mercy!!!!!!

Amy, Just to sympathize a bit. Math is the subject I tend to be most concerned with because if a child misses something it may never be made up and the child will get further and further behind. More than any subject, what’s being taught relies on the child having previously been taught certain fundamentals. A failing grade in math is not like a failing grade in history. It means you are really not getting it, and not just not studying enough. Look at Victoria’s posts over the years—her experiences tutoring kids who missed fundamentals along the way and how she has had to go way back in basic math concepts to catch them up.

So, if the teacher is going too fast for your child to internalize and really know what he’s been taught, your child is simply not learning. Never mind the grades—if this continues, the entire year of math will have been a waste. If this were my child, I’d try for a different math teacher by saying this one’s too advanced (phrased as a compliment to him) for my son. If you can’t get that, you need to find some to salvage math this year for your child. Could you or your husband go over his homework very night to see where he’s going off track and reteaching the stuff he’s missing? Or, if you’re not up to it, perhaps a tutor could help straighten things out for him.

I agree totally with Marie. Amyf, they are not, by any chance, using the “Mathland” curriculum there, are they? I ask because that was a total disaster for many kids in DODDS, so bad in Japan that they got rid of it just a couple of years after spending big bucks on all the materials because the parents were in uproar. Some even got outside tutoring paid for. Whenever my child asked her 8th grade teacher for help his answer was “go work it out with your group”. Luckily she qualified for SPED halfway through the year and got out of that class!

Thanks for your suggestions, just got back from the meeting. The iep part was the easy part. Other classes seem ok.

We pulled the math teacher out of his class to discuss this (the lang.arts teacher was already attending). He admits my son isn’t retaining the info, they are using a book called MATHthematics (the title is like that) and it is in a spiral, I have had a conversation with Victoria last year about the spiral and although I totally disagree with the concept there isn’t anything I can do about that. So…he is working hard, he is doing his homework and turning it in, he just isn’t getting it. In addition to attention and impulsivity, his biggest weakness according to WJ test is in fluid reasoning, ie. abstract thinking, higher order thinking which directly affect his math skills. He also does better with a lot of repetition and hands on type activities. Not things he is likely to get in this or any other upper grade class.

We have a tutor, when I spot checked his math grade it was when he came home with a 75 and a 70 so I thought things were ok. I just didn’t see the other grades. When I did send him over, she saw mostly inattentive errors but said he seemed to understand things.

Well, here’s our solutions so far. He will do all homework with the tutor, he will write down his hw grade everyday and anything below a 70 will get redone, he will retake all tests below a 70.

We keep getting info about redo’s piecemeal from the teacher. At first it was tests could be retaken, 4 weeks later it is hw can be redone and graded up to a 70, now we find out he gives retests after school with a week notice. He couldn’t give these policies out before? All together?

I have come to the conclusion that this may not be a real productive year for him as far as math. What I do realize is that if I had this class I would be failing too!! Ok, I know I have a hard time with this teacher, my husband summed up it like this, he’s big, he’s authoritative, he’s a bit loud and I have a hard time with confrontation. I told my husband, that’s why you were there. To be the part of the team that can be authoritative too.(team meaning he and I)

Then of course there is the difference between my husband I about grades. I see a 75 and go yes, he got a C, my husband sees 75 and thinks, that’s 25 points he missed, we should go over it and find out what he’s missing so he can make it a 100. I guess the ol’ glass half full, glass half empty mindset.

I will be talking to his tutor this afternoon and see how she wants to do this, I think whatever he actually learns will be from her this year.

We talked a moment about high school and the sp.ed teacher agreed that my son will need this help through high school. We are going to do his triennial in late FEB 03, I don’t want to get to high school next year and it be spring 04 before they are finished evaluating. Oh, this is so much fun.

4 1/2 more years, 4 1/2 more years……….

Oh yeah, there really is no choice when it comes to teachers so we are kind of stuck with him. Well, we got through his screamer 3rd grade teacher, we can get through this too. I guess it will help that kids actually like him and think he’s cool, including my son who doesn’t want to change classes. Honestly, I do feel a bit better about things since we have a plan.

What is the most important thing? That he meet the standards? Or that he learn math? You and your husband need to answer that question. This situation needs to be prioritized.

If the most important thing is that he learn the math, then he needs a teacher better equipped to meet his needs. Ask your husband if every army officer he has met is as well equipped to lead as every other. Your son needs a different leader of math.

If though the most important thing is that he meet the standards, then leave him with this math teacher.

Make sure your husband understands there are no real standards in schools. Make sure he knows that school is such a loose organization that each teacher is pretty much free to establish their own standards of competency or incompetency.

I’d rather have my child learning math than have him meet the standards of an incompetent teacher. But that’s me.

Good luck.

Amy I think your husbands reactions are just a “man” thing. When my oldest son got his report card he had 2 A-’s, 1 B-, and 1 C-, I thought wonderful he passed everything. My hubbies reaction-he must not being trying hard enough. I see nothing wrong with these grades my dear hubby thinks how will he get into college with grades like that? They seem to forget that the important thing is is the child retaining what they are learning and are they making progress.

Hopefully your CSE meeting went smoothly as it is being held today according to your post. There can be many factors in your son’s performance. How does the school psychologist view the concerns? Is his performance due to his disability? Fluctuating grades like that can provide many clues as to how to address the problem as well. What does your son say? Good luck.

I talked with my son’s math tutor and she wants to see him everyday and has asked that we get the next day’s lesson a day ahead so she can preview with him. She sees he still has some problem with multiplication which slows eveything else down (or makes them incorrect). She definitely is not impressed with this math teacher and has offered to go and see how he operates. I might take her up on that.

She also sees another kid in my son’s class who was formerly homeschooled, he works some nights til midnite with his mom, the tutor tells me it’s because he won’t do anything in class, his mom sits with him at homework time, the whole time going over each problem, every little piece. Anyway, he may be passing but just barely, apparently with heroic efforts on his mom’s part.

I know of another kid who is doing poorly in my son’s class but my son says that is because the kid is waiting til study hall in the morning to do his homework and is asking my son for answers (talk about shooting yourself in the foot!).

Anyway, I’d be interested in seeing what the class grades look like, it would seem my son isn’t the only one who needs things slowed down a bit.

Sara as far as standards vs. learning, I think we need to go for both. If he can learn from the tutor hopefully he will also meet the standard. At the very least, pass 8th grade math.

I got to thinking about this and you would think after all these years it would have come to me before now. Just because there isn’t a classroom that meets my son’s needs, they are obligated to do something because he is on an ‘Individualized’ Education Plan, just don’t know how to get him a class of his own. I know how schools love giving one on one. NOT.

Thanks for reading my vent and giving suggestions.

Amy