Been working on this email for a couple of days - it's going to his teacher AND principal. Before I sent it, I wanted to get some feedback from people who may be a bit more experienced than me in dealing with these issues. I still feel that it doesn't make my point entirely, but I'm not sure how to do it without alienating the very people in a position to help my son! Thanks in advance!
Ms Ferry,
I'm sorry to keep going on and on about this, but I am seriously concerned about Andrew's total lack of a challenge at school. As I have said before, I know you have a lot of students in your class, and can not possibly cater to all of them. However, I have spoken to you several times this year about how to challenge him in school, and it seems to me that very little is actually being done. Andrew tells me he rarely does the more advanced math that he was promised. We talked about giving him homework that was different - and that lasted about a week before he was right back to doing the exact same sheets he did last year. Monday I pulled out his old workbook from last year - he not only did all of this week's worksheets last year, but he had the exact same answers. So he is not even improving from the last time he did this! I hate to ever say that a child is wasting his time in school - but in this case, I sincerely believe that he is. Please keep in mind that I am not holding you entirely responsible for this. I know that part of it is due to scheduling issues, which is why he was not able to do third grade math this year, and part of it is simply that the North Carolina curriculum is built on the assumption that second graders simply can not do any more than they are already doing. I find that assumption utterly ridiculous, and there is no doubt in my mind there are other students in the same situation as Andrew - bored to tears and unable to do anything about it.
Research has shown over and over again that it is extremely important for a child to be stimulated in early grades, so that they learn the skills needed to do well when things get more difficult later on. As someone who was never challenged until well into high school, I can personally tell you how difficult it is to learn how to work hard at something when you are 15 years old and have never had to do that before. I am not asking you to turn my child into a genius - just that he has to occasionally do something that may be only slightly outside his comfort zone.
My first instinct was to let this go, and start fresh at the beginning of next year. But this has been an ongoing problem for the nearly two years Andrew has been at BCE. While I do, for the most part, think Blue Creek is a good school, I also think they sometimes get so carried away with ensuring that everyone is keeping up (don't get me wrong, this SHOULD absolutely be a priority) that they lose track of the fact that some kids are not getting the education that they need and deserve. In the past year and a half, Andrew has gone from a child who loved school, to one who has little interest in going to school and would rather stay home and have me teach him new concepts. He has all but stopped putting effort into his assignments, because quite honestly, he has been working on the same material for two solid years. I am not, by any means, excusing his lack of focus. But can we blame him? He genuinely believes that everyone thinks he is stupid because they don't think he can do anything he has not already learned. (Those are his words, not mine).
My point is that something needs to be done. I realize this is a large problem in almost every school, and my child is far from the only one having this problem. But I also realize that I have no access to those other children. My son (and my daughter, when the time comes) are the only ones for whom I have the power to advocate, and I intend to do so. If we need another conference, just let me know and I will be there. If there is another program for him (I should add that he LOVES his AIG class, but that doesn't account for the other 34 hours of the week that he spends at school) let me know and I will consider it. For that matter, if there is something that I personally can do to help, I will be glad to do so. But SOMETHING needs to be done.
I would appreciate if someone would either email me, or call me XXX-XXXX and let me know if there are any options available for Andrew. Thanks in advance!
Sincerely,
Michelle
oops...posted too soon. I am so sorry you have had such difficulty getting your son's needs met. The advice I would give about the e-mail would be to make it more concise, and break it into paragraphs. Other than that I think there are others here who can give much better input. I think as it stands, while I totally agree with you that you have valid points, perhaps you could adjust your tone in the hopes of getting a more productive response from the teacher. I would also say try to stick closely to facts, if possible. But I also think the things I bolded are what struck me, and hopefully would get the teacher's and principal's attn. I also think you must get the book From Emotions to Advocacy. It is well worth the investment. Good luck, your son is fortunate to have you in his corner!
