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Post by katiekat on Oct 18, 2006 21:56:30 GMT -5
for just a minute? Overall I was pleased with the way things went. The principal, psychologist, and counselor were all very receptive and understanding. The teacher however seemed to think we were really asking alot of her. What were we asking? 2 things-a communication book and some kind of positive reinforcement set up in the classroom. I did not understand what the problem was. Having worked in special ed I know these are very common things. She said that there are behavior problems every day so a communication book would be focusing on the negatives. Well we want to know what is going on positive AND negative. We cant try and make things better if we don't know what the problems are. As for the other all I expect is like a little piece of paper taped to his desk or something where he can earn stickers or stars...pretty basic. Ive seen it done a million times.
But she kept saying"I dont know how Id implement that". WHAT? I dont have a teaching degree and I can figure it out.
In the end things went our way..after much insisting...in addition we'll be having monthly update meetings and he will be seeing the counselor once a week to work on self control issues.
Teacher also said his letter and number recognition was very low for kdgt. and LD(s) could be a possibility but he's too young to tell. 5 minutes later the psychologist said you can absolutely tell at this age!
Im sorry to have to make her do her job but all kids are not perfect.
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Post by misty on Oct 18, 2006 22:14:52 GMT -5
You GO GIRL! You MAKE them earn their wages!  THAT is a load of CRAP! My daughters whole class uses those books & they are GREAT! The teacher can write the good AND the bad in it & you sign it & send it back. Its a great way to keep track of what the kid is doing & a great way for the teacher to let you know without embarrassing him. No one will know what shes writing but you & her. I think that teacher sounds just LAZY! WHERE did this teacher earn her degree??? KMART??  Well, I'm GLAD it turned out well in the end. LOOk at this. I found this for someone else but went & dug it up in case you are interested. LD Talk: Recognition & Response In this online chat Drs. Mary Ruth Coleman and Virginia Buysse explain this approach to addressing early learning difficulties before kindergarten. 10/24, 3-4pm (ET). LD.org's Online Chat is open for questions only. Please submit questions now. Next LD Talk: Tuesday, October 24 3:00 p.m. ET, 12:00 p.m. PT Topic: Recognition & Response Recognition & Response is a systematic approach to addressing early learning difficulties before kindergarten. This approach includes assessing the overall quality of early learning experiences for all children as well as making program modifications, tailoring instruction, and providing appropriate supports for individual children who struggle to learn. Recognition refers to the methods used to recognize young children who exhibit early learning difficulties and who may be at risk for learning disabilities when they are older. Response refers both to the ways in which teachers and parents respond to young children with learning difficulties as well as to the ways in which young children react to specific interventions. heres the URL if you want to check it out www.ldtalk.org/ |
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annem
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Post by annem on Oct 19, 2006 12:27:57 GMT -5
Katiekat ... this teacher is NOT doing her job if she feels that the entire communication book will focus on the "negatives" ... Sounds to me like she isn't enjoying her job too much and certainly isn't prepared to "buy into it" ... IMHO the communication book itself is an excellent idea and we certainly always had one during my son's schooling ... Oh SURE there were some negatives (but things I needed to know) but there were also the positives which can really make your day !! ... Any teacher who says that she can think of nothing but negatives should be questioned!! ...  |
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Post by Charlie Girl on Oct 19, 2006 16:14:10 GMT -5
I can remember when I was in kindergarten and when both of my kids were. The teachers there kept a positive reinforcement chart for every kid.
They had a big chart with each child's name on it in my son's classroom that listed certain positive behaviors they were trying to reinforce in them all. When a child had so many stars, he could pick out a treat from a box of trinkets that the parents donated.
It would be so easy for her to focus on fewer behaviors or to expect a few less stars for your son at first and then increase the number as he learns.
How hard is that?
Go ahead and vent. I hate when teachers play dumb and thats what she is doing. If she butts heads with you enough, most parents will give up and just hope their kid gets a better teacher the next year.
