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.
Although there were many great comments, it is possible that a few people were overreacting.
Yes, the teacher should have been more positive and, yes, she probably should have contacted you earlier if she had concerns but talking to a "committee" may not be that huge a deal. In my school district a teacher can discuss a child at a CIT (Collaborative Intervention Team) meeting. If it was a kindergarten age child with English as a Second Language with minor behavioral concerns, the "committee" may include other more experienced kindergarten or primary level teachers, the ESL teacher, perhaps the guidance counselor or a teacher who works with children with behavior problems and someone at an administrative or semi-adminstrative level (like the school social worker , school psycholgist or principal). The teacher asks the committee for ways that SHE can work better with the child. The teacher tries these suggestions, documents the success & follows up with the committee after a designated time period (two to six weeks). Usually that is enough and nothing is put in the child's school file. If there are additional problems then the committee may suggest addition interventions or assessments. It is a way of asking input from other professionals as a group rather than first discussing the situation with another K teacher, then with the ESL teacher, then with another teacher or professional. In my district only 5% -10% of children referred to this "committee" ever need additional help such as retention, special education or other special services.
So, the teacher may have simply meant that she would ask others for suggestions to help her to make this a successful school experience for your child. This should be looked at as a positive rather than a negative and definitely not a big deal.
Unfortunately, I can't afford to put him in a private school. I have been unemployed for the last 8 months and just a week ago I started a temp job which should last 6 weeks. After that, who knows. I have to work with the teacher on this and just hope for the best. So difficult to deal with this on top of everything else.
Depending on your state it might be possible to put him in a private school if you play the silly public school game. If you allow the school to label your son as disabled you may be able to qualify for a scholarship for your child.
Here is a link to the page in my state (FL). I am sure other states have a similar program.
Thanks everyone. I wrote her a nice, professional e-mail and asked how we can remedy the situation. We are willing to work with the school. I am not denying the fact that my child may have some minor issues and as Germaine2626 put it, I may be over reacting to the situation. I asked for her to explain little more what exactly this committee does, who is in it and what benefit would my son get out of this. I also asked for little more time from her. Lets see if she responds. I always start with an assumption that anyone in a teaching profession is a professional who cares about kids.
All schools have their problems, including private schools. The boy is happy. I would only consider changing schools if the boy was unhappy. I would be talking to the teacher everyday. Ask the teacher what would be more convenient (email or telephone). If she is unresponsive be on her doorstep before class or wait after school. I know its hard with work. Hopefully she will welcome email and correspond back. If you talk to her on the phone make sure you write all your questions down so you don't forget something.
I would be willing to put down money that the principal is not going to be sitting on the playground watching the kids!
I don't think that 8 weeks is too long. I would be more upset to get that phone call on week 1 or 2 of school!
You are right she never went out herself, but the secretary did. I was not demanding the Principal to do it herself. The DO told me that if she could not supply a staff member the principal would have to do it. After this one incident I never had any problems with the Principal. As a matter of fact she thanks me for bringing it to her attention, after the fact. We had just gotten off on the wrong foot because of her attitude towards Kinder being optional.
Put him in private school. Quit wasting your time with an impersonal bureaucratic psychobabble education concentration camp - run by a bunch of brainwashed Freudian Marxists - and put him in a private Christian school which has small classes and will actually teach him using a real curriculum and a reasonable standard of discipline.
The public school will do nothing but label your kid and harm him - not to mention graduate him with no real education. Kids who come to our private school are always "problem kids" who are 2 - 3 years behind thier grade level. We get them caught up and on track and they flourish like little flowers in sunshine.
Liberalism in education is why the US public school is at the bottom of the world in just about every subject, and why our SAT scores are a C minus national average.
This is quite funny given my experience in the inner city in Chicago. We got lots of kids who were getting As and Bs in the local Catholic school, but who were kicked out for being discipline problems. They usually did not get such good grades in Algebra and Geometry in our public school. We also had kids who went to private Christian and Catholic schools in the summer to take over courses they had failed. They learned almost nothing, but passed with good grades. Then they would fail the next math course in the sequence and be off to summer school again at the private school. The private schools only cared that the parents were paying tuition for the summer school classes and nothing else. As for the discipline, they got to kick out any kid who was a problem and we had to take them in and try to educate them.
1. I think the teacher was perfectly fine in her timing. Many kids have a huge learning curve adjusting to school, especially as in this case they have never been before.
Asking a parent to step in that early can lead to reinforcement of negative behaviors which frequently resolve themselves in a month or so. When this did not happen for your son (she told you her concerns).
2. I am sure the ESL plays a part and it maybe just delaying his natural adjustment to school. You may want to ask them to give him more time due to the ESL issue.
3. I wouldn't worry terribly about the DK issue. At my school (one for gifted students) we frequently have kids "older" than their grade because they started late or did K twice. As a matter of fact, our senior with the highest gpa last year was 19 when he graduated because he had done kindergarten twice. If you son just needs time to mature or adjust this will afford him that time. Additionally, being in that sort of environment may make him enjoy school more while learning what is or is not acceptable.
4. The only thing that actually concerns me about what you have told us about his behavior is that after having his behavior discussed he spent the evening hiding behind a couch. Maybe you exaggerated? Otherwise I would be concerned with this and maybe speak to his pediatrician about it.
English being his second language is not as big a deal as some think it is, especially seeing that he is doing great academically. Children acquire languages differently and most can easily acquire a second language at that age, especially if it is the language that others speak outside his home.
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.
ESL at age 5
