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Son struggling in school
My son is in kindergarten and was doing well in the beginning. Then around December I noticed he was bringing home school work that was being done incorrectly in class. I wondered to myself why the teacher would allow him to bring the work home unmarked. She didn't leave any remarks to correct his work so I took it upon myself to have him fix it. Then I decided to email her with my concerns about him not understanding the directions and brought it to her attention that he was completing his assignments incorrectly at school. She explained that he understands and follows the directions in school and didn't notice any problems with him not listening. She added that sometimes she verbally changes the directions on some of the assignments which is why it may appear like he did it incorrectly. I left it at that since her explanation made sense to me.
Well, we're nearing the end of the school year and the past few months I have been frustrated. He's been bringing home a lot of assignments that were supposed to be completed at school. At the top the teacher notes whether he was "off task" or to "finish and return" or writes "is this your best work?" At first I figured he needed me to nudge him a little to start getting his work done at school. I spoke to him about how important it is to complete his work and try his best. Then I made him finish his work or redo what he did incorrectly hoping that he would learn his lesson. But he continuously has been getting swamped with paperwork that needs corrections. On top of that he has his homework that he needs to complete. After working with him for a couple of weeks, I have finally realized that he misunderstands the directions. Once I explain to him what he needs to do he understands, though it it takes him awhile sometimes.
I felt that I needed to bring this to his teacher's attention so I did. I even re-emailed her the message I had sent her in December when I first suspected he was having some difficulties. This time she admitted that he was having trouble focusing but didn't think he had problems with understanding the directions to his assignments. I told her that I was absolutely sure he had been doing his work incorrectly at school because he couldn't fully comprehend the directions on the majority of his work. I have to admit that sometimes it gets a little frustrating for me to correct my son's work that was done wrong from start finish. Now he has even been bringing me home blank assignments that he didn't even attempt. My husband and I have endlessly spoken to him but things haven't changed. When I think about it, I wonder why I had to bring it to her attention that he needs extra assistance and I don't understand why she didn't bring this up during parent teacher conference. When she showed me his report card he was average in everything and even above average in his reading. A couple weeks after our meeting when I started to inquire about the work he was bringing home to me she sent me another progress report that showed he was below standard in following directions and focusing. I'm pretty sure it had only been about 3 or 4 weeks since we had met face to face so I was surprised how much his progress in certain areas had declined since the parent teacher conference. Even his reading had gone down to just average.
I really want him to get extra assistance in class because he needs it. It's not right to let him do his work incorrectly and then for him to have to redo all of it at home. It's frustrating for both the parent and the student. Is there anything I can do to ensure that he gets more assistance in school?
Re: Son struggling in school
The teacher was not on top of this?
She probably has tenure, but this is something that should be brought to the principal's attention and also her supervisor in that department and the board of ed.
Has he had his hearing and eyes examined?
There also sounds like there's a problem on the end with that teacher --- changing the instructions is bound to confuse a lot of kids, not to mention it's also frustrating.
Next term, keep on top of this with the next teacher -- teachers always have email addresses -- make sure that you say in the subject line what your first and last name is and what your son's first and last name is --- in any of your correspondence.
I am also wondering if he is extra bright -- sometimes a kid who's been an early reader will be bored in the class and won't follow through on assignments or directions.
What kind of mistakes does he make? What are some specific ways in which he misunderstand directions? Can you give an example? I have a son in kindergarten, but I'm also a teacher. I have worked with many kids (mostly older) with specific learning disabilities.
Also, you can post questions like this on the Bump on the School-Aged Children board. There are lots of moms of elementary school kids on the board.
On a lot of work he is completely lost which is why he brings home incorrect work. Some of his work I can see he just put no effort into it and I tell him that that's not acceptable. But on the majority of it that he brings home to me he is clueless on and because he failed to ask for help, it's done completely wrong. A couple of examples are:
1) At the top of one of his assignments it lists a sight word such as "Where." It asks him to trace the word, write the word, and then make up his own sentence using the word. Well, sometimes he spells the word wrong and I have to remind him that the word is on top of the page so he really shouldn't be spelling it wrong. When it comes to writing his own sentence he just copies an example that was given on the page. He doesn't understand that he has to make up his own sentence and had thought he had understood the directions. He's had to do a lot of assignments like this using other sight words and until recently (with my help) he had kept getting it wrong.
