I know everyone says that about their kids. And I promise your little one is a beautiful genius too! I whole heartedly believe there is something special in each and every kid, but Bluey? He is a very fast learner.
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See, I get upset with myself because sometimes I sorta wish he wasn't so clever. Especially since starting school this year.
Which makes me furious because I want as many doors opened for him as possible.
Everyone automatically assumes because he is one of the youngest kids in the year he is on the lower scale for his acedemics. Rightfully so! When you haven't met a kid I guess it's easier to group them according to age and assume they will be around the same level for tasks.
I thought the Best Start assesment they have brought in was a brilliant idea, but I guess there isn't too much emphasis on it? At least that i've noticed in our case.
Bluey gets home from school bored. It's not challenging for him at all. He is very social, despite never having gone to preschool, and adjusts easily to change. All you have to do is tell him what is expected of him and he's sweet.
When I appraoch his teachers about his boredom I always worry that firstly they won't believe me, or what he is telling me may not be the case in class, and secondly that i'm coming off as the pushy overbearing mother.
But what are my choices? To shut my trap about my concerns and hope for the best and then find out later down the track that I should have spoken up?
Or do I speak up and run the risk of being the parent the teacher dispises approaching them?
I've always lived by the rule of doing what's right by my kids, what I feel is in their best intrests because I am afterall their advocate.
Lately though, i've been questioning it.
I think i've become the mother that teachers cringe when they see.
So now I worry that my speaking up on occasion (I promise it's not every day, or even weekly) is going to come back to hurt him.
Do I just need to shut up? What would you do if your child came to you complaining that their school work was too easy on a regular basis?
For the record Bluey has a wonderful teacher. I cannot sing her enough praise. She works with him mostly on a one on one basis, or sets him up on work that is a little more advanced than the rest of the kids, as well as sending home extra homework and is always thinking ahead about how to involve him and push him individually. It's just that he's still complaining to me things are too easy, and zips through his homework with zero problems. I feel torn between if I need to speak up, or if I need to talk to him about slowing down.
I'm not sure what I would do, I completely understand your quandary. Maybe just mention to the teacher at the next parent teacher interview that he's complaining of being bored? Or perhaps slip it into the conversation that some extended homework wouldn't go astray?
ReplyDeleteHe sounds very clever!
You might have to set up a project for him - maybe get his teacher involved. This is what my prep teacher did for me. I'd just turned five when school started but was already reading and writing at a 4th grade level - self taught - so while the other kids were learning their letters, I was put to work writing a book, then illustrating it, and typing it out and finally it was "bound" (laminated, LOL) and a copy was put in the library. She did other stuff with me too, but I still remember working on that book because it was the only time I remember being really excited about school work. My other teachers failed to occupy me and sadly I didn't do well in for the rest of my school years and actually failed year 10 (mostly out of resentment). I did go on to finish school via TAFE a couple of years later and go to uni etc. Soon I'm hoping to start a PhD (I have two masters degrees), so the other thing I wanted to say is also trust him to stimulate his own education if others are lacking - he will bob to the top in the end!
ReplyDeleteI have absolutely no practical experience at all in any of this yet so im not much help. But i think i would talk to the teacher and let them know. Maybe they have noticed already? You asking might push it along to give him more to challenge him?
ReplyDeleteThat's a tough one. My sister had similar kind of trouble with her second little girl and she got a friend (who is a SAHM but used to be a teacher) to tutor her in return for babysitting as she found that my nieces class teacher was absolutely useless to talk to. But not everyone has a friend who really loves teaching. Hope you can find a good solution!
ReplyDeleteNo one knows your child and their abilities better than you do and if your instincts (as well as his feedback) are telling you he needs a bigger challenge you are well within your rights to speak to the teachers about this, and they should be able to give you some useful feedback as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure. Maybe put him in advanced classes? Have you hear about the Steiner method? Maybe look into schools like that?
ReplyDeleteI've not experienced your dilemma but if I were in your shoes, I would have to say something to the school/teachers. I like the idea from Sif about setting up a project too.
ReplyDeleteI know relatives who struggled with being bored when they were young and both eventually ended up skipping a class. That wasn't necessarily helpful when it came to high school because of the age difference and the impact of that in a social sense. Both ended up a little lost academically after that.
Another relative has a son who is also very bright but increasingly bored. Unfortunately the school didn't do enough about it and it has affected his attitude. The parents are trying to counter that but it is getting tougher now he is a teenager.
I guess I would want to do what I could to be sure my child did not remain so bored that it did become a problem via some other manifestation. By the same token, I'd have to be more sensitive to their emotional/social development as they got older in case they needed support in that area.
The reality, if I was actually face-to-face with this may be different, but this is my two cents worth.
I know that at our school, there's a teacher that specialises in assisting kids like Bluey. I'm not sure how (I don't have one!), but they do.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't give up. I think though you need to take any concerns/questions to the principal. Arrange an interview and just sit down with him/her and explain everything, and just ask if they can have him assessed and ask what they can do. Don't worry about what they think of you - your child comes first!
And ask Naomi from Under the Yardarm - she's a Kindy teacher and I'm sure she'd have an idea how this process works!
Good luck!