challenge
Can we all agree to read this post NOT as a brag about my child, but just as an update on him? I found out some interesting things about Drew at his parent teacher conference this week, but have been very hesitant to share because I don't want to come across as boastful. I share this because of the challenges associated with it and not just to be one of those moms.
Agreed?
Okay. You may continue reading. :)
Drew has been a little less than enthusiastic about kindergarten. He likes his teachers and friends, but makes many comments like, "Why do we have to be there for SEVEN hours??!" and "Kindergarten is too easy. We never learn anything."and "I already know everything she teaches us. I want it to be hard." I will admit I kind of blew him off and told him- many times- that it was arrogant to make such statements.
Because of this, I felt a little guilty after his parent teacher conference on Wednesday. His teacher began the conference by saying, "Drew. ….. Well, Drew….. I don't know what to do with Drew! He is so far ahead of where the class is that I just can't keep him challenged."
She then spent ten minutes explaining what the learning goals are for the kindergarten year and showing that he had already mastered them. She said she had the reading specialist for the school test him and he is reading at a third grade level. She said in math he is not challenged. They are still writing and identifying numbers to 25; he came into kindergarten able to complete a hundreds chart. They are beginning basic addition like 5 + 2; he likes me to give him "big" addition problems (12 + 34 + 9) in the car. They are working on writing sentences; she said he independently wrote a ten page story last week during Writing Workshop.
I asked if he was a behavior challenge at school and she said he gets silly sometimes and has to be redirected to focus on the task being asked of him. I shared that he needs to be kept busy and that he loves to be challenged. She shared a couple of ideas she wants to start with him, but seemed almost annoyed that he doesn't fit into where the rest of the kids are. (She shared an example of when she was teaching the class to sound through the word "will" last week during a class shared writing activity. She was trying to get the students to identify the sounds of w and i and l. Drew had his hand up from the beginning to spell the word for the class and she said she didn't address him because she wanted the other kids to hear the sounds on their own. Finally she was happy that they had a w written in the first blank she had drawn, an i in the second blank, and an l in the last blank. When everything was done, she finally called on Drew, whose hand had stayed up the entire time, and he asked why she didn't put the extra l at the end of the word. She said the kids were confused and she said, "Not today, Drew." I can perfectly see this all in my mind. He probably was not trying to show off or be a know-it-all, he probably was just trying to share something he knew. It makes me feel bad to picture his hand up the whole time, but never getting called on. Then when he finally got called on, his idea was dismissed.)
The conference ended with couple of ideas that she wants to to put into action for Drew. I thanked her for the extra time she gives him and that was it. I walked away thinking about him and have been thinking about him a lot ever since.
I know there are many, many worse problems we could be dealing with. I know this might not even really sound like a problem to someone reading this. But it concerns me. I feel kind of bad for Drew when I think about what it must be like for him at school each day. It probably isn't very fun for him to sit through lesson after lesson on things that are not challenging for him. It probably isn't very fun to always help the other kids with their assignments, as his teacher shared is often his role. It probably isn't very fun to have your hand up and have it ignored. I worry that he will start to get so tired of feeling bored at school that he may start to make some bad choices behaviorally. I worry that some of the behavior issues we've been dealing with at home over the past month might be resulting from this frustration.
Agreed?
Okay. You may continue reading. :)
Drew has been a little less than enthusiastic about kindergarten. He likes his teachers and friends, but makes many comments like, "Why do we have to be there for SEVEN hours??!" and "Kindergarten is too easy. We never learn anything."and "I already know everything she teaches us. I want it to be hard." I will admit I kind of blew him off and told him- many times- that it was arrogant to make such statements.
Because of this, I felt a little guilty after his parent teacher conference on Wednesday. His teacher began the conference by saying, "Drew. ….. Well, Drew….. I don't know what to do with Drew! He is so far ahead of where the class is that I just can't keep him challenged."
She then spent ten minutes explaining what the learning goals are for the kindergarten year and showing that he had already mastered them. She said she had the reading specialist for the school test him and he is reading at a third grade level. She said in math he is not challenged. They are still writing and identifying numbers to 25; he came into kindergarten able to complete a hundreds chart. They are beginning basic addition like 5 + 2; he likes me to give him "big" addition problems (12 + 34 + 9) in the car. They are working on writing sentences; she said he independently wrote a ten page story last week during Writing Workshop.
I asked if he was a behavior challenge at school and she said he gets silly sometimes and has to be redirected to focus on the task being asked of him. I shared that he needs to be kept busy and that he loves to be challenged. She shared a couple of ideas she wants to start with him, but seemed almost annoyed that he doesn't fit into where the rest of the kids are. (She shared an example of when she was teaching the class to sound through the word "will" last week during a class shared writing activity. She was trying to get the students to identify the sounds of w and i and l. Drew had his hand up from the beginning to spell the word for the class and she said she didn't address him because she wanted the other kids to hear the sounds on their own. Finally she was happy that they had a w written in the first blank she had drawn, an i in the second blank, and an l in the last blank. When everything was done, she finally called on Drew, whose hand had stayed up the entire time, and he asked why she didn't put the extra l at the end of the word. She said the kids were confused and she said, "Not today, Drew." I can perfectly see this all in my mind. He probably was not trying to show off or be a know-it-all, he probably was just trying to share something he knew. It makes me feel bad to picture his hand up the whole time, but never getting called on. Then when he finally got called on, his idea was dismissed.)
The conference ended with couple of ideas that she wants to to put into action for Drew. I thanked her for the extra time she gives him and that was it. I walked away thinking about him and have been thinking about him a lot ever since.
I know there are many, many worse problems we could be dealing with. I know this might not even really sound like a problem to someone reading this. But it concerns me. I feel kind of bad for Drew when I think about what it must be like for him at school each day. It probably isn't very fun for him to sit through lesson after lesson on things that are not challenging for him. It probably isn't very fun to always help the other kids with their assignments, as his teacher shared is often his role. It probably isn't very fun to have your hand up and have it ignored. I worry that he will start to get so tired of feeling bored at school that he may start to make some bad choices behaviorally. I worry that some of the behavior issues we've been dealing with at home over the past month might be resulting from this frustration.
Comments
Homeschooling would be great for some kids like Drew, but Drew needs the time with other kids. I think he would view it as a punishment if he did not get to go to school because he so enjoys all of the social aspects of kindergarten.
I feel thankful that Drew's teacher has a small enough class that she already knows- in November- that Drew needs a little extra attention. She has a plan for reading and writing that I feel pretty good about, but she offered no ideas regarding all of the other subjects yet.
Sandi