Problems with teacher

Was your daughter the only one pulled out for the reading group? If not, talk to the other parents and find out if their children took the spelling test. Do you know what day/time spelling tests are given? If it was me, I would e-mail the reading teacher and say that I DO want my child to take the classroom spelling tests and could she delay/change the group to allow that? I am NOT a fan of pull-out remediation because the kids at this grade level miss too much that is never made up. I wouldn’t get into a struggle of what went on in the past, but starting this week, I’d send a letter to the school saying that you want your child in class for tests, period.

Could she be getting the test while in the pull-out?

not what you want to hear but if my daughter could miss her spelling tests I’d jump for joy. I focus on content and she is not graded for spelling except for spelling tests and projects that undergo several revision with editing help. Any improvement in her spelling I would attribute to her increased reading experiences-not the hours of rewriting spelling words. She spells semi-phonetically and will use several spellings for a word within a paragraph. The problems with spelling can easily overwhelm the love of writing and storytelling. We have chosen to concenttrate on language skills.
As for the teacher-my vote is skip it. You know she screwed up, she probably knows it and she knows you suspect. Don’t rub her nose in it. If you have to battle, battle over something much bigger. You need this woman. If you really insist -I would say that you have instituted a reward system at home and every spelling test that your daughter passes/recieves A she gets a reward, and could those tests be sent home in the future. That way the teacher knows you want to see them.

I repeat - you want this teacher in your corner. Tonight my daughter’s teacher is coming for dinner. I have battled and I have schmoozed and schmooze is better. I can’t tell you the difference in our lives -to have a teacher supportive of my daughter. Teaching is a tough job. Teaching exceptional children is even harder. Yup, she made a mistake but I’d rather a teacher who made an omission instead of one who passive-aggressively sighs everytime she has to individualize for your child or who says “So why can’t you do it this time?” “Everyone else copied it down” etc, etc.

Think of someway to let this woman know you appreciate all the good stuff that she does. If you need to make a change, do it in the most nonthreatening manner you can.

I completely agree with everything mmm says. Drop this battle. Spelling is the least of your worries. If she gives her 100s for tests she doesn’t even take, keep quiet and don’t say a word. (Personally, I think I’d be throwing a party if this happened to my son.)

As for not wanting to study for the test, I’d say something like “well, let’s study for just 10 minutes. It’s an area where you need some practice.”

I agree it’s best to choose your battles, and this may not be the one you want to throw all of your energy into.

We are dealing with pull-outs this year with our son who was diagnosed with receptive/expressive language disabilities, and a coordination disability which affects only his small motor skills (i.e., can’t read his handwriting, but he is a superb athlete). He has to leave class every day for either language therapy or occupational therapy. Our son fortunately has the advantage of having his twin brother in the class, though, so he can usually fill Kevin in on what he’s missed. These pull-outs are at the end of the day, when it appears that the boys’ teacher is assigning homework, so it’s a good thing that we have the twin to fill us all in on what needs to be done at home.

My schoolteacher husband is kind of skeptical about these pull-outs, but it is clear that Kevin needs the therapies, particularly the language time, so what else can we do?

About schmoozing vs. battling: it really depends upon the situation. We have encountered situations where clearly one approach was better than the other, but it does greatly vary. I strongly feel that it is necessary to choose your battles. I also strongly agree that you need this teacher on your child’s side, BUT ONLY IF SHE IS AN OTHERWISE COMPETENT TEACHER. If she stinks, be prepared to be a very consistent, effective advocate for your child, which I’m sure you already are. You can cut off your own nose to spite your face if you battle all of the time, just as you can quickly “sell out” if you schmooze all of the time.sharon wrote:
>
> Hi , I haven’t posted on here but I have read many times. We
> are having a problem with my daughters teacher. My daughter
> is in 5th grade and was dx with dyslexia in 3rd grade, she is
> in public school with an IEP and has been making progress
> although still isn’t on level. The problem is that the
> teacher gave her class 3 spelling test without her being in
> class (she was out for her remedial reading class) and didn’t
> give her the test once she returned to class. The teacher
> says she took all test and that she made 100s on all. Now my
> daughter isn’t perfect but has no reason to tell us she
> didn’t take these test if she did. The teacher flatly refuses
> to admit that she made a big mistake . Also she hasn’t
> offered to produce the test . This has caused my daughter to
> not want to study for her test . My daughter is now asking us
> not to say anything else to the teacher because she doesn’t
> want to make the teacher mad. I feel at my wits end trying to
> make sure this doesn’t happen again and trying not to flat
> out call the teacher a liar. Please someone give me some
> advice on what to do next.
> Thanks to all,
> Sharon