Our daughter Eva learned to read quite early, at four and a half years old. We didn’t force her at all. My daughter herself wanted to join the kingdom of letters and syllables, and we decided not to refuse.
Eva went to school already able to read well. The first year, teacher Natalya Evgenievna could not be happier with our girl. They say that at least someone takes a responsible approach to the development of the child.
And now the same thing outrages the teacher to the core. Even though she explained what the matter was, I still don’t understand why my daughter’s love of books interferes.
Three months ago, as usual, I came for Eva. And Natalya Evgenievna attacked me right from the doorway with complaints:
-Your daughter reads the wrong books! Please select literature for her according to her age.
Eva has been ahead of the school reading curriculum since first grade. What others study in class, she reads much in advance: about several months in advance.
And my daughter’s library is not limited to just one school program. At her request, we constantly buy new books. By conventional standards, some of them are designed for older children.
But Eva perfectly understands everything she reads. And why then these frames? So, our daughter read the series of books “Alice in Wonderland”, “Tom Sawyer”, “The Little Prince” and many other works that it seems too early for her to study.
According to Natalya Evgenievna, Eva often compares works from the program with her recently read books. And this interferes with teaching the lesson.
-Why are you indignant? “This is a literary analysis,” I tried to laugh it off.
– No, we’ll do without tests. Your Eva distracts other children with her stories,” the teacher answered without a hint of a smile.
-What does reading not according to age have to do with it? – I began to lose the thread of our conversation.
-Because these are too serious works for eight and a half years old. They overload your girl’s psyche! – she went into psychology.
“We didn’t notice any problems,” I shrugged.
– Maybe it won’t harm Eva. But she also pushes others to read books that are too old for them! “I won’t forgive myself if something breaks in them after such reading,” Natalya Evgenievna said with wide eyes.
It seemed to me that the teacher was being dramatic. Nothing will happen if children read “Alice in Wonderland” at eight years old rather than ten. And in general, let him be glad that children are interested in books and not tablets!
The last phrase made Natalya Evgenievna grimace. I didn’t want to conflict with her, so I promised that I wouldn’t ruin a single reading lesson again.
I had a light educational conversation with Eva. She honestly spoke about the teacher’s concerns and asked her not to argue anymore in reading lessons or discuss books with her classmates in front of her.
-Why is everything so difficult? – Eve frowned.
-Because Natalya Evgenievna is very worried and worries me. Soon they will start scolding you too,” I explained to my daughter the basics of surviving in a school system that often does not tolerate deviations from standards.
For some time the complaints stopped. And then again Natalya Evgenievna was not in a good mood. The reason is the same – supposedly incorrect books. I assured her that I had talked to Eva.
-Does my daughter still have heated discussions in class? – I was surprised.
-I have no complaints about Eva’s behavior. But during breaks she talks about books. Look, today I was whispering about Narnia with the girls from the second “B”! Although such works should be read at the age of eleven,” the teacher grumbled.
-Don’t you have anything else to do other than eavesdrop on conversations? – I went on the offensive.
-At school we are responsible for your children. Therefore, we must be aware of what they are discussing,” she retorted in the same mentoring tone.
I began to boil over these essentially unfounded quibbles. Eva doesn’t disrupt her lessons, she doesn’t even argue anymore. He even speaks about unwanted works in a half whisper. What else do you need?!
-I thought we understood each other then. “You should have removed literature from the house that was not appropriate for the child’s age,” Natalya Evgenievna looked at me intently.
-We are not going to stifle our daughter’s passion for good books just because you wanted it so! – I told her sharply.
-There are specific recommendations, and it is very advisable to follow them. “They were invented for a reason,” the teacher continued to scold me.
-Eva reads everything that is required. The rest is at our discretion. We don’t let her read “Crime and Punishment”! – I convinced the teacher to stop bullying us over trifles.
Natalya Evgenievna sighed heavily and let us go. I hope that after this conversation she will not lower my daughter’s grades. Otherwise, you will have to visit the director.
In my opinion, Natalya Evgenievna has nothing to do. You need to sound the alarm when a child steals, attacks classmates, or is rude. We don’t have anything like it even close!
Love of books – what could be better? We have encouraged and will continue to encourage this daughter’s hobby, and we don’t care what our blinkered teacher thinks about it.
The section “Readers’ Opinions” publishes materials from readers.
