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It depends on what we mean by "afford" Perhaps we can put it on a credit card, those things are run up so high now what difference does more make? I know, Dave Ramsey wouldn't approve, but sometimes you get backed into it.
Our cc's have run up for medical bills, home repairs, etc, not "high living".
Also, there's a possibility insurance will pay for some of it, but we'd have to pay up front and try to get it out of them. Still, less than we've been paying to lawyers who don't do jack.
I hope the school will acknowledge Scottish Rites testing, they are accredited, but I need to look before I leap, I recall other parents saying they had testing done at Scottish Rite, only to have the school say they still had to do their own testing, the drag out the process. Seems independent testing sometimes at least opens up the process within the school district.
Oh, well, this thread took another turn, it was supposed to be about holding my son back a year, now its turned into a discussion about dyslexia, but that's how it flows.
I still feel it would be detrimental to hold him back to 5th grade, by age he should be in 7th grade, had to be held back 1-2 due to health problems, so he's not tracking, anyways, grade-wise. But if they feel he's showing signs of dyslexia we need to proceed from there.
I think the private school did you a favor if your boy has learning disabilities. He would have struggled there and my guess is he would have been "invited to leave" after a year or two.
Are you in Texas by chance? We have the Dyslexia Law that helps out dyslexic kids - or is supposed to.
I did finally get some more feedback from the private school today, they were quite disappointing, they just said he doesn't meet their admission criteria. They wouldn't even consider him for 5th grade, which I wouldn't, either, but they now don't want to offer that option.
I felt they wanted a select group to keep their statistics high, the student is there to benefit the school, not the school to benefit the student. So that's fine that they won't accept my son, we're not there for their benefit!
They did mention, upon pressing the issue, that he may have some issues with dyslexia and dysgraphia.
Now, I know the responses I will get---have him tested for dyslexia at your public school district, they do it for free!!
Of course they do!
I've battled the public school for years to get him tested, basically they refuse to test for dyslexia unless he's at least 3 grade levels behind, and other circumstances apply. Basically, they don't test for dyslexia.
We have investigated having him tested privately, but cost is porhibitive, $1200+. Insurance does NOT pay for such testing, or if they do, its extremely limited.
But I do thank you so much for your help, its given me much to work with.
You should be able to fashion a back-of-envelope test for Dyslexia from materials on the web. You don't need razor precision to get going.
As to your OP, if your son does not test at the 5th level now, then pushing him back to the 4th grade would do irreparable harm to him socially and psychologically, and would not offer the academic gains you might expect. I did not mean to be mean earlier, but the cost of ambiguity can be quite high. And while telling you nice things may ease your mind now, in the long run, you and your son would be worse off.
Let me ask you this: pushing academics to the side, do you consider your son a kid of reasonable intelligence? Is he street smart? Good with hands? A builder?
How is he socially? How are this leadership skills?
Most boys learn differently from most girls. The schooling systems you see today are experiments in social engineering that impose gender neutrality and a boas toward the feminine onto young boys.
You may want to consider alternative schooling and/or home schooling to bring out the inner boy in him. Any Dyslexia is really a side issue. However, education should not stop in the meantime!
But whatever you do, pushing him back now 3 years at this age, while perhaps the easiest logistical solution, would be among the worst things you can do.
You should be able to fashion a back-of-envelope test for Dyslexia from materials on the web. You don't need razor precision to get going.
As to your OP, if your son does not test at the 5th level now, then pushing him back to the 4th grade would do irreparable harm to him socially and psychologically, and would not offer the academic gains you might expect. I did not mean to be mean earlier, but the cost of ambiguity can be quite high. And while telling you nice things may ease your mind now, in the long run, you and your son would be worse off.
Let me ask you this: pushing academics to the side, do you consider your son a kid of reasonable intelligence? Is he street smart? Good with hands? A builder?
How is he socially? How are this leadership skills?
Most boys learn differently from most girls. The schooling systems you see today are experiments in social engineering that impose gender neutrality and a boas toward the feminine onto young boys.
You may want to consider alternative schooling and/or home schooling to bring out the inner boy in him. Any Dyslexia is really a side issue. However, education should not stop in the meantime!
But whatever you do, pushing him back now 3 years at this age, while perhaps the easiest logistical solution, would be among the worst things you can do.
S.
Good idea, at least do a basic evaluation myself to see what direction he's headed in, to see what I'm dealing with.
