Grinity: A couple of things happened to get me thinking about advocacy. Partly, a relative guilted me into it (�And what have you done for DS at school? You can�t let him just vegetate there�). Then DS complained that he already knows everything they do in 1st grade, six weeks into the year. Then our parent/teacher conference was kind of weird � the teacher glossed over his achievements, and focused on how he can�t get his assignments finished in the allotted time (coloring and writing practice, mainly). And getting him to do his homework is a challenge, because it�s �boring.� He says he gets distracted in class, and he does at home, too � basically he wastes time searching around the room for anything more interesting than writing in his journal or spelling practice.
I�m not sure of his LOG... all the theory and terminology is new to me... but I did read Ruf�s estimates and he seems around level 4. I asked to have him tested through the school, but they only test if they suspect a learning disability (which I think is discriminatory and wrong, but that�s another story). They did recommend an educational psychologist, but she specializes in learning disabilities and psychological problems, not giftedness (and is expensive!) so I am reluctant to go there.
His behavior in school is not ideal, but it�s not terrible... mainly it�s that he doesn�t concentrate on anything he thinks is boring, and he tends to distract other kids by talking and joking with them instead of working. It�s disruptive, yes, but it�s not violent or anything and he is a lovely, happy, sensitive little boy most of the time.
He is underachieving, though, and that is my main concern.
Kcab: I did some thinking about whether it�s worth pushing *at this time* and I�ve decided to back off a bit to see how the situation develops. We are giving him plenty of stimulating activities at home, and he seems happy enough for now. But I will continue my research and perhaps talk to a few different schools, just in case things change and we need to reassess.
Plus, today DS told me that a 3rd grader came to his class to teach a few of them chess. So, yay! Maybe things are looking up. And I won�t have to be �that parent� for a while longer.
