I am in the middle of learning one of life's lessons right now. How to NOT regret past decisions, but how to learn from them. Some of this involves our house, but today my focus is on Sarah's schooling. Once again she is bored at school. She comes home nearly every day saying, "Guess what we learned about in math today?" She is not learning. She finishes her assignments in class and rarely has homework. (Not that I'm really complaining about no homework. It just seems indicative that she is breezing through the material.)
We had similar issues just before she went into 5th grade, but figured we'd wait it out and hope for things to improve. They didn't. She had an excellent 5th grade teacher who definitely listened to our concerns. There just wasn't much she could do about them. She told us about how the math and literature programs changed in 6th grade preparatory to moving into junior high. So we waited and hoped for things to improve. They didn't. So by the end of 5th grade we wondered if it would be better to have Sarah skip 6th grade and move up to 7th. You should have heard the exclamation points when that came up! It's rarely done! She might feel overwhelmed by the older kids! She'll miss all the fun of her 6th grade year! The 6th grade curriculum will be better! So on to 6th grade she went. And.... repeat frustrations. We had some teacher support, but there's only so much that they can do for 1 student when they have to focus on teaching 25. I debated homeschooling. But for a variety of reasons, that didn't seem to be the right answer.
Sixth grade came and went. There were frustrations, yes, but we kept thinking 7th grade will be better. She'll be in junior high. She'll still be in Quest*. She'll be able to take 7+ math. And there have been some things that are improved, but there are still too many frustrations. Brad and I decided last night that we are done putting up with mediocre education. Sarah has needs and they aren't being met.
I emailed her counselor today expressing my concerns about her frustration and suggesting that she might do better in 8th or 9th grade math. Brad is willing to help tutor her in any concepts she needs to learn in order to catch up to their curriculum (if needed). I was disappointed in the counselor's response. It was threefold. #1: He suggested I speak to her math teacher, who, he felt, could better address our concerns. #2: He then said it was "practically unheard of at Marcus for kids to move up a grade level, especially just for one class." #3: He would relay my concerns and talk to some others at the school (her math teacher, the principal, and one of the vice principals) and get back to me.
I think it is #2 that bothers me the most. Really? No one else has ever had a problem with the math curriculum and has needed more than just a chat with the teacher? And so? Just because no one else has moved up doesn't mean that isn't the right answer for Sarah.
Now we wait. Wait to see what the school's response is and then move ahead from there. All I know is, I wish we had decided to have Sarah skip 6th grade. But we didn't. So we had better learn from that decision. I know that we will not be sticking with the status quo when it isn't working for us!!
* I'm also ready to find out what the literature curriculum is for all 3 years in her Quest program. She has also had barely anything to do/read in that class. I figure if I know what books they will be studying, then I can supplement with classics and others that aren't on the list.
11 comments:
I skipped 8th grade and it was no big deal. The math program sounds different though. I started 7th grade in Algebra and already had 8th and 9th graders in it (my junior high had 7-9 grade). Science was only a semester long so I did 7th grade science the first semester and did 8th grade science the 2nd semester (skipping PE that year, but I was involved in soccer so it wasn't a big deal). The only class I really missed out on was History. I'm terrible at history, but that has more to do with me than missing that one class. My English Lit teacher said she felt I would be fine if I skipped a grade so there we went. The counselor also said they were worried about me socially etc. moving up a year but I had plenty of friends the grade above me anyway. I would push it if you think it's best. Just because they haven't done it doesn't mean they can't. People just don't like change. You could even talk to her other teachers to see what they think she might miss out on if she skipped a grade and see if you could supplement this year or during the summer.
Sorry for the novel!
That's bull! I know plenty of people who did 8th and 9th grade math in 7th grade or even 7th grade math in 9th grade.. haha. Talk to Mr. Carlson, he's a always been a good guy.
I started moving up a grade in math in 5th grade. Me and one other boy did our own work in the back of the class during math and visited the 6th grade class a couple of times a week. I think some people just really "get" math. It is kind of upsetting that they won't work with her. I hope it all works out. She's a very bright girl and you are one lucky mamma!
Oh, that's so frustrating! I remember being one of the voices of "are you sure" about this. Now I feel kind of bad. :). I sure hope you can work something out with the school. It's kind of ridiculous to say that it can't happen. Make yourself the squeaky wheel!
The curse of being too smart.... okay, brilliant and gorgeous too. I am sorry Court. I hope that you find some answers that will work well for Sarah. She definitely has a good head on her shoulders just like her parents. Love you.
It's work, but if the school won't work with you, you might consider the "Explorer Academy" option. You'd have a lot more input into what she studies....or, heaven forbid, straight up homeschooling!
-Annalia
I agree with Misty and think skipping 8th grade is no big deal. And I TAUGHT 7TH AND 8TH GRADE! Most of the kids in junior high aren't there to learn, they are there to socialize, unfortunately. If the school won't work with you (and you have to be very noisy and insistent as they don't like to do anything different) how about a charter school. We have some great ones and some not so great. Some cost a little money some don't. Just research the heck out of them.
Oh my! That sounds super frustrating! Good luck with figuring out what to do! I love that Sarah is excelling and hope those people listen to you!
Fight to the death. No Child Get Ahead. Really disappointing to hear about this. I've heard of SKSD being looked down upon and I wonder if this is why. Good luck!
I skipped 8th grade too! I don't remember missing anything except I did have to take a world history class from the community college to make up something that I guess I missed. I am glad I did it! Of course, I felt like my group of friends were all in the next grade up anyway so I wanted to move up with them. There weren't any questions of me moving up. I said I wanted to at the beginning of the year, they looked at my grades, and two weeks later I was a freshman in high school. It was scary but great. I don't regret that move at all, even though my group of friends started drifting away after that first semester (you know, changing lunch schedules with changing class schedules). Good luck!
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