He's veryintelligent, good with his hands, street smart, a builder, and socially seems to lead in most settings. Just seems like he can't quite cut the mustard academically. I can't justify holding him back 2+ years, that would kill him socially. There needs to be a balance between adacemics and socialization, both are interchangeable.
He's veryintelligent, good with his hands, street smart, a builder, and socially seems to lead in most settings. Just seems like he can't quite cut the mustard academically.
My neighbor faced a similar problem with her daughter when she was entering middle school...6th grade here. She was told by her daughter's 5th grade teacher that she was not reading on grade level, and my neighbor wanted her tested but the elementary school claimed that her problem wasn't severe enough to test. My neighbor continued to push it and got nowhere. Neighbor's brother was in an academic administrative position in Arizona and she called him; he said that she had to DEMAND it, which she didn't know. She pushed it--I remember her telling me it was exhausting--and they tested her daughter. It turned out that her daughter had some sort of auditory processing disorder in reading only....something to do with comprehension. Sorry I can't be more specific but this was over ten years ago. Her daughter ended up being placed in a special English class for three years in middle school and she did fine; went on to h.s. and college. It's unfortunate that the public school districts make this so difficult...from what I'm told, they don't want to spend the money to test.
Good idea, at least do a basic evaluation myself to see what direction he's headed in, to see what I'm dealing with.
He's veryintelligent, good with his hands, street smart, a builder, and socially seems to lead in most settings. Just seems like he can't quite cut the mustard academically. I can't justify holding him back 2+ years, that would kill him socially. There needs to be a balance between adacemics and socialization, both are interchangeable.
Very telling. You need to work with a developmental specialist who is extremely scientific, empirically-minded and with vision. Someone who is decidedly politically incorrect when the data suggests. A person who understands boys.
Boys learn differently and at a different pace. What may be retarded (as in slowed down) to some, may be exactly where one should be for the particular person in question. He is likely developing on other ways where the true indicators of his intelligence are latent.
I was held back in the 3rd grade, and while my grades improved the next year, I think I suffered in the end. I turned 18 one third of the way through the 12th grade and pretty much went "out to lunch" for the rest of the year. I even moved out of my parent's house and stayed with a friend and paid his mother rent for a couple of weeks -- why? Because I was an adult and could do as a pleased, so that's what I did because at that point I was getting really tired of people ordering me around like a child.
I didn't drop out, but I skipped school, got familiar with the VP of discipline, and barely graduated. Lots of 18 year olds don't like going to public school when they are eligible to vote, buy a shotgun, and go to war.
It would be even worse for someone who is 19 or 20. The poor child is going to think he will be in high school forever.
In my case, the better grades I got in the 3rd grade the second time around did not mean anything when I got C's and D's in the 12th grade.
I know of several children today (including my own daughter) who have the option with summer or night school to graduate a semester early. This may have helped you in your situation.
What makes many of you think we haven't done anything to assist with his education? Many assumptions have been made that we're somehow slacking off.
We've homeschooled for the last 1.5 years, I devote most of every day to him, along with outside tutoring. I'm quite astonished this private school wants to hold him back a year, when, due to logistics, etc, he's already a grade behind age-wise.
They said it was based on their placement test, but I've no feedback as to the particulars of the test, other than to be told he wouldn't function well in 6th grade and they recommended 5th grade instead. I disagree, he's too old and physically too big for 5th grade.
I feel like I'm being attacked here by some, how do you determine we, as parents, aren't doing enough because a private school wants to hold him back a year?
I agree with the posters who point out at this rate he would be 19-20 by high school graduation, which would set him up for discouragement and failure.
I can see your dilemma but how would the 7th grade teachers teach him if he cannot function at least CLOSE to grade level? They don't have access to the 5th grade curriculum and the cannot teach a class of one while ignoring the other kids in the class.
Does the public school where you live offer any assistance? I find that while private schools work well for students who are average or above average, the public schools are better set up for students who are behind in some way.
I can see your dilemma but how would the 7th grade teachers teach him if he cannot function at least CLOSE to grade level? They don't have access to the 5th grade curriculum and the cannot teach a class of one while ignoring the other kids in the class.
Does the public school where you live offer any assistance? I find that while private schools work well for students who are average or above average, the public schools are better set up for students who are behind in some way.
you are so right----is it possible for him to get a tutor?
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