Posted on 09/19/2008 3:15:48 PM PDT by reaganaut1
I'm incredibly frustrated.
My daughter, who is in 6th grade, is very good at and very interested in math. Over the summer she asked for 6th and 7th grade math workbooks; she completed the 6th grade books and some of the 7th grade books. She also took an online Math Olympiad course through Johns Hopkins CTY, and also did some work on the Aleks math program (which I love).
We also had her tested academically over the summer; she came out generally in the 96-99% for math on both I.Q. and achievement tests.
Last year, she had been very bored in her math class (but didn't tell me until the year was almost over). She wants to avoid a similar situation this year.
An educational consultant who I spoke with briefly (just a general phone interview), who seemed familiar with our school system, suggested we try to have her go directly 7th grade honors math rather than 6th grade math. This sounded like a good idea, but...
to make a long story short, I was told today that they are refusing to let her advance in math (without any testing at all for her level) because it is not "developmentally appropriate" ! This is after being informed about her work over the summer, standardized test scores, etc.
This is not an acceptable situation but I'm not sure what to do about it. I don't have the time or $$ to hire a consultant and go into a long protracted battle over this, plus by the time I (hopefully) won the year would probably be half over. Can I just pull her out of math class? I would rather have her literally sit in the car and study appropriate- level work than to have her waste her time again for another year. Can I home-school her for that subject? (I guess that would be the same thing).
She asks every day if she could go into another class; she sits in the room and does Sudoko puzzles she is so bored.
I am planning to enroll her in [a private math school] to do some more advanced work in a structured setting but that doesn't solve the problem of this year's math class.
Any advice or comments would be welcome.
Thanks so much,
Signed,
Frustrated
Your options depend on where you live. G&T program might be the most straightforward solution, but not all school districts have these. My son did G&T starting in 5th grade, but then we hired a college student to tutor him once he got beyond the level of math they covered in G&T. He had run through all of H.S. math by the time he was H.S. freshman, but fortunately we lived in a very enlightened public school system which let him start taking college-level courses in a local public university while he still was in H.S. It was a hassle logistically, and we sometimes ended up relying on college student drivers, but well worth it.
Because we were grateful to get the special permissions needed for him to come and go from H.S. on a non-traditional schedule, we never pushed on the issue of whether the school system should be defraying any of these costs we incurred: had he been developmentally impaired, the cost to “mainstream” him presumably would have been much greater and I further presume the school district would have been legally required to foot the bill. But my general impression is that most school districts feel far less obligation to meet the needs of G&T students. Good luck.
We had the same type of problem with our daughter. She was too advanced for math, english, everything. When gifted children are bored, behavior problems soon follow.
Anyway, we went to the school counselor to get our daughter at least bumped up a grade, but we got the usual blather about “Oh, we don’t want to do that. It would hurt her emotionally.” Basically she gave us the ‘I know better than you, attitude’.
We told her that we weren’t asking, we were telling her to get it done. Our daughter was moved up immediately. She’s now a senior in college and pretty happy.
Many times public schools don’t have the programs or the inclination to deal with gifted children. They would rather they all were exactly the same (average). Unfortunately, children aren’t like that.
If you can get your daughter into private school, by all means, do it!!! I wish we could have afforded it. Our daughter would be even more advanced than she is now.
Be persistent and do not let them intimidate you. You might be forced to consider a neighboring district that has more challenging program or will let your daughter advance a grade. This is what I ended doing with my daughter along with about 6 other gifted students. We went to another district. Hard choice being that she had to leave some friends behind but well worth it.
Sorry to hear it. Good for you. I’m glad you prevailed.
It’s seriously shocking what power these schools have, basically on a whim.
That one sailed right over my head.
Ask what exactly your "rights as a parent" are. Ask for things in writing. Ask if there is a liaison who helps parents. Ask to speak with the assistant principal, the vice principal, the principal. Ask the principal if this is his/her decision or if s/he is obeying an order from someone higher up.
If it's from someone higher up, ask for their name. Ask for their contact information. Ask for their exact title.
My point is, be there IN PERSON and politely drive them right up a wall. Ask, ask, ask, ask, ask. "What about if we do this? What about if we do that? Is there a provision for this sort of thing. Is it that the 7th grade teacher doesn't want her in there? Can I talk to that teacher? Can I, can we, what about, how about..." nag them until one of you gives up.
Could you send her a link to this thread? That way she can read the comments herself instead of you transmitting them. It’ll save you a lot of work.
