Hi everyone,
I will try to formulate the best I can, but there is so much going around my head in trying to make sense of this educational system and the future - please, forgive me for the length and lots of questions.
Pre-history: moved to Britain 3,5 years ago, DS was 3,5 then, now 7. I am an academic, hence value academic achievement. Educated in my home country (outside the EU) and in the EU in educational systems, I think, closely resembling the French one. I now teach at quite a low-ranking Uni, and sometimes my students can't write a sentence correctly.
So, overall, I have developed a huge educational anxiety about my son's education. On the one hand, I have my students who are barely literate at 18; on the other hand, the primary school my son goes to satisfies me less and less (with a view at the 18 years old). It is a South London school, a very desirable and a good one. Everyone I know praises it highly.
DS is in Y2. I find it hard to accept that there are not any textbooks and notebooks and it is hardly possible to find out what it is they are actually taught and whether he succeeds in learning it (unless you go to school and look at what he's done every week). Y1 and Y2 partly have been very rocky with lots of supply teachers and changing teachers through the year. I trusted school to do the Engish learning and focused on his native tongue at home. In autumn Y2 I discovered he is behind in spelling and can't subtract 7 from 9 in his head. I even took him to be tested for dyslexia as he appears bright but was exhibiting such bad results. The dyslexia center found very high intelligence, no dyslexia and quite low working memory, especially visual memory.
I started doing English spelling with him following a book they recommended that rely less on visual memory and he skyrocketed in writing. I also did work with him on math a lot and he is now a star pupil in all subjects (progress from mid class in November to top tables in everything by February with my intervention).
However, I know feel I cannot trust the school and have to monitor his curriculum and teach him myself. (when I tried to raise the question of him not learning in Y1, the teacher basically told me he is average and not capable of more). He is basically getting home educated while spending most part of the day in school. This is ridiculous.
I guess, my questions are: is his school not very good despite everyone thinks it is? Or maybe I blame the school because he has poor working memory and while I can teach him to achieve 'star' level, state school simply can't do it?
Do public schools have textbooks? Would they have a structure that would allow me to relax in terms of monitoring his progress myself? Is a public school an answer to us? (Not that I can really afford it).
I was really terrified to see him so behind and then amazed to see him progressed so fast. At some point, when I looked at the program of study for the term teachers give us and what he learned, there wasn't any correlation, as if he was absent all the time. However, now the teacher tells me he is a pleasure to teach, inquisitive mind, very good in everything he does, mature, etc. I feel it is only because I (and him) put effort into it outside school. But I can't do this forever, really, can I?
So, again sorry for the extra-super-long post and I guess it is generally about being confused about everything: school in UK, different attitudes, different structures, different cultures, etc etc
Maybe someone with a history similar to mine can share their views, conclusions, experience.
Thanks for help!