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Education Continued

I try hard not to be that parent.  The parent that really has no business making outrageous requests on behalf of their children. On the flip side my past teaching experience tells me that my kid is unique. I know enough to be dangerous. I have been in the public school as a teacher long enough to know how things work, what questions to ask, and I know who you ask is crucial.

Last year in kindergarden my student was reading on a third grade level early in the year. I requested her to take the STAR test early. The STAR test gives you a grade equivalent to reading skills. I only knew this because of my older student. Kindergardeners usual don't take this test because most of them do not read. She was reading on a mid third grade reading level. Her teacher of 26 years said she never had a student that could read so high. Bells and whistles went off in my head.

We had our conferences and made requests. What we would have liked to see happen didn't. On the flip side she loved school. I am all for if they love school, let things be. Although Alex could read she didn't like chapter books and I was not going to force the issue. She was already ahead of the game and I am all for kids being kids. Her teacher was challenging her and she was happy so let bygones be bygones.

When school started this year I made sure that her teacher knew what she was up against. I was pleased that her teacher was the reading coach for the school last year. I knew that she would be willing to challenge her in ways she needs to be challenged. In October at our conference we both knew what she needed to work on. Mostly writing skills, reading chapter books and socialization. She is an introvert and well, doesn't like people at times. Her teacher loves reading and it had a positive effect on Alex. She started to read chapter books and caught the reading bug. Which is great but now that she is reading, she jumped from third grade reading level to seventh.

Here is what set off the alarms. While doing homework one afternoon she said to me, "why do I have to do this when I already know it?"  Do you hear what she is saying?  I know she knows 10 + 6, she was working on triple digit/double digit subtraction with regrouping at home with 90% accuracy. Alex mid winter decided she didn't like school anymore. She started to give me a hard time in the mornings and afternoons during homework. I know kids can be kids but a very compliant child that becomes difficult should sound off the parent alarm. Come this winter her teacher admitted to me that in October she saw what she could work on and now she don't know what to do with her.  Um yeah we need to have a conference ASAP!  I requested a conference with the teacher, principle and gifted teacher.

So it turns out I am not that parent making outrageous requests. We all agree that Alex needs more than first grade work. How we accomplish this is going to take work and patience.  My husband would like for me to homeschool at times. I think that we have a plan that will work for Alex but homeschooling is an option. There are many factors that we have to consider but we are testing the waters for her to skip a grade.

A shout out to her teacher that heard what I was saying and made little changes immediately that made a huge difference in Alex's attitude toward school. She simply gave her a spelling pretest on Monday and it she gets a 100 (every week) she gets to pick 6 of the vocabulary words for her spelling test on Friday. She gave her some choices for homework. Which make me laugh because she always complained about alphabetical order but chooses that every week. All about the choice for her.

Comments

Stacie said…
I LOVE these 2 posts, Heather! They are so great! It definitely makes me sad when I come across people who think the one way is THE way. I pray that everyone has an attitude like you, & a love for their children enough to leave their judgements at the door when trying to follow the Lord's leading in academic education. Props to you, yo! ;)

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