Disappearing classwork

Well, even though my son is on an IEP for NLD, what works for him as far as papers is concerned is the same system that is used for every other 3rd through 5th grade child in our school system. (which is nice because he is not singled out in any way) I don’t know how it works in middle school because we haven’t gotten there yet!

The classroom teacher keeps a portfolio in the classroom of each child’s work. This is an integral part of the assessment system. All tests and quizzes go home to be signed by a parent, and then must be returned to school, where they are filed in the child’s portfolio. That way the teacher KNOWS that the parent has seen the work. All work for the week goes home in a folder on Friday. (along with any notices) The folder has to also be signed to show that the parents got the notices.

Parents have access to their child’s portfolio at any time during the year, can ask for copies of anything at any time, and the whole portfolio is returned to the parents at the end of the year. As well as being a way to guarantee that parents know what’s going on, it’s also fun to look though the portfolio all at once at the end of the year and see the progress your child has made.

With my son, who because of his NLD has other issues that we need to stay in touch on besides papers, we also have a communication log that travels back and forth in his homework folder along with his agenda. The first thing that happens when he gets home is that I check his agenda for assignments and check the log to see if his SPED teacher has anything to say. (it might be something that he specifically had trouble with, a certain way she wants me to approach a homework assignment, whatever) In the morning, it goes the other way. The first thing she does when he gets to the classroom is to check the log to see if we had any specific problems with homework that need to be addressed, if he has seemed particularly stressed, etc.

This system seems to be working pretty well for us, and clearly there are lots of NT children who need this kind of support too, or the school system wouldn’t have put it in place for everyone.

Karen

Thanks Karen. Sounds like the system my son’s teacher used last year that was very successful- all papers sent home weekly in a folder that had to be signed and returned. I haven’t seen a math paper yet this year.

His agenda book is supposed to be used for home/school communication, but apparently I’m the only who ever looks at it since it is blank most days. I use email to contact the teacher since I’m not sure if I wrote in the agenda it would ever be seen.

Is your son on an IEP? If so, you should be able to get these accomodations written into the IEP and insist that they be followed. These are not hard things to do, and cost the district alomost no money. And the can make a HUGE difference in terms of reduced stress levels for all involved!

Karen

I never see homework either, and my parent teacher conference last week, his science teacher said he was responsible for keeping all his assingments in a note book and then turning them in at the end of nine weeks. I told her he was very disorganized and I didn’t think he would be able to do this. Her comment was, he’ll just have to. I bought a folder and told him after she hands back an assingment put it in the folder. My 11th grade daughter was listening to these instructions, and she said Mom it’s not that easy, they hand them back as you’re getting ready to change classes, you stick them somewhere to put away later and then if you remember where you put them, you’re ok. She by the way is very organized and an honor student.
So do you think it would be fair if I ask that if he gets half the assingments in the notebook, that would be enough?
By the way the next night as I was taking clothes out of the dryer, I found one assignment crumpled up in pieces, his safe place that day was his pants pocket and I didn’t check before I washed them. LOL
What do you think I am asking for to much or is she?

The teacher is asking too much. What happened to textbooks? Why do we have to deal with mounds of handouts, paperwork and long term assignments with sketchy instructions on a #?@^*# HANDOUT.

I was a teacher of 5 months. In that time I learned something valuable about education when I was there, and now. (by the way I went to a country school in the 1960s with 12 kids, 1 teacher and an outhouse for part of that time and I am doing quite well thank you! The reality is it was very close to being homeschooled)

Education has been twisted and turned and tweaked to fit test scores…good test scores equal tax dollars…tax dollars equal more stuff to entice more homeowners…etc. When I taught I had 140 kids. 35 % had special ed status. All the tweaking has created sub-groups in school, it hasn’t improved education and in fact ultimately costs them more in the end. Had they not pushed so hard for the high end to create education for the few, they would not have such heavy costs for the majority. And my daughter wouldn’t hate school!