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Post by lostmyshoe on Oct 19, 2006 20:59:38 GMT -5
Hi Katie,
I'm with Misty and everyone else. Sounds like the teacher just wants things to be too easy. Why the heck do people with that kind of attitude become teachers? Last year Becca had a teacher that blew me away when I told her how much I appreciated her help with Becca. She said "I'm a teacher and that's my job". Now that is the kind of attitude a teacher should have, but not enough do. This year, so far, Becca has cooperative teachers and she is doing well. I'm hoping this will turn out to be a good year for you too. Sounds like you have taken all the right steps. Moms are the first teachers and you are doing a great job!
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Post by katiekat on Oct 20, 2006 7:08:52 GMT -5
Thanks guys for reassuring me that I am not one of "those" parents. I didn't think my requests were asking too much.
I know there are alot of great teachers out there but some....well not so great.
Great link Misty there is alot of info .
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Post by unicorn-tiff'smom on Oct 21, 2006 13:24:58 GMT -5
Katie - hope that the teacher can "figure out" how to implement the behavior book for you. I agree with the others, she needs to  When Tiff was in 1st grade her teachers were to use a behavior book with her. Not that she was disruptive. It was when she started meds and we were having to change them and so on. I was to write things I noticed at home and they were supposed to do it at school, to see when we hit the right med and dosage. Her math teacher stopped doing it and when asked why, she said "do you know how many other children I have to do this for every day."  Like others said, if it is what is decided upon in a meeting then that is what they need to do. |
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Post by katiekat on Oct 23, 2006 22:39:44 GMT -5
I was talking to another mom today about Sean's teacher and how I was not real happy with her. She told me that although she's never had a problem herself she knows several people who sent their 2nd child to a different school in the district after their 1st child had this teacher-and they did not want to deal with her again. Interesting. And now I KNOW it's not me. It should be an experience this year. It's only October. |
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Post by katiekat on Oct 26, 2006 7:13:16 GMT -5
The counselor who started working with Sean called me yesterday and asked me how I thought things have been going since the meeting and the changes made in class for him. I was dumfounded. I cant answer that I told her since Ive heard nothing of them because there is no communication with the teacher. I wasnt even aware any changes have been made. I told her exactly how I felt about the teacher and her difficulty with communicating. She said she will speak to the her. Ridiculous. If I do not get any info. about his week on Fri. I am just going to have to go over her head and go right to the principal since she was at the meeting too. Maybe this will make her as angry as I am getting.  NOT!! |
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Post by Charlie Girl on Oct 26, 2006 7:45:18 GMT -5
I'm having trouble understanding this. You asked for certain fairly uncomplicated changes and the teacher said she couldn't do it.
Was their another meeting? Did the counselor say what changes had been made? Did the teacher just tell the authority figures that changes had been made?
I'm with you. If the teacher won't sit down with you and have a frank discussion plus agree to keep you informed, I would be going over her head.
One way I found that has always gotten me a response from my son's teachers is to e-mail them. That way I have a trail.
If you send an e-mail asking for information and she ignores it, then you can send her another one asking again and cc a copy to the principal. If she still blows it off, send one asking why you are not getting any feedback from her and cc the principal and the superintendant. I once sent an e-mail about something I was not happy with and cc'd it to 4 people, plus the one I had written it to.
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Post by misty on Oct 26, 2006 7:52:44 GMT -5
Katie, I know just what you're going through! Shannon had a teacher like that last year & I went over her head several times. She actually had a rude condescending attitude toward Shannon, so when I finally got her IEP in place one of the things I insisted they write in it was that teachers treat her with respect! They actually put it in too! HA! So then that awful teacher had no choice but to be nice!
Anyway, do what ever you have to to get that teacher motivated to make those changes. And let us know how it goes!
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Post by katiekat on Oct 26, 2006 10:36:49 GMT -5
I like your suggestion about the e mails CG, I will definitely do this.
The thing I had asked for is the communication book,the teacher is very against this.
The counselor told me that they started having the classroom aide working one on one with Sean when the class is being told as a group directions. That she sits with him and when the teacher gives a direction the aide then repeats it specifically to Sean. She then has him repeat it back to her before he does it. This is the counselors idea I guess she thought the teacher would let me know it had been put into place. She seemed surprised she hadn't. She said the main thing they are working on now is slowing Sean down. I think this is great but I cant know how it's working if no one tells me. She wil be seeing Sean once a week but the teacher is there every day. Misty-It's pretty sad when you have to request that a teacher be nice to your kid. Some of these teachers should've worked with rocks or something.
