Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Update on differentiation

A few weeks ago I wrote about math differentiation for my DS6, and how I was concerned that he was expected to move forward in math using only the book, no instruction. Well, here is the update:

This morning, I sent a message to DS6's school regarding a few things. I want to stress that this was a non-confrontational e-mail, where I mentioned the math differentiation (we're continuing to see errors and mistakes in the directions). I also noted that his handwriting has deteriorated since the school year started and he's not sharing things with me that he enjoys about school- I asked for insights.

The teacher came back, said he daydreams a lot but always seems to know where the class is in the work.

I pressed and said that perhaps he needs some help with managing some of the soft skills required for self-direction. In return, I got an e-mail back from the teacher (cc'ing the principle) that seems to imply that my son has some behavioral problems, maturity problems, and comprehension issues. She said she talked with DS today and he said that he was bored-- she views this as code for not understanding the material. She seemed especially concerned about his reading ability and comprehension- and asked him why he was not reading the books she has out in class (this is where the "boring" came up). She also said that he is "behind" the rest of the class when he was previously with the group in math (i.e. not keeping up with the directions and moving slowly).

To be clear, at his parent/teacher conference (last week!) she stated that he was highly intelligent and well-mannered (no mention of these issues ever). His recent standardized test score composite and math subtest score were in the 99th percentile. His reading comprehension and mechanics were 98th percentile (last year in the 99th, so a little drop). He reads books at home cover to cover meant for 5th graders and higher- he's six and in the first grade.

Uhmm…

Oh, wow. Sounds like its time for a meeting, possibly with that principal present. And I'd take notes on what you recall being said at the recent conference. Good for your son for speaking up for appropriate books and work. He deserves to be instructed and at his level.

Could the moving slowly be that the novelty has worn off and he's unmotivated to do too-easy work?

My opinion about the math is that they are over complicating addition and subtraction mastery. He has come home with worksheet questions that convolute simple analysis problems with extra unnecessary steps and allow zero flexibility. That is another rant- but I think it may be at the root of our math problem.

I think he's checked out, uninspired, and befuddled about why a simple problem like "how much money did Susie have left after buying 2 bags of jelly beans"? requires so much work.

At home we've mastered long multiplication, plowing through long division with remainders, and starting equivalent fractions.

It seems obvious that she has no training or experience with gifted children, because that's the only way that "I'm bored" can be interpreted as "I don't understand." Someone with a passing familiarity with gifted needs would recognize "I'm bored" as "this material is too easy," would test that thesis by offering out-of-level testing, and then move on to a solution.

As for reading comprehension... keep in mind that first-grade reading material is horribly simplistic and uninteresting, and "reading comprehension" basically means "reciting from memory."

Thanks Dude. His all-time favorite books (so far) are written by Roald Dahl (unless you count Calvin & Hobbes). I can imagine other books paling in comparison to "James and the Giant Peach!"

Compare James and the Giant Peach to:

"Mary was hungry for a snack. First she had an apple. Then she had a pear. Finally, she had some grapes."

And the comprehension question: "What did Mary eat first?"

To which the only rational response is, "Who cares?"

Right. Mom's comprehension question--

"What else do you think Mary might have liked to eat? Why?"

Oh boy. My son's reading ability at school - especially his ability to read and comprehend anything aloud - led us to believe that he might have had a reading disability. We were thinking stealth dyslexia. We had him thoroughly tested by someone who specializes in 2E. In fact, DS has no 2E issues. As it turns out, just about everything that he was asked to read at school was so easy and boring that he wouldn't even bother to make an effort. So his reading level at school was rated 3-4 levels below what we saw him reading at home. It's been about a month since we have had him tested. The tester said that if he was presented with appropriately challenging and interesting material, that he would rise to it and read it all without any problems. Since we have been homeschooling this academic area, all of his reading 2E issues have melted away. Two months ago, he couldn't decode words - because there was nothing interesting to decode. Today, when I was working with him, he decoded like a champ. My point is - not only is it inappropriate to undereducate gifted children. It can also be downright toxic and can lead to things like parents thinking that their children have disabilities when they don't. (Leading to many,many problems, not the least being diverting precious resources from children who actually DO have learning disabilities.)

I think that the school takes a defensive posture when a parent provides feedback. My intent in writing to the teacher was to request that she help my son with some strategies to interpret written directions (he's six and has no experience completing a school task without direct instruction), and consider that he gets anxious and easily frustrated when he doesn't understand something immediately. So helping him manage his feelings is key to getting the most out of him.

Instead, I got a response that he has maturity and comprehension issues (unsupported by previous teacher feedback, grades, and standardized testing)- and he got demoted down to the regular math. Now, for some reason he is required to read an extra book for class and report on it by Friday. *And* my son told me that when he told the teacher that the books were boring she responded by saying, "if he was bored to was because he was too lazy to make something good out of it." My son is many things, but when he is engaged and excited, lazy is not one of them.

Honestly, if he didn't have some issues with anxiety, I would move him at mid year-- unfortunately, given that he's high strung, it would probably backfire.

I don't know your child, but I can say that a toxic school situation beats almost any level of new-situation-anxiety-- and honestly, if what your child has reported is true? THAT IS TOXIC; this is a teacher taking what YOU told her, adult-to-adult, and twisting it into punishing HIM verbally in ways that would be unwarranted even if he were being unmotivated in class.

I don't see this situation going anywhere positive without a lot of administrative pressure and a firm talking to about keeping things professional when a parent contacts the teacher with possible concerns.

Depends on what you want to do-- but I'd be afraid that the jabs at him would just be on the sly and you would learn progressively less about them as time goes on.

I'm cynical about this kind of thing after so long, though.