2) His Math assignment required him to subtract by using a line with the numbers 1-10 across (like a ruler). In order for him to figure out 6 - 4 he would have to use the ruler and count back, He was completely lost on that assignment and had gotten 12 out of 12 wrong. It took him about 20 minutes to finally understand what the assignment was asking him to do. The ruler threw him off because I think he's used to subtracting/adding with his fingers. He was very frustrated after we were done because he had to correct his answers so many times.
3) Then there's the blank assignments he brings home that he doesn't even bother attempting. When I question him why he didn't do his assignment he tells me he forgot or he didn't have enough time to finish, But when we do it together he needs my help and is struggling, which I think is the reason he didn't do it in the first place.
I understand I am his mother and that I should be helping him with his work. However, I feel that I'm already involved with his education in other aspects such as his reading and homework assignments. He's required to read everyday for 20 minutes, recite 125 sight words daily, and complete his weekly math and reading assignment. When he brings home 4 or more pages per day that need to be corrected or finished it gets frustrating. When the teacher notes that he was "off task" or he needs to "finish and return" she obviously expected him to have completed his work at school.
Ditto the full vision and hearing check-up.
I might even have him academically tested. Best to identify any issues now before he develops bad habits or starts to feel discouraged.
Also, ask about his friends in class. Does he sit next to them when he is doing his work? Ask if he talks to them while class is going on? Could they be part of the distraction? Ask if anyone is bothering him. Perhaps he is being annoyed or picked on by a particular student and you can ask the teacher to keep them separated.
Over the summer, I might be tempted to buy one of those workbooks and do a couple of pages a day. Make it a fun thing to do - perhaps he has to do two pages before he gets his afternoon snack or stickers or swim or play outside. Read him the directions and then walk away. If he doesn't complete the work correctly, then he has a comprehension problem. If he does the work properly, then it is probably a classroom problem.
And egads! the whole "Is this your best work?" is such a mean thing to say to a 5 year old!
ETA: I saw your response. Sounds like a combination of frustration and lack of comprehension. Was your son a "young" kindergartner? Do you think he should repeat the grade (with a different teacher)?
There's a compounded problem here:
There's a teacher who has missed the mark and there's a problem somewhere with the way your son is processing information.
In addition to the vision and hearing check, speak to the child study team -- I am wondering if he might also have a learning disability.
DarlingMiss has some excellent suggestions --- and not only is that mean to ask a kid, that "is this your best work?" how come she isn't following through on her own regarding "not his best work"?
From your responses, it seems to me that he's distracted. If the word is on the page, and he's still spelling it wrong, something is up, unfortunately. I would sit down with son and ask him why. If you don't get anywhere, and the doctor visits don't pan out, meet with the teacher and see if she can move his seat, or at least offer some more insight. I come from a family of teachers, and if you ask, more often than not teachers are more than happy to figure these issues out, because it causes stress on them too. Best of luck!
Jesus; this is kindergarten. Can he write his abc's, can he spell his name? What kind of homework gets sent home in freaking kindergarten?
I'd get him tested, physically and academically, and move him to a Montessori school. They excel with kids like yours. This kid, so far, has come to learn that school is somewhere where he always fails; you can't do this to him for another 12 years.
It's kindergarten!
Maybe it's coming from a family of teachers but I think your little guy's teacher is dropping the ball. Expecting a 5 year old to advocate for his own education is ridiculous.
And as a parent, you've done everything right. You've contacted the teacher with your concerns and asked for help helping your son.
She needs to be actively following up. Yes, tehre are a lot of kids in class. Yes, it's hard to give every child individual attention. But oh my - when you have a little guy who is treading water, trying to stay afloat and the best you can do is "is this your best work"? That's not enough. It just isn't.
Like the last poster said - the poor little guy is learning that school is somewhere he fails. That is the biggest failure of his teacher - even if you don't have the time to spend on a struggling child, you need to ensure that they don't just fall through the cracks, get left behind. He needs encouragement, positivity and support.
I would push things with his teacher - ask for a face to face, ask for very specific examples of where he is going off track and then find out how you both can support him in getting back on.
There's time left. She can salvage his first impression of school if she is willing to try.
Poor little guy!
