Very disappointing school report- summer tutoring required!

[AYoung]

My son finished school on Friday and I am still in a state of shock concerning his end of year report. He has just turned 9 and has always received impressive reports from his tutors, so I was really disappointed to learn that he is struggling with Maths, English and French. My husband is rather angry, and thinks that he hasn't been concentrating in school, but I am starting to think that there might be another reason. He has always been good at Maths, but the teacher he has had this year shouts rather a lot and has made him hate the subject. I went through some work with him over the weekend, and I was really surprised at how flustered and anxious he was getting. I really don't know whether his change in attitude is due to the teacher, but I want to help him in any way that I can.

My son is a very bright boy, and we had been thinking about entering him for King's College Wimbledon and St Paul's next year, but I am now wondering whether we might have to rethink. I want to give him the best chance to excel and I was wondering whether I should find a summer tutor for him. We live in Wimbledon, but I was hoping for some advice from locals (we're quite new to the area) as opposed to just phoning the nearest tutorial agency.

Any help would be appreciated!

Hi AYoung:

I think given the stark choice between exoticfruits you're pressuring him too much and lemonpie's view that he's come to that point where what he's learning at school is moving beyond what he's learned through games and play with you - I'd prefer to side with lemonpie.

Sure you're ambitious for him, but from what you've said you have pretty much left learning tuition to the school.

I think you may have hit the nail on the head in regard to the teacher not being his favourite. Although I take Lemonpie's point that at some point your DS has to take charge of his learning, I do feel that this can be all the more difficult if those basic skills in maths (addition/ subtraction/ multiplication/ division) aren't soundly understood. Everything else is so dependent on really knowing how to do those 4 operations well. Perhaps whilst he has this teacher (who clealry isn't your DS's cup of tea) and because your DS does seem to be struggling you might want to consider some on-line maths support.

I'm not talking a huge amount of time each week - 1 - 1 and 1/2 hours - but joining something like Mathsfactor www.themathsfactor.com/ (which we have had good success with), Mathswhizz www.whizz.com/ or Mathsletics www.mathletics.co.uk/ (both which other parents have really praised) may be a way of supporting him without you directly teaching him (which can be quite a flash point between Mum/ Dad & DC). I don't know all these programmes, but I'm pretty certain you can start from the point your at and certainly with Mathsfactor there's a pre-test to assess your ability.

Anyway it's just an idea and you really know your DC best - but it may be that how the maths is being taught is the issue. Certainly all of these on-line options (and I'm certain that there are even more out there, this is just what I've stumbled across here on MN) offer very visual explanation of maths with a lot of game playing, which makes the learning bit just seem like fun and seems to better suit my girls at least.

Best of luck.

It is difficult for a stranger to get to the bottom of the problem and get the correct solution. I was just going by the fact that I was a sensitive child and a father who was going to get rather angry if my results were not as he wanted would send my maths completely to pot!
It is like tennis, I can play quite well, but if I have a partner who is going to get upset if I miss an easy shot I go from bad to worse until I can barely hit the ball!

If he is getting to the age of competative enrty exams, ypu may consider a tutor anyway. Let's face it, the competition gets harder each year and I would guess that the vast majority of parents tutor or get 'extra help' for their kids.

If he is wobbling in his confidence, try to finmd out whuy. If you sit with him to go through 'easy' stuff, then you will see if he can't follow it, or if he can do it but has 'nerves'. Then you know what you are dealing with. Don't make it a big deal - he has many years of exams ahead of him. I wonder what reports his classmates had? I find reports can be quite odd sometimes. Better to have a fact to face with class/form/head teacher.

The personality of teachers don't help! The only time I failed an exam on my best subject was when I had a 'unusual' teacher. He wasn't nasty or a bad teacher, he was just a bit odd (telling us at great length about his ingrowing toenail op...).

And if you have a 'build up' over the summer, he may start dreading going back to school. Are there any summer schools he can go to? I mean the ones that teach ratjer than activity based ones? Or maybe you coulg get a tutor over for an hour a week with one of his pals to do a 'rounbd up' of the things he has learned over the year 'so that you don't forget all the good stuff you have learned in Y4'.

Poor kid.

FrontPaw, I have to disagree with summer schools and tutoring. He has clearly got himself into a state and what with a 'rather angry' father, I'm not surprised. He ill not forget everything he has learned in year 4. He needs a break, he is only 9. Sort out the issue with the teacher in september. That is where the problem lies. Hopefully, as I said before the teacher will change his ways, and the little lad can regain his confidence. If he has 'got it up top' he will soon get back to where he was, under his own steam.

I guess the mum knows the personality of the child and what will work best. I would be concerned that if his report wasn't great, then he may fret over the holidays and worry himself about the coming school year, exams, dad not being happy with him, etc.

He is only 9 yrs old- a break would be better IMO and it is possible that he may not be suited to a highly competitive, selective school.

With maths there are stages most years that require a little leap in understanding. Sometimes some patient additional practice is all that is required to reinstall confidence. Take an hour each week over summer just to go over the different formulae and styles of problems from the past year.

For English perhaps try this type of activity www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/local/young-entrepreneur-makes-learning-magic-1-4083191

For French go over the sentences he has written in exercises and have fun trying to commit a few to memory. Speak French one breakfast each week. Say good morning to each other. Describe what you wish to eat and what you each are wearing. It can be fun when it is in holidays. Guess at words you don?t know to keep the flow going. Make mistakes and have fun. But get used to speaking a little French out loud.

I think that his father talking French with him and playing Maths games would be the most beneficial.