“Rick” summer reading

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is so much time for them to grow up, why are SO many people rushing it?

Because they are growing up right now, even if you wish they weren’t. Many kids going into sixth grade are going to have crushes, even if they don’t act on them. When you have a crush that doesn’t align with your parents’ very clear expectations for you, that can be very stressful, anxiety provoking and upsetting. The kids whose parents have a very narrow view of the “right” way to be need this book the most, to know there is nothing wrong with them if they don’t fit a certain mold.

Not all 10yo kids have crushes. It’s fine if the books are available in the library, but forcing kids to read them is another story.

What are you so afraid will happen if your 10 yo reads this book?

The issue is not fear and bigotry to me. Those terms are too often used as a cudgel to kill any debate on this topic. It is what parents feel is appropriate concerning a sensitive subject. Public schools seem to have a one size fits all strategy for how to handle the topic of gender/sex. Not everyone subscribes to the same belief system which is fine so long as everyone is respectful of other people.

Let’s face it, we’ve come a very long way in a very short time on these issues - most people I know could care less anymore about a person’s orientation and judging by the ubiquity of Pride flags in the area I don’t think being gay has the stigma it once carried which is great but I ultimately believe parents, not the government or public schools, should handle these issues with their kids.

Okay, I will rephrase. What are you concerned will happen if your child reads this book? There’s no reason to oppose it so vehemently if you think it will have no impact on kids, so clearly there is something that troubles you about it.

How about: I want to discuss issues of gender and sex with my child within the confines of my family? I don’t see it as the place for the government and it’s employees to educate my child on these issues. I prefer public schools focus more on traditional core subjects like math, english/literature/grammar, science etc. Personally speaking, i would not “fear” my child reading this nor do I think they’d be adversely affected by it, rather i just don’t see it as the state’s place to infringe in how I educate my kids on such subjects. I believe in teaching tolerance and respect for everyone but that does not mean I go along with every with every position on sex/gender/trans issues as espoused by some public schools.

Nothing about this book is preventing you from teaching your children your own values.

This books specifically pushes the “if parents don’t get you then friends and other adults will be your guide.”

Meaning, “your parents don’t understand you.”

It’s already a natural feeling kids have, so I’m not concerned there. We just don’t need them to have even *less* confidence in parents to be loving.

I’m fairly conservative, can you tell? And in my friend groups, I believe 99.999% of my friends would accept whatever their kid chooses on any level. Come on, people. Show these kids that they CAN trust us.

In fact, my take is that we should all be letting them be KIDS for longer. Hence my post above, why are we rushing them into growing up?

If your parenting is so weak that you're worried about what a book might teach your kid, you should look in a mirror.

I was just about to come back here and say:
Some of the ideologies you all are pushing/allowing/re-enforcing/idolizing:
Puts your kids in charge of you.
Lets your kids bully you or call out your honest emotional reactions.
Threatens you if 1 degree out of 360 your support is missing.
Labels you out of touch and uncool for not going along.

So, I think your parenting is weak. You are collectively so afraid of losing your kids; that you are leading them into this path. So you can be accepted and cool.

You’re more afraid of losing them than I am mine.

I will love my child no matter what they choose in life. But I won’t lead them to this particular choice at age 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have gotten multiple emails and now a text about this book. If you want to know why American kids fall behind here is an example. Instead of learning about math or science, MoCo is pushing a LGBT agenda. This is the place of parents, not schools.

If you're worried about your child's math scores then why not push them into Kumon isn't that the dcum way

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is so much time for them to grow up, why are SO many people rushing it?

Because they are growing up right now, even if you wish they weren’t. Many kids going into sixth grade are going to have crushes, even if they don’t act on them. When you have a crush that doesn’t align with your parents’ very clear expectations for you, that can be very stressful, anxiety provoking and upsetting. The kids whose parents have a very narrow view of the “right” way to be need this book the most, to know there is nothing wrong with them if they don’t fit a certain mold.

Not all 10yo kids have crushes. It’s fine if the books are available in the library, but forcing kids to read them is another story.

What are you so afraid will happen if your 10 yo reads this book?

