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Primary education

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Teacher dispute

20 replies

Mumlikeu · 06/11/2008 14:59

Hey all. Im new here and in need of some advice. My son just turned 6. He is in year 1. The teachers reckon he behind with his literacy and would like to take him out of class once a week for an hour. Me and my partner are absoulutely shocked by this. It seems Cam does work at home that he doesnt show at school. Its so stressful and i dont know why this is. And the teacher reckons the work he does for homework cannot be his as there is a huge difference with the work he does in school.
I wont lie to you, we put in a lot of time and effort with him at home and give him lots of praise. And what we dont understand is why doesnt he apply himself at school. And instead of teachers wanting to take a 6year old out of class time why cant they impose other methods??? We have now decided on Kumon programmes. I am concerned and need advice.

Thanks in advance
J

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seeker · 06/11/2008 15:01

Why do you object to him being taken out of class for an hour a week? Wouldn't a bit of one to one at school be a good idea?

cece · 06/11/2008 15:04

Most parents are begging for a bit of extra support for thier DC. Why would you object to your child getting some extra help?

mrsmaidamess · 06/11/2008 15:04

I don't see how taking him out for some extra help has such a stigma for you. There are lots of issues here:

The teachers have different methods of teaching and assessing than you do at home.

Whilst he may know 'all his letters' for example, blending them to make words may be a challenge for him.

They would not suggest this course of action unless they felt there was a need and wanted to help him. It sounds like you need to have a chat with the class teacher to see exactly where he is falling behind and what they will be doing to address this.

christywhisty · 06/11/2008 16:03

But surely giving him one to one is using other methods and is what you are doing with him at home.
My DS had one to one in primary because of specific learning difficulties, there is no stigma to it and DS is now top set in secondary school.

cory · 06/11/2008 16:06

The teacher is proposing to do exactly what you do at home- to give him extra time which he appears to need. I wouldn't knock it. Ds is on the SEN programme and gets extra help; it's brilliant. It means he gets a chance to work to the best of his ability.

LIZS · 06/11/2008 16:17

one to one will give somemone a chance ot work with him more like you do at home and assess any potential issues, and also an opportunity for him to gain confidence, away from distractions and pressure of the classroom. I don't understand your concern about this startegy tbh. He will get little more at Kumon, which will cost you £££ and take up precious time and energy in a young child.

Mumlikeu · 06/11/2008 16:32

It seems i wasnt looking at things in the same way as you guys. I guess there are issues for myself that i need to address. I just think a kid of his age should not be missing out on vital class time and also i dont want for him to feel 'special' in any kind of way. In some ways i completely understand where you guys are coming from and in another i guess i feel that if i allow this to happen i am admitting that i have failed as a mother. I mean he is such a bright kid and i just dont get why he doesnt show it at school. I think my expectations of him are blinding my pride. Thanks everyone. Its clear everyone thinks this method wont do him no harm.

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christywhisty · 06/11/2008 16:41

Mumlikeu

Honestly it won't be anything to with how bright he is. I was told my son got the extra help because he was so bright and it was to help him reach his full potential. His spelling wasn't that far behind what was expected for his age, it was a long way behind him, IYSWIM.

Mumlikeu · 06/11/2008 16:49

But thats just it christywhisty they are not telling me he needs help because he is bright. They want to offer him extra help beacuse they think there are gaps in his literacy learning skills. Apparently he cannot sound c a t p i n. But when i do sounds with him at home he sounds them out fine. Im confused hun if im honest. Im confused with what they say he does and what i know he can do. I think i should have another word with the teachers.

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critterjitter · 06/11/2008 17:06

Mumlikeu

I've had something similar with my DD. She would do fantastic work at home, but not at school.

I took advice on this both from an Educational Psychologist (private) and from an external tutor (who assessed her as being 2+ years ahead academically).

If you want to email me on: [email protected]

  • I'll go into more detail with you!

