Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Another look behind the curtain - first grade

http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/showthread.php?t=295005

I just couldn't stop myself from digging around a little more on that pro teacher site. Found one with a first grade teacher desperately trying to find a way to challenge a gifted student without having him do anything but first grade maths, ie in his case single digit addition, going nuts because she just couldn't find any extension activities, such as strategies for single digit addition, that might challenge a gifted child, but completely refusing to "teach" anything she was going to have to "teach" him anyway a few months later, such as gasp! Two-digit addition...it would be hilarious reading if it were not also so sad.
Note that not one of the teachers responding actually bothers to try coming up with a solution for her specific problem, with the exception of one who suggested having him make up his own word problems for, you guessed it, single digit addition. They all waffle in differentiation speak about menus to choose from, center time, etc...every single one of them skirting around the issue...
Lady, after having put your no doubt considerable powers of mind to the problem of challenging a gifted first grader with single digit addition and having come so far that no, there isn't any way, why not trust this reasoned outcome and try to overcome your deep seated discomfort with having a kid be able to handle arterial above grade level, even material you may not have taught him yourself?
Again, I wonder, is there anything this parent could do?

This is what I have banged my head against for 5 years and as that parent I haven't found anything that I can do

Last year I met with our brand new VP. I thought the meeting was going well and she was all keen to differentiate things for DS. Then I asked for some examples (because they'd been giving me the differentiation line for a long time with nothing actually being done). Her examples for grade 3 were "while the class is doing 2 digit addition he can do 3 digits....". Really, because that is soooooo much harder and he didn't figure that out 3 seconds after he figured out 2 digit addition a few years ago.

She then talked about science which I had earlier said I was wiling to concede because it would be too much work for a teacher to manage. She then insisted that science was super easy to differentiate and said that while the other kids were learning that plants get their food from the sun he could learn that it is called photosynthesis (oh and she said it nice and slow so I would be able to understand her complex science word). Seriously. I'm proud that I got out of there without swearing. I'm at a complete loss.

(sorry for the rant - hit a nerve)

This is, officially, a feel-free-to-rant-whatever-makes-you-feel-better thread.

The fundamental problem is here:

"but i do not feel comfortable teaching that in 1st grader and i do not even know how i would find the time to teach him individually."

A 1st grade teacher has not been trained in how to teach the math beyond the 1st grade level within the context of their curriculum (sigh), and teachers really do not have the time to consistently provide differentiated instruction. She's looking for curriculum that requires no instruction.

I'm honestly sympathetic to the problem. Her job likely depends on each kid mastering 1st grade material with no incentive to move kids beyond. She sees the magnitude of the issue in her classroom, and does not want to pass on more of an issue to this child's 2nd grade teacher. Time, classroom management, and teacher annual progress are not issues to sneeze at.

The only teacher either of my kids have had that consistently provided high quality differentiated instruction and curriculum was (1) the math teacher leader in the district, and (2) held DS after school for 5 minutes each day to provide the instruction.

This teacher needs to head to administration for help, not other teachers.

I'm somewhat sympathetic, too, but on the other hand, there is probably ONE other kid (and perhaps more than one) who can do something other than add single digits in her class. Teachers do a lot of small groups and independent work these days. It's not all..."Okay, class, repeat after me: 2 plus 3 is 5." She could rotate between groups and work on different things, and provide different activities and sheets, etc. And they are told, repeatedly, to differentiate.

Since "differentiation" often does not happen (and in fairness to teachers, I don't see how I could teach N different lessons to 20 children at the same time), often the only way to get a more advanced curriculum is to skip a grade. Not that many school districts are open to that, either.

I wanted to add that as much as it inspires a rant I am on the other hand very sympathetic. I personally don't see how they can expect to meet either of my kids needs via differentiation for many reasons listed above but from discussions with the school/admin it appears that they think it can. It is always brought up as the solution for everything and they are so proud of their amazing differentiation.

This year I'm oddly ok with DS's science teacher that said "I honestly can't teach him anything in science, I think he knows more than I do". I know she's doing the best she can and she has a class of kids to teach. On the other hand, I find it frustrating that they think that adding a digit onto addition problems is actually meeting his needs. The most frustrating part is that they don't have any idea of just how far off this is from challenging him and yet they are so proud of their differentiation.

I just want to yell "I do not think that word means what you think it means" whenever they say the D word.

Well, Princess Bride quotes are always appropriate.

It often feels like I'm caught unawares in a Monty Python skit when I engages in conversations about "differentiation" with educators.

It's often surreal, and while they are brightly and cheerfully chattering on about the joys of "differentiation" I am left looking for John Cleese's big entrance.



Absolutely. The surreal part is that they all seem to fervently believe that it CAN happen. Which is where Princess Bride quotes become suitable to describe the situation, which is otherwise--



yeah, okay, it is just inconceivable.

I poked around that site a little and it was fairly discouraging to see some of the attitudes regarding gifted students and how unprepared some teachers are.

I don't think it's inconceivable. But it's hard, and time-consuming, and in most cases, children not in the "middle" won't be actively taught as well or as often. DS is being heavily differentiated for but not so much...taught, right now...not at his level, I mean (except in GT pull-out, maybe). Still, thinking of it as inconceivable suggests we should simply give up on educating children of different abilities in the same classroom, and I don't think we should. That said, some kids do need to be skipped or put in different environments.