My son found reading when he was in the third grade. I couldn't keep the books coming fast enough. He read over 300 books that year, simple third grade level books to start with and then harder books as the year progressed. I was so happy and so proud that he had found a new love that would be good for him for life.
In the fourth grade he had a mean old woman of a teacher who would not let him read the books of his choosing and he came home each day so distressed and upset. So I went to visit the teacher to discuss what was going on. I told her how unhappy my son was and that he had told me that she wouldn't let him choose his own books. She quickly replied that was correct. I was then upset because she said that children his age were too young to know what they liked to read and that it was her job to introduce them to all types of literature. I felt she was wrong up to a certain point and told her she was ruining it for him. After all the books he had read the year before and she just said, "I'm the teacher". She would not budge or compromise on the issue at all. Well, I was right and she was wrong. My son has never read another book to this day. He no longer liked reading when she got done with him. Even when I got books for him that he would have enjoyed he would not read them because he was angry over reading. He barely finished high school though he finally did graduate in the end. It really saddens me because I now feel like she destroyed his future. He refused to go to college and he now works at hard labor for his lively hood. I pray no one ever destroys your son's love for reading.