From what you say, it definitely sounds like some sort of processing disorder to me. Audio and visual processing disorders mean that the child takes in information perfectly normally but their brain just can't comprehend it, leading to misunderstandings and lack of comprehension of the world around them. In kids in schools, they frequently don't know they're not understanding, I mean, they can see/hear fine, so they just think they are confused. When it goes on for an extended period of time, they develop a sense of learned hopelessness and stop trying to figure out instructions because they feel like it's pointless.
The teacher should definitely be trying to do more here (and be giving WAY less homework; the rule of thumb is 30 min a night for Kindergarten, if any), so good job you for picking up on it and being persistent.
You should take your son in for a hearing/vision evaluation and see what they say, but it may be too early for a diagnosis of a processing disorder. Another option may be a neurological problem leading to decreased motor function. A friend's son had problems in school similar to your son's. It presented like an auditory processing disorder but he didn't fulfill all of the symptoms. It turned out that his motor skills were very poor and he felt like he didn't have control of his body when trying to work, which made doing school work very difficult and anxiety causing for him. That's not as common as processing disorders, but if neither of those produce results, you may want to look into that as a possibility.
Good luck!
And that sounds a bit excessive for homework for a kindergartener.
(and oh yeah, schools give out homework now in kindergarten)
Other things to check up on yourself: have you explained the assignment to him and does he follow through with what's needed to be done after he's shown what to look for and how to do the assignment? Maybe the teacher isn't ensuring that the assignment's goal and how-to is clear to everyone in the class.
If he is very bright, I still am considering the possibility that he may be bored with the assignments.
Whatever the problem is, start having it resolved now --- first grade is coming up and there'll be assignments and classwork that are a lot more lengthy and detailed than what he's getting now in a kindergarten class.
We tried to bring up some behavioral/social problems to my daughter's teacher. She gave me some schpiel about it being the end of the year. We brought up the issues in January...
It may just be the teacher. My daughter's first grade teacher was amazing, listened to her issues, helped with grades, etc. Her second grade teacher is completely the opposite. Although having that problem in kindergarden is a shame!
I would try to talk to the teacher in person, or maybe try and set up a meeting between the teacher and principal as well. It could just be that the teacher doesn't feel like dealing with issues...
I really hope things work out!
Feed Me!**
Then he had to make up his own sentence using the word where?
Suppose he said "Where your blue shirt to school"?
This assignment just went over like a fart in a crowded elevator; she forgot about homophones.
Thanks for posting an update with details about the type of mistakes he's making. I agree with Tarpon here. You've got 2 problems. The first is that the teacher is either clueless or she's pulled in so many directions that she's not able to help the kids adequately.
However, the work your son is doing seems to be pretty typical for kindergarten work. And your son's not just making a few mistakes here and there but generally getting the concepts, he's missing entire chunks of instruction. For instance, it's likely that the entire class sat through at least one group lesson about subtracting by counting back on a number line. Unless the teacher is really crummy, they weren't turned loose to just wing it on this worksheet without prior instruction.
This means the second problem is that your son is not learning anything from these lessons. Many things could be at work here, including the following:
--he's not cognitively ready for these concepts and needs another year of brain development so that he can "get" these lessons as they're taught. If this is the case, he needs to stay in kindergarten next year.
--his brain is ready, but he can't process things he hears and sees well enough to learn from the teacher's instrution.
--he has a hearing or vision problem that prevents the info from "getting in" when it needs to.
--he can't stay focused and pay attention during school; he misses things and then doesn't understand what he should do.
--he initially learns the material, but he has issues with memory, so when it's time to do the individual work, he can't remember what he learned.
At any rate, the answer is not for you to be forced to spend evenings doing the teacher and the learning specialist's jobs. You need to get him tested as soon as possible. What's going on with him is not normal.
Does he know his ABCs and is he normal in development for a 5 year old?
Would it help if you gave him some sort of age appropriate "allowance" that is contingent upon doing his school work on time and correctly? Maybe a coloring book, another 15 minutes of tv time, box of crayons, etc?
I am wondering: how does a 5 year old know how to track a word??? "Where" sounds more like a 2nd grade word to me, not a kindergarten-level word. Is this assignment maybe too much for most kids his age?
