Post by kellyj on May 16, 2008 7:48:02 GMT -5
Hello all,
I'm new here, but was a member years ago when Mia was little. I've found my way back to try and get some help with some school issues we've been having. My daughter Mia is 8 and in Grade 2. She is in a regular classroom but is taken out to the Special Ed unit for her literacy lessons. They wanted her removed for her numeracy too, but my husband and I would rather have her fully included in the classroom, and so she's in the class unsupported during her math lessons (a compromise).
Anyways, it has been a rough and rocky ride for the last 6 months, when we found out about the plan for this school year (I'm in Australia, and we start school at the end of January). She was almost fully included in kindy and 2 years of pre-school, and grade 1, so all this time in the unit this year was a bit of a shock. I've been meeting here and there with her teachers, and trying to convince them to be more inclusive, but it's an uphill climb. One teacher told me she would never learn anything in a regular classroom, and at a meeting today, another explained it a bit better. Basically she is totally passive at school. She does nothing unless there is someone standing over her telling her what to do every step of the way. If they give her a simple instruction and leave her to it, they will come back in 3 minutes and she will have not done it. She does so much with me at home, knows sight words, works at her math, writing etc, and often this is done while I'm cooking supper, so even though I supervise, I don't often sit right next to her. Looking back carefully, I can see that this has been a pattern for the last 3 years, doing lots more at home than at school. Now it is starting to really impact though, as they can't give her credit for what she does know if she doesn't do it at school.
Surely someone else has experienced this with their child? Do we just have to find the right motivation for her to co-operate at school? I am terrified that this is affecting the expectations of the school staff -- up until this year, our family have had high expecations of Mia for the future, but this is shaking me up quite badly. We could change schools but we know that we're only living in this town for the next 2 years, and I already have 4 kids at 3 different schools, and one more would be just too much, not to mention the disruption to Mia and alot of other issues that would mean writing a novel, and not just a really really long post.
So please excuse my long-windedness, I am frustrated and feeling very helpless atm.
Thanks for any insights.
Kelly
I'm new here, but was a member years ago when Mia was little. I've found my way back to try and get some help with some school issues we've been having. My daughter Mia is 8 and in Grade 2. She is in a regular classroom but is taken out to the Special Ed unit for her literacy lessons. They wanted her removed for her numeracy too, but my husband and I would rather have her fully included in the classroom, and so she's in the class unsupported during her math lessons (a compromise).
Anyways, it has been a rough and rocky ride for the last 6 months, when we found out about the plan for this school year (I'm in Australia, and we start school at the end of January). She was almost fully included in kindy and 2 years of pre-school, and grade 1, so all this time in the unit this year was a bit of a shock. I've been meeting here and there with her teachers, and trying to convince them to be more inclusive, but it's an uphill climb. One teacher told me she would never learn anything in a regular classroom, and at a meeting today, another explained it a bit better. Basically she is totally passive at school. She does nothing unless there is someone standing over her telling her what to do every step of the way. If they give her a simple instruction and leave her to it, they will come back in 3 minutes and she will have not done it. She does so much with me at home, knows sight words, works at her math, writing etc, and often this is done while I'm cooking supper, so even though I supervise, I don't often sit right next to her. Looking back carefully, I can see that this has been a pattern for the last 3 years, doing lots more at home than at school. Now it is starting to really impact though, as they can't give her credit for what she does know if she doesn't do it at school.
Surely someone else has experienced this with their child? Do we just have to find the right motivation for her to co-operate at school? I am terrified that this is affecting the expectations of the school staff -- up until this year, our family have had high expecations of Mia for the future, but this is shaking me up quite badly. We could change schools but we know that we're only living in this town for the next 2 years, and I already have 4 kids at 3 different schools, and one more would be just too much, not to mention the disruption to Mia and alot of other issues that would mean writing a novel, and not just a really really long post.
So please excuse my long-windedness, I am frustrated and feeling very helpless atm.
Thanks for any insights.
Kelly
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