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
Looks like there's lots of good advice on the thread already...
If you want to keep your daughter in the public schools, an IEP is an option. I had one for most of my time in school (graduated 2003). You might have to push for it if they don't have a gifted program.
Push to get her out of that math class if she's ready for something more advanced. There are few things worse than being stuck in class where either 1) the work is far too easy and there is no challenge or 2) the teacher uses her to teach the other kids. The latter seems to be one of the approaches that the NCLB proponents like to use... it caters to the lowest common denominator. My sister just graduated with a teaching degree, and I've been trying to explain to her the flaws of that approach, and she just doesn't get it. Don't be surprised to find similar attitudes with your daughter's teachers.
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.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The above will likely not solve the problem...but,...Hey, I suppose it’s worth investigating.
The private schools in my area were just as rigid as the government school and similarly incapable of dealing with children who are 2 to 3 standard deviations above the norm.
Resounding YES. That would be the first choice. However, if it's just not feasible, second choice is to drive them up the wall.
Just as an aside, in my experience, the "every child can succeed" peer-tutoring crowd is, and always has been, opposed to NCLB, because they think standardized testing doesn't show the child's true abilities and it stifles creativity. In fact, they don't like accountability at all.
Some of us realize that some schools and teachers weren't doing a very good job, like the idea of being held accountable, but think it's unrealistic to think that every child will ever be able to work "on grade level", must less by 2014.
And then there are those who seem to think it's possible, and they're going to make it happen, no matter how far tests have to be dumbed down before then....
Fair enough. Maybe it's not the "NCLB proponents". All I know is that mainstream educational theory classes teach that it's a usable strategy.
No matter who it is pushing for it, it's still not the job of the kids to be teaching their peers.
I would consider having your daughter take the GED and start her on college.
If not, a dual credit class that allows 11 Y.O. students.
It's almost always a bad idea.
Every once in a great while, there is an individual whose maturity accelerates along with their academics.
But that's rare.
Much more commonly, people who skip grades wind up lazy and bored. A student who is "bored" with sixth grade math is at risk of chronic boredom and cynicism - as an emerging personality trait - and acceleration does nothing to address this.
Just my 2c - but it's based on a big sample size.
And, BTW, I've also just finished 3 years as Chairman of a Christian school.
Most parents who are seeking acceleration for their children "have issues".
“But my general impression is that most school districts feel far less obligation to meet the needs of G&T students. Good luck.”
There are federal and state laws saying that schools must properly serve “special needs” kids, but gifted children are not covered by the Federal law or most of the state laws. Gifted kids can often be helped by skipping a grade, which saves the school district (and the taxpayer) money, but schools officials want to maximize enrollment.
‘“get singapore math books”
If these are basically the same as the Chinese Math books my wife used, this is a great tip.’
Probably the poster was referring to Singapore Math curriculum sold from http://www.singaporemath.com/ and used by many homeschoolers. Singapore Math has also been approved for use in the public schools of California.
Trust me, if the teachers are at all worth it, they'll be happy to have a child with an involved parent.
I tutor kids, mostly in Middle School math. Having homeschooled my own son K-12 (tho he graduated at 15, in ‘10th’), I realized the benefits of working one-on-one AND of letting them go at their own speed.
I have many math students who are held back because either there are not enough spots in the faster class or their class schedule does not allow them to be in the more advanced math. They are BORED to death, ready to move on, frustrated beyond belief by the kids in their classes who do not understand basic math/ whom they have to wait for.
I would teach my daughter math myself, if I were you. You might have to homeschool her to do that. The public schools should not be able to control her academic advancement. Perhaps a private school will accomodate your daughter’s strengths, but don’t count on it.
The schools make math seem terribly hard, like you have to have one year of every sub-category before you go on. It is just not so. We used Straight-Forward math workbooks, which covered concepts one by one and did not have chapters worth of problems to work, and we worked very quickly through advanced math, into pre-calculus. My son is in advanced, advanced math classes in college, studying Computer Science, and his math foundation from these simple books was very strong.
You can do it. You just have to see beyond THEIR plan for your life.
(Gasp) they said she was an over-achiever? Isn’t that just terrible? And we pay for that idiocy, for their little kingdoms which no one must challenge.
To the original poster: Homeschool. You CAN pull her out mid-term. We did. People do it all the time. Find the local homeschool group. You will find the most knowledgeable folks, ready to help you get started. They’ll have books to refer you to, ideas to share. It is an exciting and wonderful adventure. And your daughter’s interest in math will be fed, which is, after all, what education REALLY is all about.
grrr.
I agree on both counts.
That’s a good point. My nieces in Virginia all took Algebra I in 7th grade.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.