I have once again been forced with a big decision to make.
In my sons IEP meeting, the Special Education Director said that we should consider pulling our son out of math and put him with a special ed. tutor. He already has 40 minutes of tutoring per day and modified tests in Science and Soc. Stud. He is looking at a D in most of his subjects with the current modifications.
I guess this is a remediation vs. accomodation question. I know that if we pull him out now, he will never be able to return to the mainstream.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Sue
Re: Pulling my son out of mainstream math
Have you considered teaching him at home in math? There are several excellent programs available. You don’t mention his age or grade, or exactly what his math difficulties are (math facts or concepts or both).
If he has severe cognitive problems and you need to leave him in school, the special ed tutor might be best.
If he doesn’t have severe cognitive problems, just LD problems, homeschooling in all subjects is often the best choice. If this isn’t possible, then I would be tempted to leave him mainstreamed in math at school and work with him at home. You could get a lot done this summer.
Good homeschooling math programs to check out are Singapore Math (http://www.singaporemath.com) and Math-U-See (http://www.mathusee.com). If learning math facts is a problem, then Math Facts the Fun Way is very good (http://www.citycreek.com). For computation speed, check out Quarter Mile Math software (http://www.thequartermile.com).
It sounds to me as if his problems aren’t just math. If reading is holding him back in science and social studies, there’s a lot you can do in that area as well. If, on the other hand, the problems are related to comprehension, reasoning and cognitive issues, it gets much more complex.
Mary
Re: Pulling my son out of mainstream math
You don’t say how old your son is, what his issues are or how long he has been getting Ds. If this might be a temporary issue, you might consider leaving him in math and continuing to give him support in the regular class. If though this has been going on for a while or likely to go on for a while, you might consider pulling him out.
How does your son feel about his school performance? Have we asked him his thoughts on the matter? Most children are bothered by low grades in school and find it difficult to slough them off but every child is different.
Another approach is always to go and look at the pull out math class and meet the tutor/teacher. Sometimes when you visit the other programs, it’s easier to make decisions about them.
Good luck.
Re: Pulling my son out of mainstream math
Thank you everyone for your advice.
He is in the fifth grade and yes he does have problems in all subjects. He can read verbally, but actually using what he has read or finding answers in what he has read, is very difficult for him.( that is one of his goals). He has difficulty with organization which is his major goal (“teacher checks agenda at the end of the day” is the only thing that the school is providing for him in that area, although there are five goals related to that subject) I am still fighting for extra set of texts…can’t seem to get that in the IEP.Word problems are a goal (No services directly relating to that other than tutoring). He can spell in isolation, but when he has to actually use words in written expression, he uses what is in his basic vocabulary and misspells simple words. (According to the school his spelling is fine). Written expression is a goal (goal is to have a beginning , middle and end but no services directly relating to that other than tutoring)
His services are: tutoring in a small setting daily for 40 min., study guide provided, copy of the notebook requirements provided, teacher checks agenda at the end of the day, grades given at parents request(It took us all this year just to get that) and modified tests. I have added that we are to be provided with written documentation of his progress in tutoring for next year.
He has gotten D’s and F’s most of his life, failed two grade(K and 3) after hearing, sight, ADD and LD were discovered) he was able to achieve straight B’s with a 4th grade teacher who had experience working with ld kids and he had no accomodations or services.
His 5th grade year with all the accomodations and services he has slowly returned to D’s and F’s.
Home schooling is not an option, nor is private. I work full time and I am seriously thinking about working part time to help my child. It would mean that we probably will not have money for anything other than the bills. We have two other children as well.Then I don’t even know if help from me would be effective. I understand the work it is just that I wonder if he would take someone else a little more seriously.
I definately need to find out if pulling him out would mean no diploma. “It is amazing the things that can happen if you are never informed ” (Been there before!)Thank you for the heads up.
If you made it this far….thanks for listening!
Sue
Will he actually *learn* more in the LD class? (It’s not a given — sometimes the teachers don’t know from math at all so they hand out worksheets and correct them, and call that teaching; or there could be such a diverse mix of students that it’s next to impossible to meet any one kid’s individual needs)
If he’ll learn in neither one (odds are he’s not learning in his current setting, though sometimes the kiddo getting the low grade is actually figuring the stuff out and its just not showing up on the tests) then put that choice fact out there and deal with it — find another way to learn the math, or figure out where he’ll be happier.
If he’ll actually learn more in the LD class, then in the long run putting in the seat time in the regular class isn’t as good as actually learning how to do the math which, believe it or not, really *is* pretty darn useful for living in the real world. On the other hand, do make sure that you won’t pay a surprise price — like no high school diploma.
Grades are not the judge of your worth as a person (but it sure feels like it…)