Since I am new here, I have to say how impressed and inspired I am by the way many of you advocate for your children within educational institutions that can be so rigid and disinterested in children's potential. So I am asking for advice and I guess some encouragement in speaking up for my DS8 who just started 2nd grade.
As I read the articles about the negative consequences of school being too easy, I am starting to feel like I should take a stronger stance regarding my son's math education. IMO, he has not been challenged AT ALL in math since starting school. He either already knows it, or picks it up within 2-3 attempts. His homework takes about a minute or less to complete and most of the time I don't even make him do the "practice" activities because it just isn't a good use of his time outside of school. For example, his home work last night was to answer 10 single digit "doubles" addition facts and then have someone quiz him for 10 minutes on those facts. Why would I spend 10 minutes on this? He answered the written questions and I quizzed him briefly, but included double and triple digit "doubles" which were also no challenge to him.
While part of me appreciates how little homework has to factor into our evenings, I am a bit concerned that the lack of challenge will result in problems later when things get more complicated. He is already a perfectionist and gets very frustrated with things that don't come easily to him (he has fine motor skill issues so writing can be a challenge).
So, do I continue to leave things alone and wait for the advanced math program which starts in 3rd grade? Or do I say something now? And if I say something, how do I go about it in a way that won't annoy the teacher but will get results? I have briefly mentioned at curriculum night that he could do more, but she didn't seem concerned and says she differentiates within the classroom.
Thanks for any advice!