Critterjitter

cory · 06/11/2008 17:06

Do that to put your mind at rest.

But for heavens sake don't ever allow yourself to feel that you have failed as a mother because there are things your ds cannot do!!! Being a success as a mother is about helping and supporting and being proud of your lo within the framework of what they can do.

Ds at 8 cannot hold a pen properly and until recently struggled with reading the simplest sentence (has suddenly come on leaps and bounds with his reading but will probably always have difficulties with motor skills).

As a researching academic, who was myself unusually advanced as a child, I was not perhaps prepared for this. But I certainly don't think I have failed him in any way, and I am just as proud of him as if he were top of the class. And more to the point, he is proud and happy of what he can do (though that took a bit of working on).

Come to think of it, dd can't walk half the time, but that doesn't mean I have failed her either. We all get handed different lives, different abilities by fate; the important thing is what you make of what you've got.

Also, btw, kids keep being taken out of class for different reasons, and moving around in groups- it won't stigmatise him.

roisin · 06/11/2008 18:19

I do literacy intervention with yr7s at school, where they are withdrawn from regular classes for special lessons. Occasionally I get phone calls from worried parents that I have to reassure. But in every case the children love coming, there is definitely no stigma attached, and they certainly benefit and make progress in their learning.

Any sort of intervention is expensive for the school to put in place, and they only do it when students are likely to benefit significantly.

wheresthehamster · 06/11/2008 18:27

There's no point in sitting in class if the information is going over his head. These catch-up programmes are designed to go back to basics to make sure the important stuff has registered. Did she actually say once a week? We usually do 3 x 20 min sessions.

What would you suggest otherwise? Staff giving up their lunch-time or free after-school tuition?

Mumlikeu · 06/11/2008 19:01

I am most definately feeling reassured. I appreciate all the comments. And Critter i am going to send you an email this evening. Its nice to hear what other mums think because i was honestly beating myself up on this matter. @ wheresthehamster am i right to assume you are a teacher? I would never suggest my son missing out on his lunch hour in order to catch up so therefore wouldnt except teachers to do the same. After school tuition is something that i would prefer were offered in school programmes like an after school activity. I remember secondary schools having such schemes. And it was useful and more effective than coming out of a classroom during lessons etc. It might not matter so much in year 1 but im sure you can see my concerns. I think sometimes we forget the pyschological affects such methods can have on these kids. But i will most definately allow the programme to go ahead and fingers cross he makes improvements where they feel there are gaps.

Thanks again
im glad i posted my concerns i feel much better

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cory · 06/11/2008 20:02

I think you are quite wrong to assume that coming out of a class to do extra work will have bad psychological effects on a young child. The classroom dynamics are just so different these days.

tbh the only thing I would expect to have psychological effects is if he had to stay in school when his mates went home. That could be very upsetting for a young child. Not to mention that it would make it a very long tiring day for him, and he would have to do this vital catching-up when he was already tired. Can't be compared with secondary schools IMO. The children are so much older then and can cope with a longer day. Though even there I would expect the school to be able to fit in any support work needed within the framework of the school day.

If I were you I would try to relax and just accept that schools do have a lot of experience of these situations.

cat64 · 07/11/2008 22:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Feenie · 07/11/2008 22:10

I am guessing he is being taken out for ELS (Early Literacy Strategy)? This is designed for children who are only just behind, to help them with a little push. The hour a week breaks down to 3 lots of 20 minutes - not really a huge chunk of time; I suspect your ds won't really notice this as much as you think.

vixma · 07/11/2008 22:14

I agree with cat64. I am so relieved that the stigma with TA's has been removed.

roisin · 08/11/2008 14:46

I agree with cat64. I do literacy intervention with small groups of yr7s and often they cry at the end of the year when I tell them they won't have any more session with me in yr8

AbbeyA · 08/11/2008 14:57

I also take out small groups and they love the individual attention! I should jump at it if you are offered it- I had to fight for it with my DS!

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