I'm sorry that this is happening to you. It makes me angry for you. His work looks just fine. The comment about erasing too much is ridiculous. If she expects perfection you need to erase the errors you made. We have done abeka since 1st grade and his work looks just fine. Abeka repeats itself year after year. If it's not absolutely perfect their will surely be a chance the next year, the year after that and the - well you get my point. I'm glad that you are going to talk to the teacher. Maybe she doesn't realize that she is being so negative. In the beginning of abeka's teachers manuals it gives you instructions on how to grade papers and they always say to make positive statements. Maybe she missed that part, lol. I pray that either the teacher would be responsive to what you say or your dh would let you bring him home. Will dh be going to see the teacher too? This way he can understand exactly what is going on.
Lee, thank you! Yes dh will be going as well to the meeting with the teacher. I spoke with her briefly yesterday as I picked him up and she agreed to give him more verbal and written praise for a job well done and for trying his best. She is also going to start giving him little treats for doing his best on his coloring sheets (he HATES to color, so it's torture for him and as you know Abeka has TONS of coloring). We will meet the Tuesday after they come back from Thanksgiving break to see how things are going and if there is anything else we need to do for him. I also set him up a little homework nook in my bedroom so he'll have quiet to do his work, then I made some reward cards (little things like extra bedtime story, extra computer time, things like that) and for getting his homework done in a timely fashion (ie not taking 4 hours to do 3 pages) he gets one card, if I don't have to send him back to redo something because it's sloppy he gets 2 cards, if I only send him back once to fix mistakes he gets 1 card. So he gets a chance to earn 3 cards each day, and that seems to be helping also but it's only been a couple of days. DH and I spoke about it again last night and he agreed that if after Christmas we were still having the same problems and no resolution to any of it That I could pull him and just finish his year at home!
You should definitely pull him now. Let me tell you why. I have done the whole..make them finish the year since they wanted to go anyway bit. Children should not be making such huge decisions, therefore, should not be held accountable on such a huge level. But beyond tha, end of the school year is a lot of games and fun and end of year parties and field days and so on. Plus, they get the kids excited for the next year by telling them all they will do the next year. It is awful. You just have all the more troubles when you do return to homeschooling when you end on a note like that. Plus, you end up on the school's schedule because your child worked so hard all year long, they expect the long summer break. Good luck!
You know what to do Rereading this whole thread.... can you see that you actually keep saying what you really want to do... I think you know it deep inside yourself. That's great that your husband says he is flexible; next perhaps you need to talk more about why you're putting specific deadlines in there, and why..? Does you son WANT to HS again? I agree with the comments that say that 6 is far too young to make a year-long commitment to something unknown like a school. Having a pet maybe- then you can explore all the pros and cons, and the consequences, so it's more understandable... but schooling is a very complex issue! It would be great if your son understood this himself - that there is nothing wrong in actually changing your mind, as long as you've examined all the issues and that people you respect, also agree with your reasoning As a teacher myself (and currently teaching gifted kids) I do think that your son needs positive comments as well - the point about different people having different ways of communicating is a good one though, and if your son respects the teacher and she is verbally giving him positive feedback- well great! But I am REALLY concerned about him missing recess. I would have serious doubts about a teacher's philosophy of teaching, if this is a punishment - for a boy OR a girl. Do let us know the outcome of your meeting with the teacher- remember that lots of people on this forum are behind you! And please also remember that you and DH are the ONLY ones who will be going to bat for your son - he can't do it himself - that's why you're his parents
well I just looked at his work and I think he is doing well. What does the teacher thing he is high school come on he is 6 and he will get better. With time. Has she ever looked at a doctors writing and they went to school for years. Man I worked with doctors for years and reading there writing was something. Maybe he wants to be a doctor. Don't really think so his writing is to good for that. I would talk to the teacher. My son would have recess and I would fun out what she is looking for. But, keep doing what you are doing and let him know he is doing great. I am with Tiffany if that was my kid he would be out and out fast. But, I do hope it works for you all. Keep us updated.
So, Last night Hubby and I sat down with his teachers and had a nice talk! She explained that what she's been trying to do is encourage my son to SLOW DOWN, take his time and do the work right the first time. Hubby and I explained taht making him redo papers all the time, taking away recess, and constantly writing negative comments on his papers was really blowing his confidence. So after we all talked about our goals for my son we were able to come up with some better ways to encourage him. So the new rules are these: He will have recess each day, he will still be given papers to redo that have been rushed and are unacceptable work, he will still be given demerits for work that is rushed and has to be redone, she will no longer point out his every flaw in coloring (an activity that he hates), and that if he can do the coloring in time she will allow him to color his "creative way", also since he's gettin recess he may have extra homework on Friday because any redos that he can't get done in the morning time will have to be done for homework on Friday, She will be more positive in her comments on his papers, she will try to make coloring more fun for him, she will reward him with praise (and sometimes goodies) for a job well done, if something is becoming a habit for him she will write me a note to discuss it instead of taking it to him, and she will be "excited" for him with a job well done. After talking with her we think he'll do much better with the new rules. He still wants to stay at school so we'll let it go for now and we'll make a decision on next year when this year is over.
I am happy that the teacher is willing to work with you. The one caution that I did not see in here is that by your son losing recess he is being singled out from the rest of the children. They will miss him and assume that he is in trouble. They can be cruel and tease him for this. I thought that his work was very good for a 6yo. Hopefully the teacher will stand by what you agreed to. Damage to confidence is so hard to repair.
I would set up a meeting with the teacher. Just to make sure you on the same page. Oh, I see you did. Great!
I love it when a plan comes together. So glad you seem to have gotten through to the teacher. Don't forget to check in periodically, though. Old habits die hard.
Yes I will be checking in on the teacher, My son tells me every day how his day was, how many demerits he got, how many papers he had to redo and how much recess he got. So I get the daily report from him and if I hear something that concerns me I'll talk with his teacher. She's very nice and I'm sure she just wants to encourage him to do his best, it's just that her ways aren't his ways...
