My Daughter’s Teacher Wants To Put Her Into A Special Reading Class, But I Don’t Think She Needs It.?
My daughter is 7years old. She has been slowly learning to read since kindergarten. She is now in the first grade. When she is home, she will read to me, and then I read to her. Several of her books are at 3rd grade levels, and she can read them with minimum help. The books her teacher sends home for her to read, she whips right through them with no problems. Today I get a letter from her teacher asking me to sign a piece of paper to have my daughter put into a “special” class for slow learners. This teacher is trying to say that my daughter is way behind her classmates in reading and spelling, even though she brings home her spelling tests and each time they’re 100%, I have them all hanging on my fridge. I’m not sure what this teacher’s problem is. All I know is that when my daughter was in kindergarten, her teacher would rave about her progress in school, and now this teacher has done nothing but complain. I’ve tried talking to the principal, but he seems very disinterested in the entire situation.
I have a son who has a LD and is ADHD. So I know what to look for. I don’t see any of these problems in my daughter. She is a very hard worker, and when she comes home after school, she does her homework first, without me even having to tell her. She has no problems reading for either me or her dad, the problem seems to happen once she walks through those doors to school. I’ve tried getting her to open up about it, but she just clams up and refuses to talk. Will I have to put her into this class or do I have options? How do I get to the root of the problem?
My daughter is looking forward to next year when she transfers out of the district she’s in and gets to attend the same school as her brother. I just need to help her hold on for another two months. Any advice? Thank you in advance : )
Oh, I’ve been right where you are.
It’s amazing how today’s educators so blithely ignore the fact that children have different learning speeds and styles, and are so eager to place perfectly normal kids in what in my neck of the woods is known as “reading rescue class.”
When my daughter was your child’s age, we were told she had reading problems, ADD, some mysterious, unnamed learning disorder, and/or a cognitive disorder. The real problem was that she’s a gifted, visual/tactile learner and her teachers were not willing to teach her in a visual tactile manner. She also had some teachers who were amateur psychiatrists.
Instead of conferencing with the teacher, I strongly urge you to spend several days observing this teacher…not your child, but the teacher. Just plant yourself silently in the back of the room and watch. I’ll bet you that this teacher’s behavior is the problem.
All the best.
Go talk to the teacher on this and ask her to prove to you why she needs to be in that class. She has to back it up with proof
Ask for a meeting with the principal and guidance counselor to voice your concerns and hear about their opinions. A teacher doesn’t have the authority to force your daughter into a “special reading group” and from what I hear, it would inappropriate to do so. I work with fourth graders who’ve been convinced that they have to be in the “special” group, given books that most kindergarteners could get through and use that as an excuse to not try. Stick up for your daughter, you’ll get the result you want.
You have options.
They should have had a meeting with you to discuss their concerns and tell you what options you do have, if you or your child’s teacher has reason to believe your child is not progressing as they should be.
Maybe it’s not a special reading class, but a special tutoring program that won’t interfere with normal class activities?
Anyhow, my suggestion is to schedule a meeting with the teacher, and go from there – but YES, you do have options.
Forget whether she “needs” it. Will she benefit from it?
If so, whyever would you not let her have extra help? Since you are suggesting that the problem may be the teacher, wouldn’t this get her a different teacher?
So she’s getting 100% on her spelling tests – but is she doing the same spelling tests are everyone else, or is the teacher giving her special easy ones and she’s a long way behind learning new words?
The reading thing seems odd, though – either she’s reading at an age appropriate level or she isn’t, and surely a kid who a kindergarten teacher was “raving” over was already well above first grade level. I would arrange to go in and talk to the teacher. Maybe it’s something as simple as your daughter managed to pick up somebody else’s letter.
doesn’t the school have quarterly PTCs (parent teacher conferences)? they should if they’re giving out recommendations like this. why don’t you call for a meeting with the teacher and the principal (if possible)? the teacher should have solid proof and valid reasons for her recommendation.
also, you may want to take into consideration that sometimes our children perform differently at home and in school. at home, your daughter could be doing fine. but in school, she could be dragging. reasons can range from bullying to boredom to peer pressure to plain disinterest in schooling.
you’ll find these out when you finally have a conference with the school. be positive and look at the situation with 3 different sets of eyes: yours, the teacher’s, and most importantly, your daughter’s.
good luck!
Schedule a conference with your child’s teacher. Ask if you can see some of your child’s papers (or bring graded ones your daughter has taken home) and ask where the other students in the class are. Since you do not know what to look for, you need to communicate with the educator about what you can look for.
I would not directly confront the teacher and say your child should not be moved down, because you first need to pinpoint the progress of other students so you have a comparison.
And who knows, a “special” reading class may help your daughter. You need to be open to all options so you can be sure your daughter is not falling behind, yet it also being challenged.
Another reason may be that your daughter is just shy. My 7 year old was extremely shy in kindergarten. She could read perfectly while other students were still learning the alphabet, yet her teachers didn’t know it because she was too shy to read and show her skills. She would not reveal her true level of ability, so I knew I had to be involved. I took her to a tutor, not necessarily one that would help improve in academics, but a teacher that helped her also open up. If this is the case of your daughter, you may need to step in now so the problem doesn’t persist.
Good luck!
It saddens me that we live in a world that when a teacher offers an opportunity for a reading intervention for your daughter that you immediately believe the teacher “has a problem”. Perhaps scheduling an appointment or even a phone call with her and letting her explain why she believes this will be beneficial would be the right first step. Legally you do not have to put your daughter in this class, but I would certainly ask questions before I turned down something that could truly benefit my child.
BTW…spelling tests are a poor indicator of anything to do with reading skills, and usually is more indicative of study skills and parent involvement in the first grade. I have seen kids that are beyond gifted fail.
it cant hurt her..why fight it?
Denying your kid has a problem isnt supporting her at ALL. If you cant work with the teacher instead of being defensive …youre going to need some special parenting classes yourself. You arent in the classroom to compare her daily to her peers ..the teacher is