My son knows everything that is expected of him in Kindergarten. He knows his ABC's, can count past 100, his reading is above average. But when it comes to many of the assignments he is lost. I would have loved for her to bring up his inability to focus during parent teacher conference. Why did she wait until I inquired about his lack of understanding school assignments to inform me about that? I had emailed her in December about my concerns and suspicion that he was having trouble. I emailed her on 21 May again and she agreed to meet with me. It's going on 3 June and we still haven't met up because she cancelled on me when we were supposed to chat. She suggested communication by phone but that hasn't happened because she waits a couple days to respond and then I assume she's not going to reply back so I don't check my email. So, I emailed her again today and asked her to disregard my email from two days ago (letting her know that she can call me during the evening, still no response) and informed her that I'd like to meet in person with the principle present.
They have a self manager program which recognizes children who are able to be safe, responsible, and respectful. Those who are chosen get their names recognized in the school newsletter, receive a bracelet which distinguishes them as self managers among their peers. Well, since she had no complaints about him during parent teacher conference I kind of expected him to be recognized by the end of the school year. If he's not then doesn't that tell me that he's not doing something right? I haven't been made aware of anything. The only thing she has said is that he spaces out in class and when she calls on him he doesn't know the answer to her question. This only came out AFTER I started questioning her about the workload of assignments he's bringing home and not understanding. When I have asked him why he doesn't want to become a self manager he tells me because he's not smart. I tell him that's NOT true, that in fact I think he's a very smart boy. I reminded him that he needs to try his best in everything he does. I have noticed that she seems to know some of the parents in the class on a more personal level and that those kids are self managers even though some of them have been rude to my son. One of them told him he doesn't want to play with him and then my son said to me "he doesn't like, I just know he doesn't." Another kid threw a note away that a girl had given to my son (telling him that she likes him, lol). And these kids are self managers? My son may struggle with listening and comprehension but he's isn't mean....even his teacher has said he's very well mannered. I just think a program like that really isn't necessary because some kids through no fault of their own just won't be able to meet the schools standards. So in his class kids either view themselves as the good kids (self managers) and the bad kids (non-self managers). Sad, if you ask me.
Actually, by the end of K most students should be able to track a word and read basic sentences. I've taught Kinder for 3 years and I'm happily returning to it next year after having taught 1st for 3 years. The Kinder nowadays is NOT the Kinder that many of us went through. Many call Kinder the new 1st grade and preschool is Kinder. There are so many expectations placed on these kids now and teachers are having to keep up. For example, by June a majority of my Kinders are able to write 2-3 sentences on a specific topic and I've already started working on basic algebra with them (i.e. 3 + x= 5)
I do agree with most everyone here, except for the person that attributed the teacher's supposed pitfalls to being tenure, which I take serious offense to. It might be a good idea to get your son tested on what was suggested just to rule it out but it may have to be on your own dime. At the schools I've worked in they are hesitant to do any testing on kids below 2nd grade because a lot of times it's just maturity and especially with boys the maturity level may be low.
What I do find appalling is the fact that his teacher is sending home work with those sort of comments and yet you were not aware of how bad it is until later on. At my school we do a progress report and conferences in Oct/Nov and immediately will identify students who are considered "at-risk" for retention. The first round of report cards aren't sent home until January so a lot of times kids designated as at-risk in Oct. have pushed themselves through it to be safe by the time report cards come around. But, if your kid is still not at standards you would/should know. If your child is extremely low his teacher should've already done recommendations in the form of a SST. I don't know what your teacher's deal and obviously can't tell how bad it really may be. By this point there's obviously not much you can do with regards to working with the teacher. Has she decided to promote him to 1st grade? If so, you may have to spend this summer getting him up to Kinder standards. 1st grade is extremely difficult. The speed of learning that happens with reading and writing intensifies even more. I remember in Kinder having the kids read a new decodable book once a week but in 1st they would get a new decodable book almost every day and some were 16 pages long. Granted the books were small but 16 pages is a lot!
Between the start of the year when he was doing well and now, something got into the mix. I would hate to see him lose his year.
and then don't forget to call US secretary of education arne duncan and let him know, too.
I don't think this is an overreaction. Tenured teachers who don't care are a big problem in some places; not all places, but some. The principals can't always do anything and the Board needs to be informed and some hell needs to be raised. I've seen teachers who berate students in front of the whole class remain teachers because the principal can't do anything about it and no one took the issue to a high enough power.
