Home schooling.

[freedom78]

Question - how does the high school kid who reads at a 2nd grade level get through grade 3-9 without anybody ever doing anything to rectify that fact?  How does this kid keep passing from grade to grade?   That's a sad thing but, unfortunately, does happen.  I think parents and teachers both have some responsibility here.  Thoughts?

If the kid is reading at a 2nd grade level in the 9th grade, would you even call the kids parents "parents"? My first clue would be they don't care  .

Or he could have a learning disability of some sort. 

More likely he didn't get it early on and they just gave up on him.

[kmorgan]

He does have a learning disability due to the fact that his mom was a severe drug addict while pregnant with him.  He has always been in special education classes which is why he has been passed from grade to grade, but now we have inclusion... the reason he's in regular education classes.  He does have modifications that I have to make on his assignments, note taking, tests... everything.  (Yes, I have to make various versions of EVERYTHING we do.)  He's being cheated, and the kids in the class with him are being cheated as well.  We also have parents that don't want their children to be considered "special ed", so they take them out of the program.  Usually, these kids were put in special education for a good reason, and they need the modifications, but once they are out, it is awful.  I still modify in my classroom for these students because I know they need it, but when it comes to state testing, they are forced to take the real thing, and it keeps many of them from graduating on time.

I won't even pretend that kids without learning disablities don't get passed along, usually because teachers are tired of dealing with that particular student, and it pisses me off.  I do all I can to avoid that practice, but as a mere classroom teacher, I am often overruled.  I have been told by my principal when discussing a girl that NEVER comes to class that, "we don't want her next year."  So, instead of just letting her repeat her senior year, and teaching her that we are not giving up, so she shouldn't either, she will be put on a computer that will teach her a year's worth of English Literature in about two weeks.  (Yeah, right...)  I have expressed my opinion on this, but it is a losing battle.  My principal knows that if she fails, she will not come back and then be considered a drop out, which will affect our school's funding.  It sometimes feels like a no win situation.

Luckily, every once in a while, something wonderful happens that makes it all worth it.

[Axl4Prez2004]

May I say I find it incredibly refreshing that there are teachers out there that enjoy GNR!   

and yes, the shit they are throwing at you kmorgan is complete bullshit.  It's such a shame.

[kmorgan]

May I say I find it incredibly refreshing that there are teachers out there that enjoy GNR!   

and yes, the shit they are throwing at you kmorgan is complete bullshit.  It's such a shame.

I often make my kids listen to GnR when they are coming into class.  Gotta have a little fun to counteract the bullshit!!!

[Axl4Prez2004]

I just thought I'd give a shout-out/update on our final choice of schooling for our little one.  We've chosen private.  While I believe we are better equipped than 99.9% of households to succeed with home schooling, we believe when compared with the opportunities available at a local private school, for our son, this is the best choice. 

Sure, who wants to be saddled with the high cost of private when public is free...but...did I mention the state of Delaware's public schools are now not teaching cursive writing to students?  The public school system in this state is a fucking joke.  You often get what you pay for.  DE's taxes are low...teacher compensation is low...smart teachers go elsewhere.  Don't even get me started talking about teachers and administrators telling you, "don't worry!  he'll be fine!  he's so smart he won't have anything to worry about..."  Yeah, other than being bored out of his fucking skull.

"Special" education, "special needs" kids aren't all developmentally delayed.  "Special ed." is necessary for kids with advanced skills beyond their years.  Teaching to the lowest common denominator is a joke.

Thanks to all for chiming in on this.  It's very important to me.   

[kmorgan]

Congrats on your decision.  It's tough being a parent!  Just know you're child does have an upper hand just by having parents that worry about this kind of thing!  I wish all of the kids that I teach had parents that showed half as much concern and enthusiasm when it comes to education.

Not teaching cursive writing?  Wow...

[freedom78]

I just thought I'd give a shout-out/update on our final choice of schooling for our little one.  We've chosen private.  While I believe we are better equipped than 99.9% of households to succeed with home schooling, we believe when compared with the opportunities available at a local private school, for our son, this is the best choice. 

Sure, who wants to be saddled with the high cost of private when public is free...but...did I mention the state of Delaware's public schools are now not teaching cursive writing to students?  The public school system in this state is a fucking joke.  You often get what you pay for.  DE's taxes are low...teacher compensation is low...smart teachers go elsewhere.  Don't even get me started talking about teachers and administrators telling you, "don't worry!  he'll be fine!  he's so smart he won't have anything to worry about..."  Yeah, other than being bored out of his fucking skull.

"Special" education, "special needs" kids aren't all developmentally delayed.  "Special ed." is necessary for kids with advanced skills beyond their years.  Teaching to the lowest common denominator is a joke.

Thanks to all for chiming in on this.  It's very important to me.   

Hope it all works out wonderfully! 

[Axl4Prez2004]

You have made the right decision my child.

Now, go off and find the key in Nantucket.

Sorry, I don't get the reference...please enlighten me.   

[crazycheryl]

Good for you! DE is really sad. Fortunately, we moved when my kids were young and based our decision on where to move based on the schools. We made sure they offered advanced programs and not just once a week classes but a regular curriculum. My older daughter is not advanced but at the normal level with some extra help actually. But my little one seems to be more advanced. What they do at our school is test them before placing them in classes and the kids that test at a higher level are put with certain teachers for math, reading ,etc. They switch teachers even in first grade so advanced kids get the most out of their experience. So, maybe a kid might be average in reading but advanced in math, they get the right stimulation.

Now, I'm not crazy about where we live - it's not a bad area or anything - its actually very woodsy - if it were my choice we would be in the city. But for a good education in the city, you have to pay and it's like $15000 a year now. And we definitely cannot afford that. So, we basically decided to live where we could receive the best educational experience for our children. Small price to pay. Too bad you guys couldn't do something similar. It would be nice to save the money spent on private school for college.

Your son sounds fantastic!