The math teacher told me to stop doing math with him at home after he told her that "0 - 5 = -5" is in the (0,5) math fact family. But I'm told that with only 30 minutes for each subject and no breaks between them, there's not much the teacher can do. Pud told me that history basically means the teacher reading the textbook to them. Gaack!
The principal told me that the teachers report that he dominates the class and "blurts out answers before the others have a chance to think". The homework is painful for me to watch - it's not that much but it takes him forever to do. He says it's because it is boring.
What do I ask them to do? They seem reluctant to do anything. Another girl in his class is bored and not challenged and will be leaving soon. He and she have become friends and we carpool. She'll go back to public school. Putting Pud back in public school presents all kinds of problems, including, but not limited to, the skip to third.
Argh! I'm so sorry.
Any "teacher" who tells you to hold your child back is displaying an incredible level of ignorance and callousness, not to mention that she seems to want to stunt his academic growth to make her life easier. Sorry, but with 4 kids in the class, they should all be getting individual attention (NOT differentiation).
You may want to write a letter to whoever's in charge (the director?) asking if holding children back from their potential is official policy, and if so, why? If your DS is "blurting out the answers" perhaps it's because he isn't challenged and is trying to keep occupied by seeing how quickly he can come up with the answer. You could always ask the director for ideas on fixing the problem.
If the school is so small, why do they seem to be going out of their way to drive students out?
Last year when my DS got a big homework sheet full of 5+7 type problems, I just did it for him. We agreed that he would do maths with me and I would take care of his maths homework. I decided that doing busy work was pointless and I didn't want him to waste his time. He was getting zero benefit from it anyway (unlike, say, when he has to clean his room or do the dishes).
Val
