League girl, I didnt mean to insult you or insinuate that you were wrong. Im just saying that most Mom's dont like to be called paranoid about their kids...its just the wrong word....saying that she should talk to the teacher is good, insinuating that she is paranoid is not. Thats all I was trying to say. I raised five kids (two are still young 9 and 6), I did jump to conclusions and become upset with teachers when my older kids were younger but I learned that sometimes it was my kids that were acting up. I also have a brother who is a teacher so I have learned to look at both sides. Still all that aside, I do not agree with a child that young being graded in art and PE. These classes should be fun at this age. Here in France they are more strict about academics but they do not grade for PE (what they call sports) or Art. They do however grade for reading, writing and math. My kids are considered "handicapped" (its the word they use here) so they are given more leeway however my daughter who is 6 (classic autism) and in the public school (my 9 year old with Aspergers and some LD's is in a special school this year) with a full time aide is actually above most of the other children (the typical children) in academics but has difficulty doing sports because she has large muscle problems. If she is pushed too hard she will fall so I have told them that they need to be more careful with her, again its my responsibility as her parent to be her advocate...otherwise we end up in the ER. Im sure some teachers think I am paranoid and I could care less. I dont go in and tell them how to do their job as much as I explain to them about my child because my child, even though on par in academics with the other children, has issues that they may not understand. Its my job to educate them about my child.
You are right in saying that she should not flip out and yell at the teacher or whatever but it is her job to find out why this child is being "graded" in these subjects and it is even her job to find out why the school is doing this in the first place?
You will find when your child goes to school that there are good schools and there are ones with crazy ideas, there are good teachers and there are ones that just dont like your kid (like my sons teacher last year). I personally dont mind being called paranoid and I probably am at times but its how I keep my kids from being bullied and how I keep them liking school instead of hating it as I did.
Fnord, a child with or without a disability should not be graded in these types of classes at age 6. Kids grow up fast enough we dont need to push them through life, trust me, one minute you are holding your newborn and the next they are moving out. Childhood goes by fast enough and I think they should enjoy it as much as possible. I dont think this Mother is holding her child back from growing up by being upset about being graded in ART at such a young age especially if this is upsetting to him, like I said, my son would be devastated if his teacher told him he was not good at sports. That's is like telling him he runs strange or, in Art, if he draws a picture and and adult looks at it and says "That is wrong". He is hard enough on himself and PE is not that freekin important and should be fun. When I was in school I was always picked last and always laughed at by the other kids and the teacher....its one thing for other kids to make fun of you and tell you that you suck but for your teacher to do it???? it makes you hate yourself and your self esteem drops like heavy metal weight. I think its even worse as a Mother to see your kids suffer what you did, you know what it feels like, you know how much it hurts!
I was graded in art in high school because it was a class I chose to take so being graded was expected but even then my art teachers was encouraging and as long as I put forth my best effort my grades were good...and I never had an IEP or anything because I was not diagnosed until a few years ago. I was just a weird, stupid, klutsy girl who no one wanted on their team no matter what the class or the game. At least my kids are given help, I was either punished or ridiculed but I am still a positive happy person....I had a really hard time in school and was suicidal, depressed and lonely. Im so thankful that I found people who accepted me for who I am after leaving school and that I had those few teachers who just seemed to know that I needed extra help who kept me going.
I certainly know what you mean League girl about thinking people are thinking the worst of me because that was typically the case when I was a child. Also many times, even now that I am an adult I am aware that people ARE talking about me, they think I dont understand French (I understand but I am not very good at speaking it so I dont). I have always been different and it shows.
When I was a kid (in the 70s and 80s) kids and teachers were really mean and no one cared. There is still really bad bullying now (cyber bullying ect.) but when I was a kid the teachers actually encouraged it and engaged in it far more than they do now. Kids committed suicide back then too and then later there were kids bringing guns to school and killing other kids due to bullying. Bullying is abuse and I cant help but want to protect my kids....like a Mama bear!
I guess what Im trying to say is that maybe we should be paranoid.....not a nut case that screams and accuses but we should keep our eyes open and know what is going on at school and with our kids. Something as small as this that seems innocent to some but when you think about it, how do we know the other kids are not laughing and making fun of our child because when the art pictures are posted on the wall there are GRADES on them??? I certainly hope thats not the case but sometimes its right to make a mountain out of a mole hill and sometimes its not....the trick is knowing the difference. Also with our kids its really important to educate the people who are supposed to be educating our children. My daughters aide has been given many opportunities to go to the therapy center and I have given her literature (in French) to read. She has not gone to the center and now is very confused how to handle my daughters meltdowns and frustration. I hate to tell her "I told you so" but we did tell her and even offered to pay for her to go to a seminar over the summer. Hopefully she will work harder to understand my daughters sensory problems because she is beginning to not like school and this is really bad for us as she does so well and always loved school before. Sometimes paranoid is good!
04 Dec 2011, 3:53 pm
