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    #142368 11/07/12 06:57 AM
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    I was ready for an uneventful conference for my second grader, planning to listen how great my son is and how all his work is at grade level. I was planning not to advocate for anything, because he seems to be happy. However, now, I do not know what to do. Monday my ds brought home his daily worksheets and I noticed that he has sheets with 1st grade additions. I asked him about it, and he explained when he finishes his work early, his teacher gives him to review first grade math. How does it makes any sense, and how can I even start a conversation with a teacher who thinks the best for advanced math student is to review 2+3? It is really sad, because he loves math and he even likes to work alongside his older brother on some of the 7th grade math problems. I honestly do not how to have a conversation with his teacher without insulting her.

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    Originally Posted by master of none
    No fires to put out is a good thing.
    I agree with this, but at the same time my problem is that his needs are so easy to be overlooked, because he is such a people pleaser. He wants everyone to be happy with him. He knows when to hide what he can do, so that he would blend in with the group. For example reading, two months ago his Lexile score was 370, which is average for his class. Then he saw that his teacher has harder books in the classroom and that she is ok with kids reading those books and suddenly he started to read books that have Lexile of 700 – 800. Could he read books with higher Lexile, probably, but those are the highest Lexile books she has in her classroom.
    When I asked him about math, he said that those review sheets keep him out of trouble - it is easier to do them than to sit quietly and do nothing. I felt like crying when he said that.

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    Just a short report back on our conference. First the positive, his teacher recognized that ds can read at higher level than the books she has in her classroom, and will be bringing higher reading level books to the classroom for him to choose to during the free reading time. She was fine, if ds brought books from home as well.
    Math, however, was a different story. When I asked her about the review sheets, she became very defensive and said several times that a review of math basics is always a good thing and that she does not have a test that would assess ds math level. She will not change anything for math.
    What I do not understand, how it makes sense to teachers that advanced readers need more advanced books, but the same logic does not apply to math. This is not something new, had the same problem with my other ds. But it is frustrating nevertheless.

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    When he finishes his math work early, does she have to give him more math? Last year in 2nd grade, my youngest always finished math early. The teacher asked her to pick a French book and read that while the rest of the class completed the math. Reading in French is her weakest area since we don't speak French at home (she attends an immersion school). She read 12 books by the end of the year, just by reading when she finished her work early. Perhaps read an age/ability appropriate history or science book so he is learning something?

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    Thank you NotSoGifted and master of none.I wish we could bring in science or history books; I tried mentioning this, but run into “math time is for math” excuse. She honestly believes that she is providing ds with a sound math background.
    I think we will be ok with reading and books, as the teacher was ok with me sending books from home.
    It should not surprise me that elementary school teachers are not prepared to deal with accelerated math. There have been several discussions here about teachers’ (un)preparedness to teach mathematics.

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    Are there people beyond the classroom teacher that you can appeal to in the school? In our school, the school mission statement includes a section that says that every student has the right to be taught at their own level and in a way that stimulates curiousity and encourages intellectual development. Does your school have any statements like that that you can use to advocate? Also, at our school, the gifted coordinator takes an active role in making sure that advanced students' needs are being met in the classroom even in K,1 and 2 before the gifted program begins. I reached out to her last year when DS was in 2nd and she ultimately started a pull-out math enrichment program (I love her, btw!)for kids not being challenged by regular curriculum.

    Maybe there are some additional resources at your school that you could tap in to? The teacher's approach and defense of the review is odd, imo.

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    LNEsMom, we do not have a gifted program or a coordinator. I have checked the district's website and there is nothing that I could use to advocate. There are statements about productive learing environment, and similar, but nothing specific enough. The expecation is that I will work this out with the teacher. If I decide to advocate for a grade skip, principal and district will become involved.

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    Will the teacher let your ds read books about math when he's finished with his math? Can he do logic puzzles?

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    keet, your suggestion may work. I think I just need to take a deep breath and make an apointment with his teacher and try to talk to her again.

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    Sorry to hear that MagnaSky. I guess you are left with two choices: leave it alone or become a real PIA until she acquiesces. Hard to know which is the right path. In some ways, it is easier to advocate for the kids that become disruptive when they are underchallenged because the teachers are motivated to deal with the situation. It is much easier for them to overlook the ones who just do what is asked of them and suffer in silence.

    Is a grade skip something you would advocate for? Even if it isn't, what if you started requesting a grade skip and then "settled" for more challenging classwork, particularly in math?

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