to think children SHOULD make mistakes at school?

[Oakmaiden]

If I go into school at parent's evening, and look at my dd's maths books, only to find that they are full of ticks and praise, and really very few errors at all, it makes me wonder if the work she is being given is difficult enough. Surely you have to make SOME mistakes in order to learn?

Thing is, teacher says she is very average at maths, and she honestly doesn't show signs of being a mathematical whizz, so how come she is getting everything right? I am worried that her school really don't push the children to really achieve well (any children - not just her).

I am I being precious and pushy or should I go into the school and ask the question to her teacher (in a friendly, and non-confrontational "I am really interested in finding out..." sort of way, obviously....)

Is it just that the mistakes haven't been marked with crosses? I know a lot of schools don't like to put crosses in books these days. Or perhaps the mistakes have been pointed out to your child and she has been allowed to rub them out and put the correct answer, which is then ticked.

They have a different number of ticks here, 3 being the maximum for a piece of work. Does the school operate a similar system?

I'm sure if your DD is finding the work OK, all the class will mostly even out at some point.

Unless she's one of those rare breeds of children who actually listen to what the teacher's saying and then goes off to do it

Could you do some maths with her at home?

Perhaps she's not just average at it?

I asked about the same thing with my DD and was told that they wouldn't give kids harder work unless they were finishing very quickly. (My DD wasn't because, rather than finish her boring sums quickly and get more boring sums, she chose to do half the boring sums and then stare out the window daydreaming... )

What happens when she does homework?

I'm trying to remember about the marking - I think there were "crosses" in there too, but can't be sure. Maybe I will ask dd about what her teacher does if she gets things wrong in maths....

She doesn't get maths homework, so I can't judge from that. She does ASK for extra maths work at home (she's really weird) and when I have given her age appropriate stuff she seems to do it with no trouble, no mistakes and quickly. shrugs

I guess I have probably haven't explained the whole situation very clearly in my op. My dd and two other children do, apparently, get more difficult maths than the rest of the class (dd told me this, and one of the other children's mother's has mentioned it too), and the three of them do apparently race to be ahead of the others in their work - so I guess work fairly quickly. But the teacher has said that she believes dd to be average at maths. Which is fine.

But it brings up 2 questions for me - firstly if dd is average, and gets the most difficult work, does that mean that the rest of the class are, um, a bit dim? Because that surely can't be the case? And that makes me think that the teacher has very low expectations of all the children in the class - for dd to be average ability, AND have the most difficult work, AND to find it relatively easy....

And that worries me a bit, because I would have thought the expectations of the child's teacher must have an enormous effect on how well a child (or class of children) achieve?

Which is why I wonder if I should say something to the school.... Or maybe it is normal for children to only be given work that they can achieve well in, and I should just mind my own business and let the teacher get on with her job.... :s

How old is your DD?

7 - nearly at the end of Y2....

"She does ASK for extra maths work at home (she's really weird)"

:o that's a good sign though!

I'd try giving her harder work at home then and see what happens. I'd be worried and/or pissed off at this inconsistency from the teacher... Something not quite right there IMO.

It is difficult, because I have been wondering about moving her to a (closer and more convenient - and actually academically better) school, but have been reluctant to do so because we only moved to this area about a year ago, so dd has already had to change schools, and because she doesn't want to leave her new friends (AGAIN). But if there is a real problem with this school having low expectations of the children, then it is another factor I have to put into account. Which is why I was wondering if actually this is normal, and schools try not to let children get things wrong nowadays, or if it is slightly odd....

It is odd IMO, you should perhaps arrange a chat with the teacher.

Try giving her some maths that's harder than what she gets in school and see how much higher she gets... Then you can point out the difference.

She can be average, nationally speaking, at maths but still very quick and able to learn and apply concepts.

Getting the right answers is good - it shows she's consistently applying the correct method (therefore listening to the teacher!) and building up speed is providing a solid foundation. I think schools do like to see a longer period of consistent solid achievement before moving on.

Or perhaps on a whole class level some children are still struggling with the basic concept in single digits and your DD has moved onto double/triple digit numbers?

So they're still on 2 x 4 = 8 and your DD is doing the hard 22 x 4 = 88 IYSWIM. Harder work but not necessarily more mathematically challenging and it means the whole class are still working on multiplication.

She can be average, nationally speaking, at maths but still very quick and able to learn and apply concepts.

Getting the right answers is good - it shows she's consistently applying the correct method (therefore listening to the teacher!) and building up speed is providing a solid foundation. I think schools do like to see a longer period of consistent solid achievement before moving on.

Or perhaps on a whole class level some children are still struggling with the basic concept in single digits and your DD has moved onto double/triple digit numbers?

So they're still on 2 x 4 = 8 and your DD is doing the hard 22 x 4 = 88 IYSWIM. Harder work but not necessarily more mathematically challenging and it means the whole class are still working on multiplication.