Am I being totally unreasonable here? (page 2)

Princess

I have lots of issues with the teacher. I saw the test after our parent/teacher conference this week where she had almost nothing good to say about Rhys, except he has a beautiful smile but he walks around looking sad all the time. Made me sick.

Princess

For some reason, my kids have always been taught and have understood that standard, and they aren't in a special school for smart kids.

I only made the comment about the school so you could get some perspective on the test. The words aren't what a second grade class would normally be working on if the school wasn't advanced. It would be a hell of a lot easier if he were normal and in the second grade class across the street instead of bussed to this school and made to feel different all the time.

teejay

It's just one test among thousands he'll take. Hopefully in the future he'll not make the horrendous mistake of capitalizing his spelling words. I wouldn't get worked up about it.

Smart kid.

core

...if the same standard is applied across all in the year group/grade then is this a big issue ? Is there more to it than just this simple spelling test...?

Having been at a seminar at a UK University this past week this brings to mind the words of the Vice-Chancellor when he said "...years ago a significant number of graduates took up teaching as a career - now we do all we can to discourage them because the profession is so demoralised and debilitating..."

Valis

Hiya Princess!...Actally I was just thinking of how many kids around that age start reading things like Harry Pothead...um I mean Potter and so forth...They start reading earlier and earlier which i think is a great thing. Seeing bigger words should be little of a stretch. As long as he isn't being graded badly for making mistakes with big words like that I say more of it! If the teacher doesn't know the difference between core sirriculum for second graders and a "challenge" then this is where you may have a problem. Just like the standardized tests that students these days are forced to learn how to pass...it doesn't mean jack shiite if the student isn't growing in the thinking and intellectual depts..Just my two cents..

Sincerely,

District Overbeer

Scully

I only made the comment about the school so you could get some perspective on the test. The words aren't what a second grade class would normally be working on if the school wasn't advanced. It would be a hell of a lot easier if he were normal and in the second grade class across the street instead of bussed to this school and made to feel different all the time.

Don't get me wrong - I think it's great that Rhys is able to work at an advanced level and spell more complicated words than a normal 8 year old would. Should that exempt him from having to apply the basic rules of spelling and grammar, if those expectations were made clear at the outset? I don't think so, but I also don't think it's worth getting yourself all worked up over either. Like I said before, you can use this as a learning experience for Rhys, rather than an excuse to get a chip on your shoulder (and his). Teachers are going to come and go out of his life and it's really not worth it to damage his perception of "all teachers" and education as a whole due to the problems you are experiencing with this "one teacher."

BTW, one of my kids has what is classified as a "severe" learning disability (scoring only in the 2nd percentile on this aspect) and part of the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) that has been put in place for her is that she not be penalized for making spelling errors, because her brain doesn't grasp the concept of phonics and sounding out words to spell them. She's very bright in every other aspect of schooling, it's just spelling and writing down words from dictation that cause her problems. While I am relieved that she's not going to be penalized for the kinds of errors in spelling that would make your hair stand on end, I also don't want her to develop the attitude that "I have a learning disability so I don't have to try to do my best." She's learning to study the words she has to know for spelling so that she can "see" the whole word in her mind, and she's using the strategy that I described to you earlier - to look at the way the exemplars in the spelling text are written and write them exactly the same way that she sees them. It works. That's all I can tell you.

Love, Scully

observador

Princess,

don't take me wrong. Scully said it so well: it all depends on the rules.

Princess

I'm just irritated because the words were spelled correctly. It's a spelling test. I'm nitpicking, I know. Rhys didn't know why the words were marked wrong. It's possible he wasn't listening when she explained why. It's also possible she didn't explain it.

There is very little praise given and the whole school lacks the joy that I expect children to have. I walk into Rhys' school and it feels lifeless. I leave feeling depressed. I walk into Zoe's school and there is a joyful energy, I leave feeling happy.

There are so many flaws in the program that I don't want to get into here.

I'm just venting due to a frustrating situation. I'm not looking for advice or validation. I was curious whether others would have marked the test wrong.

Wild_Thing

I am a teacher, and I have to side with the kid's teacher. I do the exact same thing. I have told them what my expectations are, though. I also mark off for capitalization and forming the letters wrong (they have to write them in cursive.) It may seem nit-picky, but some kids have a hard time remembering that some words should be capitalized all the time, and some words are never capitalized except at the beginning of a sentence (or in titles). Maybe you should make sure that the teacher is letting the kids know what the expectations are for the spelling tests. If not, then THAT is not fair.

La Capra

Dear Princess-

I like that spelling list, because the words are muliple-syllable, but mostly phonetic, which means that the words aren't impossible, but will challenge young but bright minds. I remember second and third grade spelling lists (yes, I remember that crap-I not only remember what I was taught but how I was taught it) and that capitalization was part of the deal. Proper nouns got capitlized, common nouns didn't. We ALWAYS had a pretest early in the unit and the post test at the end of the unit.

I am surprised, though, that here it is nearly November, and this is the first time this matter came up for your child. Whether he had a brain fade (gee, that NEVER happens with gifted 8 year olds) or the teacher has a pedagogy (or other) problem, is probably irrelevant. I have seen many a teacher treat students unfairly, only to make it worse when a parent comes to the defense. Try to tread carefully, since it appears this teacher already has a "particular opinion" about your child. I'm a high school teacher, and when we get together with the elementary teachers for union and district stuff, it never ceases to amaze me how petty, vindictive and close-minded the elementary teachers (as a group-not individually) can get. (Yes, that is a sweeping generalization, but you should hear how they have it in for certain kids-not because of the kid but because the parent is making life miserable for them.)

I have also seen parents overreact to little things, turning very minor inconsistencies or apparent inequities into federal cases. It puts teachers in a very defensive place, causing a disruption to classroom environment (can't be helped-teachers are human). I hope this is as bad as it gets for your child, because the good news is that it's not so bad, and no college or future employer will want to know whether your child forgot capitalization rules in second grade.

Have him retake the spelling test for you, give him the perfect score he'll earn, and put that one on the fridge instead. The learning continues at home, anyway right?

Shoshana

Am I being totally unreasonable here?

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