That might not work because IEP’s are documents that are mandated by the federal government to help with the educational needs of children with disablities, not ones who are gifted. Your idea of asking for testing is a good one, but I can guarentee the school district will probably drag it’s feet at accommodating the parent in this request.
If she's allowed to do Sudoku puzzles, her teacher probably won't mind her working on computer programs.
If you have access to Excel, she might try creating a program to solve Sudokus. Then, given that, she could use that program as an engine to randomly create Sudoku puzzles. I did both while learning how to use Excel.
Your daughter reminds me of Einstein. He seldom went to class because -- in those days -- students only had to pass exams and he did that easily. Getting a job, however, was a different matter because instructors didn't appreciate student absences. So Einstein -- at first -- could only find "work" in a patent office.
The mother certainly could supplement but the daughter would need to have something to do during the math class that she's likely going to be required to attend.
Saxon Math is a good math curriculum.
My guess is that bright as this child is, she's going to be bored in her other subjects as well. Bright kids are generally not one subject bright.
We went the homeschool route and never have regretted it. Our now 18 yr. old was doing Calculus at age 12 (National Merit Scholar). Our 14 yr. old is Advanced Math via Saxon and just turned 13 yr. old is Saxon Algebra 2. Please let your children soar academically if it is their desire. Especially through their teen years. Makes for better conservatives, educated contributors and providers in the future.
Language Arts was a different matter all together. The district would not recognize above level. We parents fought long and hard and finally got an above level Language Arts class too.
After a two year fight we found out from the School Board that in my Georgia school district you can request your child be moved into any level, any grade class. They must honor the parents request. It was like Dorothy and the ruby slippers. The parent never knew we had the power all along.
Public schools are a dead loss and anyone who values the education and values of his children will not have this children in public schools.
“get singapore math books”
If these are basically the same as the Chinese Math books my wife used, this is a great tip. My girl is an 18 year old college junior, studying Chemical and Bio-medical engineering. She’s still way ahead of the others in her classes, and it’s due to her Mom’s tutoring in Chinese math. Well,,, and her own ability and determination...... I never understood a word of what was going on, as it was all in Mandarin, but I’ve seen the results, and they’re impressive!
...the sort of teachers who end up teaching math.
I’m a high school English and history teacher, and you have my sympathy. Many schools are terrible places for gifted students. From your letter, I’m assuming that your school system is simply not interested in actually serving the needs of your child.
My advice: find a decent private school in your area, or homeschool your child. Yes, it’ll be a financial burden, but many private schools provide assist to low-income parents. Homeschooling is a good option. There might be a school district nearby that will give a damn about the academic needs of your daughter without worrying about her psychological well-being - and, in any case, her psychological well-being is your business, not the job of some education bureaucrat. I wish you luck. I would travel to the ends of the Earth for my son’s education, including a move to another community. When God blessed me with a child, it wasn’t an invitation to relax on the couch while some slob who doesn’t know my son decides he needs the proper “development.” I know you think the same way about your daughter. Good luck and God bless you on your journey with her.
My other advice is a little more severe and comes from more than a decade here in the belly of the beast. School districts hate embarressment more than anything else. If the local school won’t address the special education needs of your child - and gifted and talented is considered special needs - I’d yell loudly and name names. Make it clear any way you can the specific people and institutions who are standing in the way of your daughter’s education. A good place to start is the school board, which has to let you speak at the start of each meeting, and there is usually a reporter present to take down your words. Blog your experience. (In fact, speaking as an English teacher, your daughter could also blog and provide insight from the student perspective.) You may not be popular in some quarters, but the lesson you’ll provide your daughter about fighting for your children will last a lifetime.
Please be well.
LOL. My first math teacher in high school was a guy that was probably 70 or so. He was a real hoot. He may have retired after that class. ;-) My bad.
Homeschool?
Instead of complaining, why not
1) home school the kid
2) arrange an outside tutor or classes in advanced math. She can sit and read or doodle during regular math classes in school
3) enroll the kid in the local Christian or Catholic schools, where tuition is not too high.
I put my youngest in a Christian school which used workbooks similar to those used in homeschool: he did well. He had a math learning disability, and needed extra help in math, but easily got A’s in other subjects. That way, he could spend more class time in math.
Once she hits high school, make sure they have advanced placement.
But the trouble with advancing her to a higher grade, which was traditionally done, ignores that the girl will be picked on by those older than her. I agree with the school: emotionally she is better off in classes with her peers. Why put the kid through emotional hell to skip a year?
The problem (especially in small towns) is to find peers who don’t hold you back.
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