scoutabout
Lieutenant Commander
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2006
- Messages
- 1,568
You guys are great when it comes to suggesting ways of handling life's big and little challenges. The feedback on my ponderings over my FIL's secretive approach to his illness were very helpful. So...here's another...
I'm about ready to pop a valve dealing with my kid's teachers. The little guy is in Grade 2 and has progressively experienced more and more problems coping. His teachers report that he "just sits there doing nothing" during work time. He won't answer them if they ask if he doesn't understand or if there is anything else wrong. He just mumbles "nothing" and hangs his head. When he does work he's taking a huge amount of time to complete simple worksheets for Math, English or French (the school is a 50/50 English French split. Subjects are taught in one language all morning, the other all afternoon). They keep him inside at recess while the other kids go out so he can complete work. Sometimes they send it home.
The kids have little courier pouches that come home with them every night with homework or notes from the teachers. The problem is we usually we don't hear about the issues until he's failed a test or missed an assignment deadline or something is so close to being due or tested there's no time to react. (yeah, I know...this is Grade 2?).
His French teacher called me at work yesterday in a huff becuase she has discovered a language workbook the kids are supposed to be updating every couple of days is almost blank. Essentially he's 20 assignments behind and she's freaked out becuase he has to do a test on all the material this coming Thursday. When I ask how is it a kid could get so far behind without her noticing she shrilly declares, "I check - but I have 20 other kids, you know." Uh huh. Way to keep on top of it. I need to suggest the simple idea of a quick flip though a couple of workbooks a day just to be sure every kid is at least writing something?
His English/Math teacher sends notes home indicating he's having trouble handling a particular concept in math, accompanied by the worst explanation of what he's supposed to be learning that my wife and I are left scratching our heads or heading to Google. Her writing is riddled with grammar and usage mistakes as well. When I send notes back asking for clarification or suggestions for helping him, she doesn't reply for days on end...or even acknowledges getting the note half the time. The last note I sent was ignored for three days then was actually removed from his workbook where I had taped it, still without acknowledgement.
Don't get me wrong - I come from a family full of teachers and I know how hectic the job in a big city public school can be and what kinds of prep workloads they face but the condescending attitudes, defensiveness, sloppiness, and spectacular inability to communicate have got me crazy.
I'm also perfectly willing to consider my boy has some kind of learning disability we need to address. But why am I the one asking the teachers what kind of resources they have at the school, suggesting meetings to come up with some kind of strategy, asking for recommendations on a tutor, etc?
It's like they have no clue how to handle this situation and are all about blaming my son (he's not showing "accountability" is a favourite. Or he's just one of "those" kids...). I don't know if it's an age issue or not. I'd peg both of them in their early 30s, perhaps without a lot of experience. Every call begins the same way with both of them - five minutes of defensive bs, lots of blame for my kid, and very few ideas. It's pathetic.
I'd yank him and return to private Montessori schooling where he was doing just fine two years ago except the $20K a year to keep him in that stream just isn't that easy to swing these days.
Thoughts? I'm about to drive over and give the principal an earful tomorrow morning but I'm afraid I'm not in the right frame of mind to deal with this effectively. I'd love to hear of similiar experiences and what strategies you may have devised to turn things around.
I'm about ready to pop a valve dealing with my kid's teachers. The little guy is in Grade 2 and has progressively experienced more and more problems coping. His teachers report that he "just sits there doing nothing" during work time. He won't answer them if they ask if he doesn't understand or if there is anything else wrong. He just mumbles "nothing" and hangs his head. When he does work he's taking a huge amount of time to complete simple worksheets for Math, English or French (the school is a 50/50 English French split. Subjects are taught in one language all morning, the other all afternoon). They keep him inside at recess while the other kids go out so he can complete work. Sometimes they send it home.
The kids have little courier pouches that come home with them every night with homework or notes from the teachers. The problem is we usually we don't hear about the issues until he's failed a test or missed an assignment deadline or something is so close to being due or tested there's no time to react. (yeah, I know...this is Grade 2?).
His French teacher called me at work yesterday in a huff becuase she has discovered a language workbook the kids are supposed to be updating every couple of days is almost blank. Essentially he's 20 assignments behind and she's freaked out becuase he has to do a test on all the material this coming Thursday. When I ask how is it a kid could get so far behind without her noticing she shrilly declares, "I check - but I have 20 other kids, you know." Uh huh. Way to keep on top of it. I need to suggest the simple idea of a quick flip though a couple of workbooks a day just to be sure every kid is at least writing something?
His English/Math teacher sends notes home indicating he's having trouble handling a particular concept in math, accompanied by the worst explanation of what he's supposed to be learning that my wife and I are left scratching our heads or heading to Google. Her writing is riddled with grammar and usage mistakes as well. When I send notes back asking for clarification or suggestions for helping him, she doesn't reply for days on end...or even acknowledges getting the note half the time. The last note I sent was ignored for three days then was actually removed from his workbook where I had taped it, still without acknowledgement.
Don't get me wrong - I come from a family full of teachers and I know how hectic the job in a big city public school can be and what kinds of prep workloads they face but the condescending attitudes, defensiveness, sloppiness, and spectacular inability to communicate have got me crazy.
I'm also perfectly willing to consider my boy has some kind of learning disability we need to address. But why am I the one asking the teachers what kind of resources they have at the school, suggesting meetings to come up with some kind of strategy, asking for recommendations on a tutor, etc?
It's like they have no clue how to handle this situation and are all about blaming my son (he's not showing "accountability" is a favourite. Or he's just one of "those" kids...). I don't know if it's an age issue or not. I'd peg both of them in their early 30s, perhaps without a lot of experience. Every call begins the same way with both of them - five minutes of defensive bs, lots of blame for my kid, and very few ideas. It's pathetic.
I'd yank him and return to private Montessori schooling where he was doing just fine two years ago except the $20K a year to keep him in that stream just isn't that easy to swing these days.
Thoughts? I'm about to drive over and give the principal an earful tomorrow morning but I'm afraid I'm not in the right frame of mind to deal with this effectively. I'd love to hear of similiar experiences and what strategies you may have devised to turn things around.
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