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Just a quick mini-vent here. I had my first parent-teacher conference today for my kindergartener. I was shown the requirements my child was to meet and she met them all. The form also showed higher levels that could be tested but my child was only tested for the minimum requirements. That's fine, but I know she can do quite a bit of the higher levels as well so it's disappointing that the teacher doesn't even attempt to see how much my child really knows. I would have preferred that the teacher had allowed my child to (for example) count higher than the minimum of 10.
I guess it doesn't matter if the teacher knows or doesn't know what my child is capable of since she has to teach what is required by law, not to the level of each child, but it's still frustrating to know that my child isn't being challenged at school. She loves the social aspect, pays attention and does well, but is that all we should expect of the kids? Do we treat our children like they are little idiots until they go to school and ignore the fact that they can learn so much at early ages?
I've heard that around 3rd grade the kids pretty much reach the same general level but is that because the ones who knew less learned more or because the ones who knew more already weren't challenged to learn more than the minimum?
Plus the teacher ended several sentences with prepositions, including one that she uses as an example sentence for the students to learn.
I realize I probably sound like one of "those parents" who thinks their kid is a genius but my point is that I don't want to see my child held back to minimum standards and not excel to her ability. We don't push our child to learn, learn, learn all the time - it's just natural curiosity and ability (so far). She likes to learn and learns from everyday activities. I guess we'll continue to enjoy her learning and abilities at home and hope that she is able to keep her enthusiasm for learning as she gets older.
Okay, I'm done complaining now. Back to your regular programming.
Just to clarify that I'm not some intellectual snob I'll point out that I watch a lot of TV sitcoms and record Survivor every week. So don't get the impression that I think I'm smarter than everyone else!
If you think your child could or would succeed in a more challenging situation, then definitely bring it up with the teacher/school.
I know when I was younger (in kindergarten) they allowed me to sit in the 1st grade classes because they were more challenging. That lasted until 3rd grade when they implemented a new rule about not allowing students to skip grades.
From 3rd to 5th grade were probably the worst years of my school experience. I wasn't challenged at all and I found myself zoning out and day dreaming in class all the time. I couldn't wait to leave school. I was just absolutely bored out of my mind which translated to me being totally nonproductive.
Fortunately middle school and high school fixed that problem...I was allowed to take higher level classes (IB & AP) and that cured my boredom and school 'problems'...
But even today, now that I am in college I find that I perform poorly in settings when I'm not challenged. I just can't motivate myself to do work that doesn't stimulate me (I know I'll have to get over that when I get in the 'real world' as Im sure I'll be doing work that fails to 'stimulate' me all the time).
But back to what really matters: your child. Maybe talk to school administration and see if you could possible have your child allowed to sit in a higher level class (for math perhaps) and see how she performs. At worst she could decide she doesn't like it or you may decide a higher level class is not right for her. At best, she takes the transition in stride, excels in math and sciences and goes on to find a cure for the common cold.
If your school is like ours, they test only what is required and are not allowed to test higher levels. Instead they do informal assessments then tailor parts of their teaching to the children who are excelling. So, perhaps the question you would benefit from asking the teacher is what is she doing for your individual child who has already met the standards.
I also just had a conference with my son's first grade teacher and he met all the standards tested, however it was not a surprise to any of us. Her comments were that the testing gives her no help at all in setting goals for him (which is the purpose of the testing) as he's met them all, so instead we are working together to set individual goals for him.
So for instance, she gives him spelling words that fit his ability and not what the class is working on. Last week he had presence, presents, principal, principle, symbol and cymbal compared to the regular list of words like pack, rack, sack, dish and wish. Therefore he's still learning spelling words but he's also learning definitions and the different spelling of words that sound the same, something he is interested in and capable of doing.
For reading, the books he gets are on his level, which is about 15 levels higher than the average first grader. He still does most of the class reading assignments as well and loves to be able to zip through them (he's just been tested to read 131 words a minute while the average 1st grader should be reading at least 40 words per minute), then go on to something a little more challenging.
While she does give him the regular class math assignments, he also gets more challenging math in addition to those. The class might be working on simple addition and he might be working on an addition word problem that is more complicated or a multiplication problem.
He's also in a GT pull out program where the specialized teacher works with him and others on a different level than the classroom curriculum and we'll be working on maybe telescoping him in the future. Telescoping is where they allow a student to learn the curriculum of a specific subject in a higher grade level than their own. So he could end up going to 2nd or 3rd or grade for the reading curriculum, depending on our discussion which hasn't yet occurred.
Add to all that, the computer teacher even works with him on higher levels of the computer lab than the other first graders as he's recognized his ability is not the average.
So, meeting testing standards should be the lead in to a discussion on what higher goals can be set for your child and how/when they will be implemented. You shouldn't assume nothing will be done to challenge your child, however you also shouldn't assume everything will be done either. Have that conversation so that you are all on the same page and working for the benefit of your individual child.