Again, is your son on an IEP? If so, you should be able to get it spelled out in his IEP exactly what he is responsible for. Is his science teacher responsible for teaching study skills or science? If it is science, the IEP has to address how his progress will be assessed. Assessment of what he’s learned in science shouldn’t be based on paper shuffling ability.

If your son is weak in organizational skills, (and how many LD kids aren’t?) his IEP should address how this need will be met. Just penalizing him for losing things isn’t going to teach him those organizational skills. These must be taught and repeted over and over with help and supervision on both ends (home AND school) before many of these kids will start to internalize the strategies they need so badly.

Karen

My daughter is Dyslexic. We have a major problem with organization. Her desk this year looks like a ream of paper exploded in it. Her teacher tells her to put her work away in the right folder and it goes in the desk loose. We are trying a new approach. I know that it is hard not singling them out, but they are different from the other kids and sometimes it takes a new approach. Our school has one folder that supposedly comes home with all their stuff in it. Forget about that…the backpack comes home with all the stuff and the folder is empty. we initially tried just stapling the work to the folder. That wasn’t enough. SO, I took a 3 ring binder and put different colored folders for each subject, and a spiral notebook in there. This way her work is all in one place, sorted by subject, it is teching her organizational skills, and her teacher and I write back and forth as needed in the spiral. and I sign it every night to make sure that he knows I saw it. I also write in there whether or not all of the work that should come home everynight, like her reading book, actually made it there. He writes back to me and we always have the open line of communication. AND by the way I had all of this put in her IEP so that the school HAS to follow the rules, I was very specific about the details of her modifications. And we did write specific ones to each individual teacher. So that there is none of this, she doesn’t have an IEP for my class stuff. Hope this helps.

Yes, that’s what I mean by writing it into the IEP if the school doesn’t do it automatically. Our school system uses this exact system for ALL the kids, so my son isn’t singled out in any way.(at least not for that) And because the SPED teacher is in the classroom anyway, and MOST 5th graders are not yet very good at organization, she goes around the whole classroom in the afternoon before they go to the bus and makes sure that EVERY kid has their papers put away in the appropriate folder inside their trapper. The kids don’t have desks that they can store stuff in, specifically so that they can get used to the idea of staying organized and changing between rooms for middle school.

Not every kid has a communication log, but that’s inside his trapper, and not something that the other kids would notice, as it’s just the same kind of small composition notebook that all the kids use (for each subject) and keep in their trappers. And like you, both the teacher and I initial his agenda each day so that we both know the other has seen it. She checks to see that he has assignments written in properly and completely (or does it herself) and I check to see that he is actually doing the work he is assigned for homework.

To keep weight down, and make sure he doesn’t get caught not able to complete something because he doesn’t have the text book in the right place, we also have a separate set of text books at home. I find this invaluable as a resource, since particularly in math, they don’t always do things the way we were taught when we were kids. You hate to confuse the child more by presenting a different way of doing something, so with the text book available, I can make sure that what he’s learning is consistent in approach between home and school. The separate text books is NOT something they do for all kids, so that piece is written into his IEP.

Karen

I like the separate text books idea. My little girl is in 2nd grade this year, and she is always leaving her reading book somewhere. That would be very helpful to have one at home. But then I fall into that problem of having her be responsible for her own things. However, I do know that it is much harder to do this with an LD child. I expect her to be responsible for the things she knows she needs everyday, her back pack, her folder, her reading book. But I still have to remind her every morning, do you have your stuff, put your shoes on, brush your teeth, it is the only way to ensure it all gets done. And apparently the same thing goes on at school according to her teacher. He has told me several times that he has to say her name to snap her back on task. So I might look into getting a book for home. Thanks!

I hate to tell you this, but my 5th grade son still needs regular reminders both at home and at school to stay on task and help him organize. But then so does my NT 3rd grader. Keep on it with your daughter, but you’ve got a long road ahead.

Karen