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Post by misty on Oct 26, 2006 10:50:09 GMT -5
Misty-It's pretty sad when you have to request that a teacher be nice to your kid. Some of these teachers should've worked with rocks or something. I have to agree with you there, Katie. A class of nice, quite, perfectly still pet rocks would suit these teachers just perfectly. Sometimes I wonder how teachers like these even decided to be teachers. I mean, friends & relatives that I have that are teachers all chose the profession because they love kids & wanted to help them achieve their goals. These teachers sure dont act like they love kids! |
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Post by Charlie Girl on Oct 27, 2006 0:06:58 GMT -5
I'm going through the same nasty teacher thing right now katiek. My son informed me that his teacher had him tearing up today because she informed the class he didn't know his multiplication tables and couldn't divide. Argh!
To top it all off, this is only a couple of weeks after I got a note from the school that my son didn't need any more help in math because he was finally at grade level and doing well.
I'd love to be a little bird on the window sill so I could see exactly what was really going on.
I just promised him that I would have him in a new school ASAP. I'm tired of fighting with this one. We have some excellent ones nearby that have turned the lives of kids like my son around. My cousin's son was failing math and became an A student. I may send my son to that school. I'm moving anyway so why not to that district?
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Post by katiekat on Oct 27, 2006 7:49:37 GMT -5
I am trying to move too CG...if we could just sell this house. I want to move back to the town I used to live in,only about 5 minutes from here. Im going to buy a St. Joseph statue today to move things along. LOL My older son was so much happier there and they have a kindergarten enrichment program where if your kid needs the extra help they stay for a full day. The am session is regular kdgt. then the pm session is for extra help. I think this would do wonders for Sean. It's horrible when teachers humiliate kids in front of their classmates. My friends son (ADHD) once had a teacher dump his desk in front of the class and tell everyone what a mess he was and this is what your desk should NOT look like. Well today is the day Im expecting my communication thing to come home,let's see what happens. If it doesnt I will be getting busy on those e-mails |
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Post by Charlie Girl on Oct 27, 2006 11:38:03 GMT -5
My son's teacher went through the desk dumping things more than once. I think they actually believe that humiliating kids and punishing the disability gets them to do better. Its either that or they are sadists who enjoy the power. I'd prefer to believe they are ignorant rather than mean even if neither type should be teaching.
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Post by crazyhouse on Nov 23, 2006 13:33:33 GMT -5
WOW KATIEKAT GOOD FOR YOU!!!  I WANT TO REASSURE YOU, YOU ARE NOT ASKING TO MUCH FROM THAT TEACHER!!!! AT THIS POINT YOU HAVE TO BE DILIGENT AND FOLLOW THRU. IN THE END IT WILL ANNOY HER AND EITHER SHE WILL COMPLY OR FIND A JOB THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE HER TO BE COMPASSIONATE ABOUT HER WORK. ANYWAYS I HAVE SEEN MY FRIENDS KIDS USE THE BEHAVIOR FOLDER, WHERE YOU SIGN IT AND SEND IT BACK. I ALSO USED ONE IN SCHOOL MYSELF AS A KID. THEY WORK VERY WELL IT'S A GOOD TOOL AND SHOULD BE USED IF IT IS NEEDED. ALSO I WOULD BE RIGHT ON THAT TEACHER'S BUTT CALLING WHEN YOURE NOT GETTING A REPORT AND WHEN YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO REACH HER THE NEXT PERSON IS THE COUNCILER OR THE PRINCIPAL. THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT SHE IS NOT FOLLOWING THE THE PLAN THEY AGREED NEEDS TO BE IN PLACE. I HOPE THIS GETS BETTER FOR YOU  JUST REMEMBER YOURE DOING A GREAT JOB BEING A GOOD MOM ;D THATS ALL THAT COUNTS  |
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