It's a sad reflection on our society today if a teacher doesn't have confidence that a parent is going to actively be involved in a child's education.
I recently had a parent/teacher conference and I must say this is the first time I have been disappointed with one of my child's teachers. Don't get me wrong, she seems to be a good teacher and Amy really likes her. But I have some reservations.
I've known for some time now that I have a smart kid. I know most parents think their kids are smart, but mine is one of those really smart ones. I'm going to have to go back to school to keep up with her at this rate. She has blown the top off of the CRCT standardized tests that they give here in school. She's reading at a 5th grade level and that's when she's not really trying. Her math skills are incredible too. I don't know any other third graders working on square roots. I don't even remember what grade I learned that in. I know it wasn't elementary school.
So when I went to this conference one of my concerns was that she wasn't allowed to pick more challenging books from the library. The reason I was given: "well if she reads all the higher level books now she won't have anything to read when she gets to 5th grade." Is it just me or is there something really wrong with that statement? She went on to say that in 5th grade we would have to go to the public library to get books for her to read and we wouldn't know which ones were AR books and it would be a lot more work. Ummm... I'm at a loss for words here. Why wouldn't I do that? If I want what's best for my child, then I will do whatever it takes.
Are there really that many parents out there who don't care about their kids education? That is the only thing I can glean from that comment. Has school just become a place where kids are babysat between the hours of 7:30 am and 3:30 pm? And if that's the case, what are these kids going to do when they grow up?
I know there are some teachers out there reading this blog. Please comment and tell me what you think. Personally, I will continue to work with my daughter, take her to the library, book store, museums, etc. in an effort to continue to challenge her. But if this is what I have to look forward to for the next 9 years, I may have to re-evaluate what we're doing about schooling.
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3 comments:
That is appalling. Who wouldn't want to help their kids or at LEAST challenge them in their work? Gripes. I'm glad thought that you are a parent that will spur Amy on to do more. :)
Ugh! I can't imagine that happening at our school. They push the kids to read at higher levels. That is very odd. Maybe it's just this teacher? She could be inexperienced? You could discuss your concerns with the principal. Do you have a gifted program? If so, I would make sure she was in it, otherwise she will get bored with school and may not do as well.
You are lucky to have this as a problem:-) I wish I had to worry about my kid being a smart kid. No worries here! ha. Good luck.
Amy - I think it is just this teacher. Before this she has had wonderful teachers who have pushed and challenged her. I'm hoping to see some positive results from the conference. I guess the next few weeks will tell. And while she is in the gifted program, unfortunately it is only 1 day a week. Until she gets to middle school.
I'm sure your kids will be the crafty ones creating beautiful spaces. And that takes smarts too.
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