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.
Daughter considered for gifted program, bored in class, teacher unwilling to give extra work for daughter, considering classroom change before end of year, how to deal with difficult teacher
Well I had the one on one interview with the teacher. Hubby went along and we were very positive coming into this meeting.
What was interesting was before we could say a word as we sat down, the teacher said teh following. I think I know why you are here. You think that the work is too simple for your daughter.
Dh said, "Well not too simple, just that she seems to finish early and is kind of bored. We were wondering if there is something else we can give her to do while waiting?"
She said that she doesn't want daughter to disrupt the other kids by drawing, reading or doing another activity. But with several of the parents coming in, I am realizing that I need to do something else. I am going to set up the computers in here (classroom) so that the kids can do certain activities I allow them. There is a program which I can specify what activity I want them to do.
Dh also asked about the school library. (Teacher tells daughter which book to check out at the library) Teacher said that she knows daughter tests high on the reading but feels that alot of the higher level books are not suitable for daughter and prefers to get the books in her actual grade level. She went on to say that next quarter she is considering allowing daughter reading Laura Ingalls series.
Hubby point blank asked her if she would give some harder work or more work to daughter? She said no that she has been a teacher for a long time and thinks that kids skip too often the basics. She went into her "basics" speech again.
Hubby asked about the testing for gifted. The teacher clearly shook her head and said, "I don't have anything to do with gifted. I leave all that to another teacher." She gave us the name of the gifted teacher.
We ended the meeting. I felt cautious about it but hubby didn't feel satisfied at all. I told hubby let me speak to the gifted teacher and see if she feels that daughter is being considered for the gifted program since the testing is over. Based on what she says, we will make a decision.
I spoke with the gifted teacher who actually was already aware of daughter based on the teacher from last year. She told me she has been working with daughter a bit weekly and was looking forward to seeing the results. She was planning on contacting me then. I thanked her and she will have the results at the end of this month.
So I am waiting till the end of this month. If her test results show that she is gifted material, I am going to request a classroom change to ANY of the other teachers. Other teachers I actually got to know with my school visits and they are so sweet. A few neighbor kids are in their classes and based on what they say, their teachers do what daughter's teacher did last year. Daughter's teacher is the only one that is "different".
This is an interesting story to follow! Thanks for the update.
I'm a little confused by the teacher & not sure where she is coming from on some of her decisions. All integrated classrooms have gifted, special needs, at-pace & so on. As a teacher, your job is to make sure that they all are being challenged to the level that they are capable.
How does a child disrupt others by reading? The teacher can very simply state that when a student has completed the work & checked it over, they can take out a book to read while others are finishing. It's not a hard concept to instill. I can understand the drawing. I didn't allow that either. It's not art class. I did have other academic activities planned for those who had finished & those activities could be completed on the individual level while I assisted other students.
There are so many things a teacher can do. But, every teacher is different & they have different ways of running their classroom.
I thought the fun of the library was being able to pick out books. I know at the lower level that the librarians & teachers do help students with appropriate choices. I've run into students wanting to read very high level books & sometimes based on curriculum I've asked the students or the librarian has asked them to stick with a certain topic or level.
It will be interesting to see how your daughter tests.
Just please keep in mind she's young. Let her be kid in school even if she is gifted. You have justification for concern. And your dh & you are making great strides in making sure she is being challenged & taught properly.
She is right about one thing...The Basics! Too many children don't spend enough time of mastering the Basics. Especially in Math. It's one thing to know what 2+2 equals, it's another to know it so that it comes instinctively, without thinking. This is where things begin to break down for the gifted children. They breeze though knowing "what" but not really knowing what to do with what they do know.
On of the hardest lessons that the gifted child needs to learn, is how to deal with boredom. They will probably be faced with it throughout their lifetime.
Have been in your shoes, and all I can do at this point is offer support of your efforts to keep pushing for a change for DD.
My oldest DS went through this nonsense from 2nd through 4th grade until we insisted he be tested for everything (GT, LD, etc.---upon recommendation of our pediatrician. He told us to get all of it "on paper" so the district would pay attention). Of course, DS was GT, and doing everything way above grade level --his average competency was at mid 9th grade, and this was in 4th grade (reading at grade 13!). In fact, his second grade teacher (when we discussed issue of him being bored with the easy work), told us to have him "bring something easy to read, like comic or picture books because I think he is actually struggling" when in fact he was reading Harry Potter at home. 3rd grade he chose to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy...then all of it came to a head in 4th grade when his boredom won out and the fact that he "only ever listens to me with one ear" annoyed the teacher enough that they started hinting around about medicating him. That's when my ped advised us to make the school test for everything (he was confident about the outcome).
Anyways, having all this "documentation" made it easier to push the principal to place him in more challenging environments from then on and it helped tremendously. He is now in HS in all honors/AP classes and doing well...we are in a different district due to relocation, but the file has followed him and served him well.
She is right about one thing...The Basics! Too many children don't spend enough time of mastering the Basics. Especially in Math. It's one thing to know what 2+2 equals, it's another to know it so that it comes instinctively, without thinking. This is where things begin to break down for the gifted children. They breeze though knowing "what" but not really knowing what to do with what they do know.
On of the hardest lessons that the gifted child needs to learn, is how to deal with boredom. They will probably be faced with it throughout their lifetime.