Ugh, don't get me started on that.
What about the "wonderful coaches" who treat the kids on the team like they're crap? I recall one saying to my brother, "Put your shirt back on --- you look like Christ on the cross!" This same wonderful coach thought nothing of cursing at the kids on the team -- you know, motivational and all that other stuff.
There was a math teacher I had in 8th grade -- she daily called me to the board because she knew that I would not have the answer.
And I recall a teacher who hit kids -- everybody thought this was funny.
Oh for those good old days.
I'm an elementary school teacher. If we had a child having problems like your son we would send him to what we call "Care Team," which is a group of teachers who problem solve and come up with interventions for students who struggle. Do you know if your school has this? You might want to ask. It's not something parents are aware of usually.
It sounds like he does have a processing issue and has given up. He should be evaluated by a doctor for attention deficit and hearing/vision like others suggested.
Did he go to preschool (not in home day care)? If so, were there any problems? We often get the heads up from early childhood centers if a child has problems and so we can work with them immediately when they come. Usually kids in kinder have the diagnosis "developmental delay" but it doesn't sound like your son is delayed if he's reading on grade level. So you never know.
As for testing, put it IN WRITING to the principal and counselor that you want to have him tested for learning disabilities. If you do so, they are legally obligated to. The process is long but can really help kids once put into place.You also might want to request in writing a specific 1st grade teacher for him based on wh you have heard would be a good match for him.
I know it's frustrating, but hang in there. You are his best advocate!
I'm a teacher and agree with this. Sorry that they have so much homework and classwork to do. I agree with the pp who said that the kindergarten we knew is not today's kindergarten, where they have core benchmarks/indicators/standards that have to met for each grade level and tests to assess them. My MIL teaches kindergarten and had to deal with very upset little children when the test required that she read a sentence only once and have them write it down for her.
well, i disagree because that person (and you) are giving advice based on VERY limited information. you don't know that this teacher is tenured. the OP even said that she likes this teacher, thinks she's good, and otherwise, has no problem with her. it doesn't sound like the OP thinks the teacher doesn't care. and the OP didn't say anything about the teacher berating her child in front of the whole class.
the OP has done the next logical thing and asked for a meeting with the principal and the teacher at the same time. perfectly reasonable. you have no idea what this principal can or cannot do (and in this situation, the principal certainly can do something). if this doesn't get the issue addressed, THEN i can see going to the superintendent with the concerns. after that would be the board, but frankly, they won't do anything without the recommendation of the super.
i think the OP has every reason to be asking for a meeting with the teacher and the principal. but i'll bet they come up with something in that meeting. as it seems to stand right now, some hell does not, in fact, need to be raised. and going into any meeting at this point with that kind of attitude would be ridiculous.
You're right, the teacher may be willing to work with the parent and find a soluaion. If she does, that will be awesome and that'll make me happy.
What I meant by my comment was that if it turns out that the teacher is tenured or is just incompetent and unwilling to work she should take those steps that a lot of parents are unwilling to take. I agree with you; it should come as part of a process, not as a first step. (I also was not implying that the student in question was being berated.)
Also, just because a parent likes a teacher does not make them a good teacher. I have a friend with a very, very bright son. He was doing incredibly poorly in Kindergarten because of a motor function problem and my friend, a psychologist, couldn't get the teacher to work with her. The teacher was convinced that her son was at or below grade average despite the fact that I, an elementary school teacher, told her repeatedly that he was an incredibly bright child. I even did some diagnostic tests with the child that put him above grade level; the teacher still insisted that he was middling. She would ignore him when he needed help, make him feel bad about his short comings, and even make him stay in from recess to finish work that his disability made hard for him.
Even after he was evaluated and given an alternative learning plan, the teacher refused to work with him. She had many, many meetings with the teacher, and with the teacher and principal. Nothing helped. Up until the day she pulled him out of the school and started homeschooling him, my friend insisted that she liked the teacher and that she was a good teacher otherwise. Granted, she'd b!tch and complain to me about the teacher all of the time, but she though that she thought she had a good teacher. It's cognitive dissonance; in her head her son HAD to have a good teacher so she ignored the bad parts and convinced her self that he had one.