Thanks, folks. We're just starting the whole public school thing and I think my daughter's preschool teacher/owner raised my standards to a level higher than that of the public schools'! It's surprising to me how little some kids know and are expected to know at 5 years old. I thought their brains were supposed to be like little sponges when they're young... shouldn't they know all kinds of things? Sure, let kids be kids but that doesn't mean kids have to be ignorant, does it? Schooling begins at home and continues at school.
Geez, I really have become one of those annoying parents who think nothing is good enough for their child. Yikes!
. I thought their brains were supposed to be like little sponges when they're young... shouldn't they know all kinds of things? Sure, let kids be kids but that doesn't mean kids have to be ignorant, does it? Schooling begins at home and continues at school.
The problem is: many kids are allowed/encouraged to sit in front of the tv and absorb shows like Sesame Street -- which is fine IF - you know what they all are. But many parents don't know the IFs and their children not only get no stimulation aside from the TV but are discouraged from other learning. For those children, schooling only begins at school - and ends there also. Encouragement to do homework? no A PLACE to do homework? no.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashburnite
Geez, I really have become one of those annoying parents who think nothing is good enough for their child. Yikes!
Not really. You're just one in the small minority of parents who give a damn.
Just a couple of things. One, I don't know who told you that by third grade kids pretty much reach the same level, but I sincerely hope they weren't third grade teachers, because that would show a stunning lack of understanding of the kids they work with. The other is the notion of the self-fulfilling prophecy - if you have determined that six weeks into kindergarten the school is failing to provide a satisfactory education for your child, well, you're setting yourself up for a long 13 years until HS graduation. Not to say you shouldn't be involved and have goals for your child, but to think already that the school is treating kids like little idiots does make you sound like somebody you say you don't want to be.
Just a couple of things. One, I don't know who told you that by third grade kids pretty much reach the same level, but I sincerely hope they weren't third grade teachers, because that would show a stunning lack of understanding of the kids they work with. The other is the notion of the self-fulfilling prophecy - if you have determined that six weeks into kindergarten the school is failing to provide a satisfactory education for your child, well, you're setting yourself up for a long 13 years until HS graduation. Not to say you shouldn't be involved and have goals for your child, but to think already that the school is treating kids like little idiots does make you sound like somebody you say you don't want to be.
This is something I've been told by teachers and administrators alike.
There is some truth to this. Some kids enter school having been taught at home and are ahead of the kids who were not taught at home. As time goes buy and the kids who were not taught have a chance to learn, they start closing the gap between those who were taught early and those who were not taught early. As far as I know, there is no long term evidence that has kids who were taught early ahead of kids who were not taught early by late elementary school. This is what teachers and administrators are talking about. Kids don't learn more just because you start them earlier.
You'll see large gaps in what kids have learned entering kindergarten because some kids have parents who teach them or attended preschool and some do not and didn't. By 3rd grade much of those gaps have closed. This is what they are talking about and this is why they don't test kids for G&T until 4th grade. A child who appears much smarter than her peers in kindergarten may simply have been taught more and may not be gifted at all.
I went through this with administrators because I have a daughter who was identified as gifted in preschool but who was not ahead, academically, upon entering school. Even with a professional evaluation stating she has 19 out of 20 characteristics (she was too young to test) of a gifted child, I got the "leveling" argument. She has never leveled. She started school middle of the pack (since she was not an early reader) but has tracked about 1.33 years of ability per year of school since then.
So you have to be careful here. Kids who are just ahead because mom pushed them will level around 3rd or 4th grade. Kids who are just smarter wont.
It's still early in the year. Getting kindergartners off to a good start takes a LOT of time. People forget that in kindergarten they have to learn things like walking through the hall in a line, how to sit and wait your turn, moving from one activity to another. It sounds easy but spend some time in the classroom and see how it is not easy for 5 year olds.
When they do the testing at the beginning of the year they get an idea of where kids are at-basically at or below minimum. It helps the teacher develop plans for the year. If your child is asked to count to 10 and rattles off the numbers in a flash, the teacher has a pretty good idea that they can count higher. If they take forever to get to 10, they pretty much know that the child can't do much more than that. Then you get the kids that won't do anything for what ever reason. I know our when our DD was in kindergarten and doing this initial testing she wouldn't recite the alphabet-she knew it just wouldn't for what ever reason. The teacher called us after school laughing (she knows us very well) and related how DD wouldn't do the alphabet but when they were getting their things ready for the end of the day she was singing the alphabet song. Dang kids.
You are reading into this testing much more than necessary. The teacher can now form study groups and tailor the lessons appropriately. The kids that were obviously ahead of the curve will be in one group, the kids that need more help will be in another so as they go through the day the kids that don't need to spend as much time on one area won't.
The other is the notion of the self-fulfilling prophecy - if you have determined that six weeks into kindergarten the school is failing to provide a satisfactory education for your child, well, you're setting yourself up for a long 13 years until HS graduation.
I suppose it is kind of hard to judge the entire educational system based on six weeks of kindergarten. I *do* think that as my child gets into the higher grades she'll be challenged more. I hope she doesn't lose interest before then but I guess it's my job as a parent to make sure she doesn't.
Thanks for the support everybody. I'll try to be more patient.
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