Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Please Help upset and confused

DeeDee, ditto on bullying.

And I'll just point out that, despite appearances to the contrary, and the widespread adoption of DRA (especially) and Fountas-Pinnell, there is actually no good psychometric data on the accuracy or reliability of these assessments. If I saw inconsistencies between DRA and the WJ/WIAT/KTEA, I'd go with the latter. With my usual caveat about grade equivalents, of course. I prefer end-of-course assessments for grade placement decisions, as they are more closely tied to the curriculum of that specific placement.

Caveat: What follows is only helpful if you're living in an area where FAPE (free, appropriate public education) is a right guaranteed by legislation. Here in the US, it's a term originally coined in legislation for students with learning disabilities, and some states have expanded the definition to include all students, and specifically gifted ones, through additional legislation. I highly recommend you do some research on your national/state/local laws in this area, as it can be invaluable in advocating.

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I would express sympathy with the teacher, who is expected to go above and beyond for this one student. However, on the statement of whether he's grateful, I'd be tempted to ask: Are your other students expected to be grateful when you provide them with appropriate work? Doesn't he have the same right to a free and appropriate public education as everyone else in the class?

Then I'd use that as a jumping off point about how in-class differentiation is not an appropriate solution, as it places an undue burden on the teacher, does not meet my child's needs, which causes him to act out and disrupt the class for the other students. Everybody loses. The result is predictable and preventable.

And finally, if the only thing the school is offering that approximates "appropriate" is his brief, weekly pull-out, withholding it as a punishment is every bit as much a violation of his rights as refusing to serve him lunch or tying him down to his chair. While I agree that the hat-stealing incident needs to result in immediate and meaningful consequences, the school needs to find other means which do not violate his rights.

I feel for you on the reading--

My son has taken many reading tests and literally scored anywhere between the 4th percentile (pre-literacy age 5) to reading skills 4 years above grade level >99th percentile.

I have decided that if my son is "into" a book and reading it regularly without prompting--he gets it. I'm not taking these reading tests very seriously anymore unless they consistently point to an issue.

I don't think your son made a good choice about the hat, but agree that bullying is an ongoing pattern of harassment with bad intentions. I think something else should have been taken besides academic advancement opportunities.

I know that children can tend to "act out" when bored in class, but it may be something else. Mine did not act out-- instead, he spent most of the day looking out the window. His teacher found him extremely inattentive and careless, but still pleasant and willing to follow directions. In our case, it caused her to think that he had comprehension issues, and he also got his advanced work taken because of it.

I have found that most teachers are not trained to identify the 99%+ crowd-- much deviation from the norm is likely to be attributed to behavioral or comprehension problems, not boredom.

The enrichment class may be something he views as fun and thus they felt taking it away was a punishment. Personally, I would have made him sit out the whole next recess instead of taking instructional time away. Did you let the teacher know you did not approve of their choice and offer other punishment ideas?

It's important to note you said your kid was Kindergarten age. Kids that age aren't evil masterminds. Bullying to me is more of a systematic or pattern of behavior. Not a one-off hairbrained idea to swipe a hat. Particularly if you've not had multiple discussions about him being unkind to others on purpose.

Maybe the teacher was hoping you'd be the one to show gratitude and not your son. I haven't found many kids who are grateful for school work, home work, or sheets upon sheets of mind-numbing busy work. Regardless of their ability! And particularly at that age.

To clarify my earlier post:-

The way I read the OP's post, the pullout was being taken away for a single occurrence. If that reading was correct then I do not see that as inappropriate because the misdeed has a defined and temporary consequence and everyone can move on from it.

If, however, the pullout was taken away beyond just the one time then it is both excessive and inappropriate.

While I agree with you that the hat trick needed a consequence, I think taking away the pull-out is the inappropriate choice. A better consequence would be having him stay inside for recess so he experienced what the other child endured.

Pull-outs shouldn't be considered "rewards" or "treats" and shouldn't be used to discipline a child. Having said that, yes, I do suspend reading privileges at home when DS8 misbehaves.

When I got home I realised I probably contributed to the hat issue. I realised as I got to school that we had forgotten DS hat. He had two spares floating around somewhere at school. There is also a lost and found box outside the library that is always full of jackets and hats many without names. They often get hats switched by accident at school and after school care and usually he returns the wrong hat the next day and someone returns his hat. So I told him hopefully he would find his hat or maybe he could borrow one from lost and found, which I realise I should not have said, and I wish I had remembered when I was talking to the teacher.

I don't think he snatched a hat off a kid. I think he just picked one up, which he should not have done, especially as the teacher had told him he had to sit on the bench in the shade. I don't excuse his behavior, and while I don't think it was bullying, I think a punishment such as having to sit on the bench the next day even if he has his hat would be more appropriate.

The independent assessment was the wiat II abbreviated.

He had some behaviour issues at the beginning of the year, but nothing out of the ordinary they said. It has been gradually getting worse I think. I will look into ADHD as he definitely has some characteristics.

Thanks for all of your input. I will take on board what the teacher thinks and have an open discussion about what is the best solution.

I think the school is doing differentiation for him, but I get very little feedback on what. I didn't realise they had done another reading comprehension assessment. It was something with levels, and his teacher said she started at level 30 and went backwards as he couldn't answer closed questions. She said it was not til level 21 that still uses pictures and that he depends on the visual cues. She may be right, but I didn't know they had done that.
Then last week he came home with the standard cut and paste words worksheets and I started to wonder what they wee doing with him. But I think there was a sub that day. So I do think they have his own plan, I just don't know what exactly he is working on.

Also, there is a computer program for math that the year 1 kids get homework on, but DS has not been given a login, so he doesn't get access to it at home. I asked and they said there were issues because he is k in the system not year 1. So I don't know what he is doing in math, and it seems he is at a disadvantage not having access to the homework.

I do sympathise with the school, and I think there are definitely some social and emotional issues that need to be addressed. I just hope we can find a balance with academic needs too.

Oh the wiat was for math and isolated word reading. The neale was the reading comprehension.

Seems I jumped the gun on the hat - if he merely picked the wrong hat out of a box which seems plausible then the consequence is way out of proportion.

Sorry.

Going backwards on reading sounds like disengagement and I would have a meeting with the staff at the school to see where things stand as others here have suggested.