(no subject)
Sep. 4th, 2004 12:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sereneorangeMy son's teacher is starting to really tick me off, and we are only about 3 weeks into school. His teacher last year was strict and a hard grader, but she got Connor and really really cared about him.
This one.. aye...
The note was on his homework. They are writing a newspaper about themselves. One of the stories is supposed to be a feature about something that happened to him. He may not excell in all subjects, (though so far this year all his grades are good) but he is an excellent writer. He has won awards and he is brilliantly descriptive. The child's vocabulary is stellar and impressive and he has a really good grasp on metaphores,similie, and hyperboles. His teacher does not.
His story was about a trip he took with the YMCA this summer to a laser tag place in Houston. He describes the hot bus and then writes the sentance, "The counselor let us out of the volcano."
She put this note on it so he could correct it when he edits it this weekend:
I felt like going Zell Miller on her. "Do you know what a METAPHER is?!" So I had him change it to a simili. Does she not get it or just thinks that a 10 year old cannot use a metaphor? This is gonna be fun. There are other things too.
They keep sending shit home for us to sign up for or buy. Maybe I haven't let everyone know, I am a special kind of broke right now. There was a thing to apply for your kid to recieve free lunch.
- I don't want it. I don't need it. I don't want to give you my financial information to get it.
- The lunches I send him with are a lot more filling and nutritious than the lunches the school serves and a lot less fat.
Apparently we had to sign it and send it back. So I wrote in big black marker, "I dont WANT this."
Last week they sent home something offering a Highlights magazine subscription at a discounted price. I may have missed it or something, but I didn't see anything that said, "Return this even if you don't want it."
Connor had this before, but this is a bit baby for him. He has 3 magazine subscriptions for children, Nickalodeon, Discover, and National Geogographic, and our house is filled with books. He walks around school with his face in a book. He is not lacking for reading material.
Anyway.. apparently they get some kind of prize for the class if they all return the form, ordering it or not. But I had thrown it away. He lost recess for 4 days this week until I wrote her an email telling her I threw it away not him and he should not be punished.
Screw her. I hope she suffered. I know what it is like to have a 10 year old with ADHD and no excersize outlet for the afternoon.
Then she writes in her email about how she has spent extra time with him this week on one day on one assignment because he was having trouble.
Their class is smaller than it has been the previous years because some of the kids have left the Dual language program (though I cannot imagine doing that in the last year). He is protected under law because of his disability and he is guarenteed reasonable occomedations under the law. Last year the school tried to fuck him until we bitch slapped them with the ADA. We have never asked for anything till then. We would help with the class on our days off, work really hard for him with his school work, back up the teacher, bring in extra supplies. I was never one of those obnoxious mothers that thought her child was an angel or wouldn't dicipline or participate. But when they try to screw him because it is work for them it pisses me off.
When we told some of them at his ARD last year, we told counselor, teacher, priciple, and literary development teacher he may not come back because we were possibly moving to Austin, they cried. They also cried when he showed up this year for another year with them. This is one awsome child. Everyone knows him and he is known for being funny and empathetic and helpful and loving. So when this cow wants some kind of fucking kudos because 2 days this week she took some extra time to help him with an area he was having trouble with, I am not feeling overwhelmingly grateful to her. She decided to be a teacher. We are grateful for that. We support our teachers. We support our school. I am not being terribly articulate right now, but I am pissy.
that is all.
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(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-04 11:33 am (UTC)rock on M.
<3
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-04 11:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-04 02:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-04 03:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-04 04:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-04 04:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-04 05:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-04 05:17 pm (UTC)It is difficult being an adult with ADHD, because for so long people were under the impression that it is something you can outgrow. But it is a neurological disorder..brain chemestry. That would be like outgrowing Bi-polar. We just learn behavior modifications. Quite a few people in my family have it, but I am the only female with it that we have identified.
It is either more prevelent here because of the type of person it took to come over back when we landed here (my ancestor that first came here came as endentured servant- I am sure they were in debtors prison and an alcoholic lol..later we ended up with a president) or it is just more diagnosed here. anyway. .. that is enough.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-05 04:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-06 07:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-08 08:52 pm (UTC)But I do know about teachers. You have to remember, a lot of teachers are complete idiots. They graduated at Lompoc College for the Duh at the bottom of their class, and were passed by professors who just didn't want to see them back the next semester.
Since it's the beginning of the year, I would maybe cut the teacher some slack, because I know a lot of school districts will screw a teacher up just before the school year starts (transfer the teacher, hire someone the day before school starts, change their room, whatever.) That could cause her to just not be as ready as she normally would be.
But I wouldn't put up with this for long. It's completely within your right to ask the teacher about this assignment, and ask if your son was penalized for using metaphors. If so, ask why. Maybe a big part of the assignment was to be truthful and NOT use metaphors. (That doesn't make much sense to me, but again, I'm playing Devil's Advocate here.)
It's also within your right to ask the teacher just what she means about spending the extra time with him, and if she's implying that there's an issue. If so, have a meeting, preferably with more than just you and the teacher. If the teacher is being a whiny baby about spending extra time with him then she needs to ask the school for an assistant or something, not complain to you.
You probably know all this :)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-09 04:38 am (UTC)