging work.

I get that it's a little frustrating that a kid has already read the book, but standardizing reading lists bring up a different set of issues. If we want teachers to able to look at their class and choose titles that resonate then we can't also be upset that two teachers in different schools chose the same title. What I don't get is being upset that the summer reading before 9th grade includes a text that in on a middle school level.

That’s because you don’t understand the underlying real reason. It’s obvious that it was not a DCPS middle school that required it. But it was a school that obviously had higher standards for its students and likely had a much higher performing student body overall.

OP is facing the new reality of what to expect in DCPS and we all know it’s low standards and expectations.

I was thinking this as well, perhaps OP either came from a different state or private school? Its highly likely her child came from a much higher performing peer group, in which case I can see her being frustrated. From a teacher perspective coming out of state to the District to teach is in itself an entirely different beast and set of frustrations. I can only imagine what that is like on the parent side. I would be lost as a parent if I had to go through the school lottery process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If schools went by the curriculum outlined, students wouldn’t repeat a novel. It clearly states that LOTF is a 9th grade read. It shouldn’t have been assigned in middle school. DC has curriculum issues, but the novels are clearly outlined. They had a milllion others books to choose from.

Regardless, a reread won’t hurt. Your child has grown and matured a great deal over the past two years. Perspectives change.

Perhaps that cohort of students were advanced. Should the teacher hold students back because "the curriculum dictates when they will get to the material?" That line of thinking is absurd and its why DCPS has never had a gifted education program. The city is essentially saying in so many words there is no such thing as gifted education, all children are the same. This is not true as the research at multiple universities across the country have departments and write curriculum for gifted education. Johns Hopkins, Duke, UConn, William & Mary, Cornell, etc.

In some states, the legislature has passed laws requiring school districts to have explicit programs for highly gifted learners (not just advanced) the same way as there is a federal requirement to provide an appropriate education to students with disabilities. The number of gifted students is usually less than 4% of a state's student population btw.

That's how this question needs to be solved in DC. Go to the council and a mayor and get such a bill passed making serving gifted students a right. Then the onus will shift to OSSE to determine the standards for gifted education, and then charters and DCPS will need to implement.

Yes it will take a while, but the schools will have to respond. Just yammering on the playground or DCUM isnt' going to make this happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t reading lists coordinated across all grades in DCPS? Seems like bad management to assign same books in different year. But on par with DCPS in general I guess.

The middle schools that feed to Wilson did not assign LOTF.

[Anonymous]

when a curriculum is vertically aligned you don't have oversights like that. It suggests disorganization.

[Anonymous]

Have you all not yet figured out that the OP's kid is entering Wilson from a non-DCPS school?

That's it. She now thinks Wilson will be boring or perhaps remedial for her kid.

Moving your kid from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, private to public or public to private, or charter LEA to DCPS, etc --- means curriculum isn't going to align perfectly.

[Anonymous]

I am the OP. As I stated in my first post, my DD went to a DCPS middle school. She has been enrolled in DCPS since first grade. I'd say more but I'd rather not given the level of crazy on this thread.

[Anonymous]

OP reach out to the teacher for that assignment, explain the situation and see if there can be a different book your child can read. Your ki Ltd can still complete the assignment just with a different title. There were some links posted earlier about what kids should be reading at each high school level.

[Anonymous]

Lol, I have a much younger kid, but just happened to notice LOTF is on the 9th grade reading list at our private.

[Anonymous]

I think it's fair to assume that nearly all incoming Wilson students have not yet read Lord of the Flies. Given that they are entering a high school (ANY high school) and at an age where cliques, exclusionary behavior, cyber and in-person bullying is rampant ... I think there are plenty of parallels to draw from the book, even on a surface level.

It will not kill OP's kid to read it twice, along with her peers. It is one class of many, and the book will not be the only one they read all year. My oldest DS, who is in college, has been assigned a few texts that were covered in high school. It happens, and there is always more to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lol, I have a much younger kid, but just happened to notice LOTF is on the 9th grade reading list at our private.

Same. My DS read it on his own when he was probably too young for it, but I don't see a problem having it assigned in high school, even if he already read it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:when a curriculum is vertically aligned you don't have oversights like that. It suggests disorganization.

Although posters have already said that the feeder schools did not assign this in the curriculum, it is also worth noting that three schools feed Wilson, and each has a different curriculum: Deal is International Baccalaureate, Oyster-Adams is bi-lingual, and Hardy is standard with an honors track. The likelihood of perfect vertical alignment of the curriculum is fairly slim, even though all will meet the common core standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are we talking about summer reading?

As a teacher, I can tell you that summer reading needs to be at a significantly lower level than school year reading for the same text. School year reading should be, for most kids, something that pushes their skills a little or a lot. It should be something where a kid needs some structure from the teacher to understand. Summer reading should be a few levels down from that, something at kids' independent reading level, similar to what they'd read for pleasure. It should be something that most of the kids can get a lot of meaning from 100% on their own, that is used to keep up the habit of reading, and to serve as the basis of conversations and activities that build momentum at the very start of the year while the teacher builds the expectations, structures and routines that will help them tackle more challenging work.

I get that it's a little frustrating that a kid has already read the book, but standardizing reading lists bring up a different set of issues. If we want teachers to able to look at their class and choose titles that resonate then we can't also be upset that two teachers in different schools chose the same title. What I don't get is being upset that the summer reading before 9th grade includes a text that in on a middle school level.

That’s because you don’t understand the underlying real reason. It’s obvious that it was not a DCPS middle school that required it. But it was a school that obviously had higher standards for its students and likely had a much higher performing student body overall.

OP is facing the new reality of what to expect in DCPS and we all know it’s low standards and expectations.

You are wrong. And you sound like you probably have very little kids.

[Anonymous]

I read LOTF in my 9th grade advanced English class. I'm not usually one to say, I did it and I turned out fine, but I don't see LOTF being demoted in grade level in the ensuing years.

[Anonymous]

My kid is entering Wilson as a 9th grader and he's reading the book now per the summer assignments. My kid has always been in DCPS and has never read LOTF so it's a first for him.