Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Parent/Teacher Conference

We have our first P/T conference today. Son was early entry into first grade. He brought home his report card and we are already frustrated. They just don't know what his true abilities are, as he has not yet been challenged in any subject. Behaviors marked as needing improvement were: works well with others, follows school and classroom rules, and demonstrates self-control. No surprise there. Son said last night that he sometimes likes to work by himself more than in a group because the other kids are slow! He also said that his teacher told him to be respectful of the two others in his reading group ("highest level group" per teacher) by staying on the same page. Apparently he reads ahead as "they don't know all the words like I do." He has not yet brought home a single math homework page that has any concept or skill that he didn't master ages ago. He is now resisting doing homework there - last night said he didn't want to do it because "I already know my ones" (referring to addition facts). He's quite right. He knows facts through the 10s.

We plan on listening to what they have to say, then forming a plan to talk with them another time. I'm going to ask about volunteering a day or two so I can observe. And I'm considering applying for EPGY math, so he can get moving and be challenged in that area. Not sure yet if they will let him do it at school - but I'll gladly pay the cost if they will! They use Saxon math, which just moves too slowly and is too structured to differentiate.

Any suggestions or advice?

Hi Debbie -
You are correct. You are in trouble. If it gets worse, then you will wish you had done something sooner. I would request appropriate placement in the school, in writing , in the school meeting. Are private schools, (preferably with multi-age classrooms) a possibility? How about homeschooling? Remember that there is no such thing as negotiating if the public school is your only option - then you are begging. We can give you tips on begging successfully - but that's still what it is.

good luck,
take notes,
confirm them via email,
remember - if you are taking advice from me, that I gave up, and am in private school. And yes, I do feel that I let them do far too much damage to my son in the name of "believing in public school education."

Trinity

Debbie,

My dd is in a private school that uses Saxon math. However, they perform assessments on the children at the beginning of school, and break them up into groups according to what level they test at. Nonetheless, dd began to complain that math was "boring" because of all the repetition, and I was able to convince the teacher to give her another assessment. She did well enough for them to consider moving her up a level on a "trial" basis, which she is enjoying.

I guess my point is that Saxon math can be used for differentiation if they pre-assess them first.

The reading issue is different, and I have had to ask dd to be patient, that other children do not read as fast. However, she has not told me that the teacher requires her to stay on the same page.

Celia

It's so weird to see the similarities across programs and across the country! My son's public school has a wonderful "cutsie" Math program, called "Trailblazers." It was filled with terrific stuff: praising that there is more than one way to solve a problem, encouraging children to verbalize their methods, critical thinking, not letting memorization of math facts be a gatekeeper to more advanced critical thinking... I could go on and on. Problem was that the teachers mainted that it couldn't be pretested, and that the whole class couldn't stick together. So, while DS10 got some valuable skills in verbalizing this thoughts, which he really needed, he never got to experience Math on a level that was appropriate. I did ask around and go some ideas for how the children could be pre-assesed, but the teacher and school system weren't willing. They felt that since DS10 ability to verbalize his math thinking was only at grade level he would miss important learning opportunities by going to a level where the math was challenging and interesting. My view was that as long as he stayed with Math Content that he was so far ahead of, he wouldn't be able to get the benifits of the program. This program is for learning math and using verbal skill to help one learn - if the math is already mastered, there isn't much grist for the mill.


I'm not kidding that I really like the Math Program, I even reccomended it to a Homeschooling Mom for her 5 year old PG daughter. I am just so frustrated with the people who were implimenting it.

Do you remember the classic Star Trek episode where Spock is rolling the tapes and there is a small buzzing noise, that turns out to be a whole world of aliens who are moving very quickly and can only be detected when Spock slows down the tape? That's how I feel sometimes. Talk about not being on the same page!

Love and More Love,
Trinity

Well, the conference went better than I had hoped for. The first grade teacher, while not an expert on gifted education or really fully understanding my son yet, IS trying and IS supportive. Yea!! She is not defensive and she sees his intensities and appreciates his enthusiasm for learning! Good things so far!

As for reading, she said that the other two kids in his reading group are the only ones that come close to his abilities, but she acknowledged that he reads faster and better than they do. But she also said she is moving this group faster through the supplemental reading. She agrees that she hasn't hit son's level of ability yet, but feels she is moving him quickly enough while emphasizing oral fluency, which is definitely improving!

They also started journaling, which I didn't know about. And she is working on his perfectionism block, that was at first stopping him from writing much since he wanted all the words spelled correctly the first time. But now he is generating stories freely and NOT worried about spelling mistakes. Another good thing!

She agreed whole-heartedly with my point that son and Saxon math may not be a good match. Good news is that she is going to talk to the math teacher and then we will all talk about what to do. I found a homeschool version of a Saxon math placement test, so I'm going to run son through that and use it as a starting point for discussion. I'm not sure whether to possibly request second grade math for him (still the Saxon program, which is by definition very repetitive and slow moving on concepts) or look into EPGY for math at school. But at least the teacher agrees and wants to do something about the problem.

Good start, but the advocate in me isn't resting yet. Ah, a parent's work is never done!

Hello! Galaxy Girl, I'm wondering if Accelerated Reader/Math are computer programs, workbooks, systems, or what? I'm planning a conference with my 6 year old son's teacher this week - he is bored out of his skull. (I haven't figured out abbreviations yet...I see sons are referred to as "DS" - but what does the "D" stand for?)

His teacher sent home all of the spelling words for the rest of the year today - and he can already spell nearly all 80 of them perfectly. At Ania's advice, I checked out the Beestar.org site with him today - and he absolutely loved it, and I had to fight to get him to stop doing it to go to bed! I was thrilled to see him so excited. He constantly tells us that he hates school, so I'm hopeful we can make some changes for him. The math they are doing he mastered years ago - single digit addition and subtraction. So I'm looking for sites/resources to suggest in our conference.

So glad to hear about your daughter's situation! Is she still doing well?
Susan