The issue is not fear and bigotry to me. Those terms are too often used as a cudgel to kill any debate on this topic. It is what parents feel is appropriate concerning a sensitive subject. Public schools seem to have a one size fits all strategy for how to handle the topic of gender/sex. Not everyone subscribes to the same belief system which is fine so long as everyone is respectful of other people.

Let’s face it, we’ve come a very long way in a very short time on these issues - most people I know could care less anymore about a person’s orientation and judging by the ubiquity of Pride flags in the area I don’t think being gay has the stigma it once carried which is great but I ultimately believe parents, not the government or public schools, should handle these issues with their kids.

Okay, I will rephrase. What are you concerned will happen if your child reads this book? There’s no reason to oppose it so vehemently if you think it will have no impact on kids, so clearly there is something that troubles you about it.

How about: I want to discuss issues of gender and sex with my child within the confines of my family? I don’t see it as the place for the government and it’s employees to educate my child on these issues. I prefer public schools focus more on traditional core subjects like math, english/literature/grammar, science etc. Personally speaking, i would not “fear” my child reading this nor do I think they’d be adversely affected by it, rather i just don’t see it as the state’s place to infringe in how I educate my kids on such subjects. I believe in teaching tolerance and respect for everyone but that does not mean I go along with every with every position on sex/gender/trans issues as espoused by some public schools.

Nothing about this book is preventing you from teaching your children your own values.

This books specifically pushes the “if parents don’t get you then friends and other adults will be your guide.”

Meaning, “your parents don’t understand you.”

It’s already a natural feeling kids have, so I’m not concerned there. We just don’t need them to have even *less* confidence in parents to be loving.

I’m fairly conservative, can you tell? And in my friend groups, I believe 99.999% of my friends would accept whatever their kid chooses on any level. Come on, people. Show these kids that they CAN trust us.

In fact, my take is that we should all be letting them be KIDS for longer. Hence my post above, why are we rushing them into growing up?

If your parenting is so weak that you're worried about what a book might teach your kid, you should look in a mirror.

I was just about to come back here and say:
Some of the ideologies you all are pushing/allowing/re-enforcing/idolizing:
Puts your kids in charge of you.
Lets your kids bully you or call out your honest emotional reactions.
Threatens you if 1 degree out of 360 your support is missing.
Labels you out of touch and uncool for not going along.

So, I think your parenting is weak. You are collectively so afraid of losing your kids; that you are leading them into this path. So you can be accepted and cool.

You’re more afraid of losing them than I am mine.

I will love my child no matter what they choose in life. But I won’t lead them to this particular choice at age 10.

I think you're projecting a lot of things onto a situation that do not exist.

I am sorry you're having an existential crisis about your kid growing up. It's hard.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Trying to justify this book as a good piece of literature is so absurd that it makes some of you sound downright illiterate. Do you also get all your news from TikTok?

[Anonymous]

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?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is so much time for them to grow up, why are SO many people rushing it?

Because they are growing up right now, even if you wish they weren’t. Many kids going into sixth grade are going to have crushes, even if they don’t act on them. When you have a crush that doesn’t align with your parents’ very clear expectations for you, that can be very stressful, anxiety provoking and upsetting. The kids whose parents have a very narrow view of the “right” way to be need this book the most, to know there is nothing wrong with them if they don’t fit a certain mold.

Not all 10yo kids have crushes. It’s fine if the books are available in the library, but forcing kids to read them is another story.

What are you so afraid will happen if your 10 yo reads this book?

The issue is not fear and bigotry to me. Those terms are too often used as a cudgel to kill any debate on this topic. It is what parents feel is appropriate concerning a sensitive subject. Public schools seem to have a one size fits all strategy for how to handle the topic of gender/sex. Not everyone subscribes to the same belief system which is fine so long as everyone is respectful of other people.

Let’s face it, we’ve come a very long way in a very short time on these issues - most people I know could care less anymore about a person’s orientation and judging by the ubiquity of Pride flags in the area I don’t think being gay has the stigma it once carried which is great but I ultimately believe parents, not the government or public schools, should handle these issues with their kids.