IMO, she is NOT right. The teacher, IMO, is rigid and one of those from a certain "school" of education that aims to level all the children.
As to the idea that gifted children need to learn to "deal with" boredom, I ask: why should they be stuck idling and bored at school? Boredom negates excitement toward learning. A child should be allowed to progress as fast or as slow as they need to (note emphasis on 'need'). To me, that means, they learn the material thoroughly, can effectively demonstrate their ability of having learned it, then move on to the next learning experience. Boredom is NOT and SHOULD NOT be a part of the school curriculum, IMO. Not ever. Boredom destroys enthusiasm. I say: Don't "dumb down" our kids by holding them back. I think the teacher needs to be induced to move on to some other career. She's not benefiting anyone.
This is an interesting story to follow! Thanks for the update.
There are so many things a teacher can do. But, every teacher is different & they have different ways of running their classroom.
I thought the fun of the library was being able to pick out books.
It will be interesting to see how your daughter tests.
Just please keep in mind she's young. Let her be kid in school even if she is gifted. You have justification for concern. And your dh & you are making great strides in making sure she is being challenged & taught properly.
I do recognize that all teachers are different and hope that I am trying in this case to give the teacher every chance. I don't want to not give her a chance and make snap judgements.
I do try to keep things fun for daughter. I don't pressure her at home to excel or other things. In fact most days after her homework and reading, she is outside biking, playing basketball etc. I know I said this before, but trust me on this that I don't want her be an overachiever, but just be at where she should be. This is why I am interested in the test results so that I can A. She is a solid 2nd grader and I am perfectly fine with that. or B. If "gifted" she needs to be given work according to her strengths.
And the strides are also to make sure she enjoys school too. She is resisting going as she is "bored" and rather me homeschool her. She says I "always" have something for her to do.
IMO, she is NOT right. The teacher, IMO, is rigid and one of those from a certain "school" of education that aims to level all the children.
As to the idea that gifted children need to learn to "deal with" boredom, I ask: why should they be stuck idling and bored at school? Boredom negates excitement toward learning. A child should be allowed to progress as fast or as slow as they need to (note emphasis on 'need'). To me, that means, they learn the material thoroughly, can effectively demonstrate their ability of having learned it, then move on to the next learning experience. Boredom is NOT and SHOULD NOT be a part of the school curriculum, IMO. Not ever. Boredom destroys enthusiasm. I say: Don't "dumb down" our kids by holding them back. I think the teacher needs to be induced to move on to some other career. She's not benefiting anyone.
I see points in both posts here. I agree that basics are neccessary foundation for any child. My daughter has addition and subtraction flash cards at home from 2 summers ago. She can instinctively give the majority of them. The ones that where she stops to think in her head are the 8's. But once a child has the "basics" she then needs to move on. This teacher isn't allowing that. She wants them to "massage" the basics in yet another way. I really see her as an excellent teacher for the kids that have weaknesses and needs to be brought up to 2nd grade level.
I do recognize that all teachers are different and hope that I am trying in this case to give the teacher every chance. I don't want to not give her a chance and make snap judgements.
I do try to keep things fun for daughter. I don't pressure her at home to excel or other things. In fact most days after her homework and reading, she is outside biking, playing basketball etc. I know I said this before, but trust me on this that I don't want her be an overachiever, but just be at where she should be. This is why I am interested in the test results so that I can A. She is a solid 2nd grader and I am perfectly fine with that. or B. If "gifted" she needs to be given work according to her strengths.
And the strides are also to make sure she enjoys school too. She is resisting going as she is "bored" and rather me homeschool her. She says I "always" have something for her to do.
It has been said that parents of gifted children & gifted children themselves actually struggle in many ways in a traditional classroom. This is also true for children who are further advanced than their peers. Traditional classrooms, ESPECIALLY those in the US, are lacking in their educational advancements. Teachers try & admin try & parents try...but, it's still very behind & many times not even challenging enough for an on-pace student.
I could go on & on with the "boredom" comment but than it turns into an educational debate. You are not alone nor is your dd is this regards.
Have you thought about posting this on the educational forum? You many get lots of good ideas of how to help your dd.
Traditional classrooms are not for every child. You may or may not have one of those children. Hopefully, you have a school system that has a decent gifted program.
What else does she do? How are things with her friends?
Truly, good luck. You've got your hands full with this situation & I really hope it turns out well. No, you never want an overachiever but you also never want to stunt a child who loves learning. It'll work out
Oh boy I would not be satisified with that result. If she is finishing work early and clearly passing everything, the teacher should be giving her extra work. If she is ahead the teacher could give her a page of harder problems along with the regular work.
The biggie for me is that she tells what books she can read. Why on earth is she dictating what books your daughter can read? If she is reading several levels above the class why on earth is she trying to hold her back? Big red flag for me.
Good luck with her testing and I hope you can find a better resolution.
Traditional classrooms are not for every child. You may or may not have one of those children. Hopefully, you have a school system that has a decent gifted program.
What else does she do? How are things with her friends?
I didn't have a traditional classroom growing up in Chicago. I was part of an educational experimental program and it was disbanded a few years after I left. I loved it and it was very different. I don't think my older daughter who I mentioned in this thread will excel in that type of class but my younger daughter would flourish in that. I hope I can find something of that here.
My older daughter loves to read, draw and play computer games. Plus she is a huge outdoors buff. Hiking, sports and biking.
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.
