My son’s K teacher has told me that he will be on his own when he goes to first grade and that the teacher will not go out of his/her way to make sure all of the children heard the assignment, etc. Is this true?
Just wondering how independent they are expected to be…my son forgets things and is a dreamer…i’m afraid he’s going to fail. Or is this teacher just really tough??
independence in school
As a general rule, school today does seem to expect children to be independent although that can vary from school to school and teacher to teacher. As a teacher, I find it somewhat remarkable what is expected of even very young children in school these days. What can happen, though, is that children are given tasks they simply cannot do and parents step in and help or even do the assign work for the child.
I know I did that for my own son - and I’m a teacher! The tasks he came home with seemed beyond the developmental realities of most children his age.
You might be interested in a book called “Whatever Happened To Recess and Why Is My Child Struggling in Kindergarten” by S. Ohanian. It speaks to the changed expectations of modern expectation.
Re: What can I expect for 1st grade?
My childs first grade teacher said that about the second grade teachers. I know in our state that is not true. They have to use modifications in the classroom for children who are apparently having difficulty. Keep in touch with the teacher find out as much as possible about what your child is working on. Together you and the teacher, I am sure can work out some possible solutions. If the modifications don’t work, than I would consider having the child tested for learning disabilities. I am going through that right now with my son. He is in Occupational Therapy as well for LD, and seems to be making great progress.
every school is different, but in my experience 1st graders get a lot of “hand-holding” especially at the beginning of the year. a good teacher will gradually train them to work more independently, and as with all skills some kids are more ready to do this than others. It is awfully early in the school year to begin worrying about the expectations of the next grade. In our district we must contact parents by mid-year if we think there is a chance of retention due to a lack of academic progress. If your son knows his letters and numbers and can write his name, he would be among the “above average” in our public kindergarten after the first month of school. What is the teacher doing to accomodate his distractability/activity level—does the teacher vary the activities so that kids aren’t having to sit for long periods? Does she use his name or make sure that he is paying attention before giving directions? does she ask him to participate, perhaps repeating back directions or holding up the sample for the rest of the class as she gives the directions? Can he have something to hold in his hands (like a “koosh” ball) to help him sit still? Could he do his work standing up or be allowed to move among 2 different seats? There are so many possible accomodations for a kid with adhd-like behaviors! you might consider a functional behavior assessment/behavior improvement plan. This looks at the behavior, under what circumstances it occurs, the possible causes of the beh. and most importantly, the interventions to change it— rewards, accomodations, teaching of skills, etc.