Okay, I will rephrase. What are you concerned will happen if your child reads this book? There’s no reason to oppose it so vehemently if you think it will have no impact on kids, so clearly there is something that troubles you about it.

How about: I want to discuss issues of gender and sex with my child within the confines of my family? I don’t see it as the place for the government and it’s employees to educate my child on these issues. I prefer public schools focus more on traditional core subjects like math, english/literature/grammar, science etc. Personally speaking, i would not “fear” my child reading this nor do I think they’d be adversely affected by it, rather i just don’t see it as the state’s place to infringe in how I educate my kids on such subjects. I believe in teaching tolerance and respect for everyone but that does not mean I go along with every with every position on sex/gender/trans issues as espoused by some public schools.

Nothing about this book is preventing you from teaching your children your own values.

This books specifically pushes the “if parents don’t get you then friends and other adults will be your guide.”

Meaning, “your parents don’t understand you.”

It’s already a natural feeling kids have, so I’m not concerned there. We just don’t need them to have even *less* confidence in parents to be loving.

I’m fairly conservative, can you tell? And in my friend groups, I believe 99.999% of my friends would accept whatever their kid chooses on any level. Come on, people. Show these kids that they CAN trust us.

In fact, my take is that we should all be letting them be KIDS for longer. Hence my post above, why are we rushing them into growing up?

The more you try to tighten control around your kids, the less they will trust you.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is so much time for them to grow up, why are SO many people rushing it?

This is my problem with these books. I'm a liberal. I feel that kids have been robbed of their childhoods by being forced to think about all of these adult issues. Not just this -- violence, war, global warming. Some things are not meant for kids to think about. It's a burden to them, when it should be our burden as the adults supposedly running the show.

Also the books are not classics. They're not well written. They're just meh books about subjects that are trendy.

+1. This is pretty close to my issue as well. I sometimes feel like MCPS is fishing/forcing/pressuring kids to immediately label and disclose if they might feel different or anxious or any variety of other things. My kids have come home saying lessons with the school counselor were like “What was the most stressful thing about X, Y, Z?” and my kids struggled to come up with a non-lie answer because it was not stressful for them. The question could be much more neutral, but it’s deliberately not. We see this in the anti-racist survey too. They asked questions very obviously designed to elicit the response they wanted/expected. And they are sometimes hush about topics (didn’t talk about Uvalde shooting) and sometimes way open in ways I feel are not always consistently age appropriate.

This book is an example that MCPS has an agenda that I personally feel is too political and too mature. Their agenda should not be all these trendy topics. Their agenda should be finding really well-written, engaging literature, especially considering how few books these kids will actually be assigned this year through the curriculum. Is this the ONE, can’t-miss book you think these kids should read this year? If they read a book a month, fine. If there were 3 options, fine. I am welcoming of books with prominent LGBTQ+ characters. That is absolutely not the issue. Starting middle school is awkward and uncomfortable enough. This book feels awkward and burdensome for kids who’ve taken on a lot of heavy stuff so young.

[Anonymous]

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?

Have you read the book to determine it's quality or are you just assuming that a book about LGBT issues couldn't be quality literature?

How about any high quality books written by an author who is still alive? 🤔

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have gotten multiple emails and now a text about this book. If you want to know why American kids fall behind here is an example. Instead of learning about math or science, MoCo is pushing a LGBT agenda. This is the place of parents, not schools.

If you're worried about your child's math scores then why not push them into Kumon isn't that the dcum way

Most parents don’t want to push their kids into things like Kumom. The kids should actually be learning Math IN school. After school hours should be for fun! They spend enough hours in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don’t need to be pressured into having a sexual preference at ages 10-11. This is absurd. Westland is our home school.

So you didn’t know you liked the opposite sex at 11? BS.

DP

I did not. Didn’t become aware until later.

Not everyone develops at the same rate.

[Anonymous]

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.

Meaningless. Those are all incredibly liberal-leaning organizations. And not all of their recommendations are solid.

[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.

Oh maybe make them read Indian camp or Hill like white elephant. It's a very illuminating perspective about Hemingway's sexist and racists views.