Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Say what??

This is GS9's version of the story:

Each 4th grader gets a reading log with 31 lines on it. When they got their first one at the beginning of September they were instructed to number each line from 1 to 30. They are supposed to record the book they're reading and how many pages they read for the day, every day. Well, the second week of school GS9 was reading a non-fiction book as well as reading 1-2 fiction books a day. I helped him renumber the log so he could record multiple books on one day. I told him not to fill in the days ahead of time.
This week he got a new log paper and he'd filled in each day again. I reminded him I said not to do that. He said the teacher said he should. He said the teacher told him to quit reading more than one book a day!

That's the only oddball thing that's come home about her. So I'm just having a private laugh and moving on.

Wha-huh!?!

I hope she really said "Quit recording all the books you read," not "quit reading more books." Otherwise I'm throwing up my hands in dismay!

oy!

Perhaps she said it with a twinkle in her eye? DS has had several teachers who liked to pull his leg because usually he got the joke, but sometimes when he didn't get the joke it led to confusion.

I didn't even think about that! So much gets lost in translation, I misunderstand things the girls say sometimes and it gets me in trouble.....

Ah, but I actually know the OGM saw this potential because she used the key phrase "GS9's version of the story."

I once heard of a teacher who said to the parents, "I'll make you a deal: I'll only believe half of what your DC says about you if you promise to only believe half of what DC says about me!" There is a deal that will keep a lot of people out of trouble!

Yes, but which half!?!

Yes, much can be lost in translation when you're not getting the information directly, especially when a child is relaying the message. Without having GS, teacher, and myself in the same room, I couldn't change GS's mind about what he thought the teacher wanted. But he came up with his own solution. I should have specified the log was an AR reading log. So he's decided he can read 1 AR book(or portion) a day, and any amount of non-AR books. It works, he managed the solution on his own(YEA!) and even if he misunderstood the teacher, the solution still works.

Haha, I am mildly curious about whether the teacher was joking or not. GS can be exasperating at times; he likes to get bogged down into details in an attempt to engage others in debates. I can see a teacher telling him that just so she could move on to something else.

It could be that she meant it also for GS9, as a way of helping him get a bit more organized. As of Monday, he had exceeded his AR point goal and the quarter is just at the half way mark. Many of the kids in his class are not on track to meet their goals by the end of the quarter, GS is the only one who has completed the goal.

I can really see the remark being made as a joke but from a teacher who might have been a bit exasperated. I mean, she's dealing with a bunch of kids who behind schedule for meeting goals, aren't filling in their log, trying to get them to choose books and read; and here's GS needing attention for more empty logs, something to occupy his time when he's finished a classroom assignment and others need one on one help to learn the assignment. One day this week she sent GS & another boy into the hall to quiz each other on spelling words. Both were finished with their assignments. I'm thinking one of the most challenging things to have in a class of 9 & 10 year olds is 2 bored boys with too much time on their hands!

I'm a bit frustrated that they don't group the kids a bit more at this level. Last year he and his best friend, also gifted, were in class together. The friendly competition and working as a team kept them engaged in learning at their level, and it freed up the teacher to work with kids who needed more help. This year, there is no one even close to GS's ability, and there are some traces of problems popping up due to that. I'll post on that in a few days after I hear back from the gifted teacher.

Please do! I'm reading with interest, OHG.