Teachers- help?

[AmyM]

Teachers, I need a little help. How do I tactfully address the fact that my daughter is bored to death, has learned nothing, and I have some major concerns. Her teachers are really sweet ladies, everybody at the school is wonderful so in that aspect things are great and I really don't want to come off as a bully. I have a wee problem with being a bit too bold sometimes. :blink:

I asked last week (2nd day of school, got a target on my back already LOL) if this was typical for 2nd grade and how long they would review, and was assured it would get harder. Errr........ they're reviewing stuff she learned in the beginning of Kindergarten. Single digit adding isn't cutting it when she started on fractions last year, kwim? They haven't opened a textbook and it takes her 5 minutes to do her homework. Seat work consists of simple crossword puzzles and the kids don't have a reading textbook, not that they've seen yet. :huh:

I don't know how to handle this without being obnoxious. I know they have to follow the no child left behind thingy so other kids don't fall through the cracks, which is good. But to me, it's the same coin just a flip side. Now the kids who are more advanced are falling through the cracks so to speak Advice, please? Do I just keep my mouth shut for a while, difficult as that may be?

 

[stayawake]

I really hope it gets better for your daughter. I'm not a teacher, I was in this situation when I was a child though. I had one grade of NOTHING. Fortunetly, I was able to pick things up the next year with a great teacher. This is a serious issue. I wouldn't let it go too long... are there other parents you could talk to at the school to see how they feel? Or anyone you know who has had this teacher before?

 

[Darcy Baldwin]

It's typical for them to spend the first 1-3 weeks reviewing. You can do enrichment things with your daughter at home if you find she's chomping at the bit to do a little more, but I'd give them a little while longer while the teacher feels her way around what her students know, etc.

 

[hhleung]

I'm not a teacher but I feel your pain. My DD was bored her entire year of pre-kindergarten and a good part of kindergarten (hopefully, it'll be better this year in 1st grade) Luckily for us, my DD didn't really mind too much and even though she didn't learn much academically, she did learn a lot socially (she was a child who preferred hanging out with the teacher instead of her classmates) and she did pick up certain things from science and social studies that she didn't know before. And her kindergarten teacher did try to give her some extra assignments when she had time (which wasn't too often)

Maybe you could wait a little longer before you speak with the teacher? I know that in my DD's kindergarten class last year, they reviewed writing the alphabet the first few weeks and I was very worried about that b/c my DD had already done that in both preschool and pre-K.....but within a few months, they had moved on to writing sentences and short stories so the review time was really only a month or two.

Helen

 

[Stacey42]

DS1 started school week before last & he's not really being challenged much either. But I have learned that they are still evaluating all the kids on different subjects so they are just doing review things for now. I emailed the teacher because DS1 was telling me about how he went off to another room every now & then & had to read things or look at numbers & from questioning him it seemed they were taking the kids individually & I was wondering what was going on. Plus he was bringing home worksheets similar to what he had done last year. She said next week they would be breaking the kids into study groups based on those evaluations. Then the work will get more ability focused.

I also emailed because he'd been getting in trouble & I was wondering if it was boredom. If you are really concerned I'd contact the teacher otherwise i'd give it another week

 

[Jennifer]

I think you should give it just a week or so...see if it changes. I know when I was teaching (2nd), we spent the first 3ish weeks reviewing. 2nd grade is very much a review kind of year, at least in my state. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of new, harder material, but it's also the last year in the primary grades and they want to make sure all the kids master all the skills before moving on to a testing grade.

With that said, if she's still doing this really easy sounding stuff you posted, I would certainly head in to talk with her teacher...just as a caring parent.

 

[robinmgriffin]

I currently teach third grade in Florida. A major testing grade. I can see a huge gap in my students from second to third grade. Most of the math in third is new to them. I, however, do not spend much time reviewing last year's skills, as we have to teach a year's worth of skills before the March FCAT test. AAAHHHH! I am not sure how second grade teachers begin the year but I would agree with the ladies and give them a week or so then I would ask the teacher if she could possibly offer challenging work for your daughter. In my classroom, I have three smaller groups based on their skill levels in each subject. The advanced kids are challenged with projects and such while the lower group has extra teaching time. It is always difficult to plan for each individual learner. Give the teacher a little time and if you are still not satisfied, fight for your daughter. Don't worry about being pushy. it is her education that matters. ;o)

 

[AmyM]

First year in public school and it is so different. That's another reason I was here asking for help because not much has been explained to me yet and it's just a whole new ballgame for us. We were always in the loop with her old school, this one kinda expects you to just drop the kids off and trust them and don't ask too many questions. Not my style. But I wanna be respectful and don't want the teachers to feel like they're not appreciated or doing a good job. This is only the 2nd week so I'll give it another week before full freak out mode. Trying really really really hard to anyway. I'm kinda in shock over how things are run in the classroom, it's just new and quite strange LOL Thank you ladies!