Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My daughter is in first grade and in a private school. According to the teacher she is having problems with reading. I went out and found an awesome (Master's prepared) reading specialist with 30 years teaching experience as a reading teacher. The reading tutor tested my daughter and has no concerns with my daughter's reading ability. She has been working with her for 7 months now and questions why my daughter is getting 68's and big F's on some of her weekly phonics and reading tests. In fact she was so concerned she went with me to the last parent teacher conference to talk to them about this (I got permission from the teacher and principle first).
Today I realized I forgot to put her reading book in her bookbag (we read nightly assignments and I sign off on them). Once I realized I had left it on the dining room table I drove 40 miles round-trip to get her reading book to the office prior to her reading group time. The school's secretary assured me she would give the book to the teacher (we are not allowed to go directly to the classrooms). The reason I did this is the teacher's philosophy is she will not allow a child to participate in reading group if they forget their book (I found this out earlier in the year when this happened ONCE-the principle is aware of this rule too). When I picked her up from school today she told me she was not allowed to participate in reading group because her book was not in her bookbag. I walked into the school and ironically ran into the teacher in the hall. She states she did not see the book on her desk until after reading group.
How would you handle this situation???? My daughter has learned a lot this year from this teacher, but I have some major concerns about this.
Honestly, the way I'd handle it is to have my daughter check to make everything's in her bookbag before leaving for school. Since she's the one who ultimately bears the consequences, she's the one with the strongest imperative to make sure it works the way it's supposed to.
As for the teacher...she screwed up. It happens. I wouldn't be thrilled, but I'm pretty sure it's neither a diabolical plot nor a threat to world peace, particularly if she's an otherwise good teacher.
I understand the teacher not seeing the book until later. Why would she be looking on her desk for a book when she is giving her attention to her students? (I would not have seen it; in fact, my school would have left it in my box in the office - not delivered it to the classroom.)
Putting the book in the bag and getting it to reading group should be the child's responsibility - not the parent's, not the teacher's, and not the secretary's.
Is your main concern that the teacher didn't give your child the book? Or are you asking more about the whole reading situation?
Thanks for your input! I think that penalizing a 6 year old by taking away reading time (an area the teacher says she is struggling with) is a weird punishment for forgetting a book. Life happens and occasionally people forget things (like a rushed mother with 3 kids under the age of 7, working p/t as a BSN,in graduate school and husband in the military gone over 200 days a year). I tried to rectify my wrong (I took out the book after my daughter had her bookbag ready to go to make sure I had signed off it). That's why I have a problem with the punishment. My daughter (according to the teacher) is doing great in all other areas except reading. My main concern is getting her better at reading. Taking away reading group just takes away from her learning.
Be glad the school is dealing with students, who are not prepared for class. The school secretary is the one, who screwed up--I'll bet your kid doesn't forget her book again. Make up the lesson with her in your own home. Sounds like an otherwise well run school. Parents have a place in the classroom, but having non-stop interruptions is very distracting. I've seen principals not allow release after lunch. They had mothers pulling their kids out of school without notice, because they had a manicure appointment. 90%+ were on Free Lunch.
My daughter is in first grade and in a private school. According to the teacher she is having problems with reading. I went out and found an awesome (Master's prepared) reading specialist with 30 years teaching experience as a reading teacher. The reading tutor tested my daughter and has no concerns with my daughter's reading ability. She has been working with her for 7 months now and questions why my daughter is getting 68's and big F's on some of her weekly phonics and reading tests. In fact she was so concerned she went with me to the last parent teacher conference to talk to them about this (I got permission from the teacher and principle first).
Today I realized I forgot to put her reading book in her bookbag (we read nightly assignments and I sign off on them). Once I realized I had left it on the dining room table I drove 40 miles round-trip to get her reading book to the office prior to her reading group time. The school's secretary assured me she would give the book to the teacher (we are not allowed to go directly to the classrooms). The reason I did this is the teacher's philosophy is she will not allow a child to participate in reading group if they forget their book (I found this out earlier in the year when this happened ONCE-the principle is aware of this rule too). When I picked her up from school today she told me she was not allowed to participate in reading group because her book was not in her bookbag. I walked into the school and ironically ran into the teacher in the hall. She states she did not see the book on her desk until after reading group.
How would you handle this situation???? My daughter has learned a lot this year from this teacher, but I have some major concerns about this.
Teaching responsibility is one thing, but holding a 1st grader to such rigid rules is pretty extreme. I don't know what to tell you except hang on. The end is almost here.
Maybe public school is not so bad. I never did anything like that when I was a teacher. I had extra books for kids, and did not tell anyone they could not participate because they did not have a book. Good grief, I worked in inner city Vegas, the kids always lost their books, I would have never had to teach at all with a rule like that...
Maybe you should consider public school for your child, private school is not always best. After all, it was usually teachers who were "counseled" out of our school who went to private schools. I would have never taught at a private school, they pay less, you don't have the benefits or pension of a public school...so, my question would be about the quality of teachers at a private school. Just a thought.
Last edited by jasper12; 04-14-2011 at 04:10 PM..
Reason: edit.
Maybe public school is not so bad. I never did anything like that when I was a teacher. I had extra books for kids, and did not tell anyone they could not participate because they did not have a book. Good grief, I worked in inner city Vegas, the kids always lost their books, I would have never had to teach at all with a rule like that...
Maybe you should consider public school for your child, private school is not always best. After all, it was usually teachers who were "counseled" out of our school who went to private schools. I would have never taught at a private school, they pay less, you don't have the benefits or pension of a public school...so, my question would be about the quality of teachers at a private school. Just a thought.
CCSD's test scores reflect this. I've seen the PE teachers disallow participation, because the kids didn't bring their gym shoes on PE day--talk about cruel......but OTOH, what if they tore all the ligaments in their ankle, because they were wearing sandals or platform shoes to play soccer. What if they had to spend 100,000 USD to resurface the parquet every year because kids wore hard shoes to play basketball. Look at both sides.
Well, when I was a teacher, we were specifically told to separate punishments and school work (i.e. don't give extra work as a punishment, or take away a learning activity from a student) b/c, otherwise, the punishments preclude learning. We also had separate grades for behavior and academics.
If your DD had been my student, I would have had a way to punish her via a grade (like a 0 for class participation/preparedness or the like) rather than involve her academic performance. It is a big deal when students aren't prepared, but I know that such situations are common and that, b/c of this, most teachers just keep an extra book or two in the classroom when such occassions arise. Teaching personal responsibility is important but, IMHO, not at the expense of learning; there are so many other ways to teach responsibility that do not involve obstructing a student's learning.
Thanks so much for each of your responses! After looking at every angle of the situation I decided to check out the local public schools. There is definately pros and cons for each type of school, but there seems to be a "that's how we've always done it" mentality at the private school. I'm paying a nice car payment each month in school tuition (while my husband and I drive 11 year old but paid for vehicles) so that our 2 school age children could (we thought) get a more one on one learning education. Punishing a child by taking away a core subject is ridiculous. I'm paying the money for my child to get more one on one (there is only 12 kids in the class). Unfortunately I forgot something and my child was punished for it.
I feel like I'm easy to get along with (voted friendliest by my peers in high school and Who's who by my teachers) but there comes a point where the "momma bear" comes out. I think I'll let this situation rest since school is almost out and raising a stink is pretty useless at this point. Maybe the loss of funds will open their eyes if nothing else does.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
