Am I thinking too much

[Anonymous]

My daughter is in elementary school. She was born here. But Indian origin.
She is smart kid and wants to learn.
However she is always put on table where her back is against the board. Every time the teacher changes their place. She always get her back facing the board. She tried to tell teacher but the teacher said she will try next time she changes again.
I feel that the teacher is only paying attention to white kids.
I spoke to my husband and he said to not think like that otherwise every time we will be thinking like that.
We just need to make our kids work twice harder.
So I asked my husband why? He said that how it is and in the long run she will come out to be the best and to ignore everything else.
Am I thinking too much?

[Anonymous]

You are overthinking this. You don't know where every kid is sitting in class. The teacher isn't deliberately singling out your daughter. If you are concerned, email the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is in elementary school. She was born here. But Indian origin.
She is smart kid and wants to learn.
However she is always put on table where her back is against the board. Every time the teacher changes their place. She always get her back facing the board. She tried to tell teacher but the teacher said she will try next time she changes again.
I feel that the teacher is only paying attention to white kids.
I spoke to my husband and he said to not think like that otherwise every time we will be thinking like that.
We just need to make our kids work twice harder.
So I asked my husband why? He said that how it is and in the long run she will come out to be the best and to ignore everything else.
Am I thinking too much?

You are both over and under thinking it. It's likely not racism, it's likely the use of "pod seating" aka tables. Essentially any seating arrangement other than rows of forward facing chairs often means HALF the students are facing away (or at least sideways) from the teacher. Often the best a teacher can arrange the pods is so that EVERYONE is sideways to the teacher - but no one is facing away. But sometimes the physical layout/geometry of the classroom means some students are seated "backwards". Yeah, it's a problem; the classrooms were designed for rows of desks and then switched to pods, which would require different geometry.

I'd argue you've just been a tad unlucky so far, but I bet a large percent of the class has the same bad luck.

[Anonymous]

Kids who are smart, academically advanced, well behaved, and have no known issues are always going to be afterthoughts. The teacher is required to give students preferential seating if it’s in their 504 or IEP. In this case, “preferential” doesn’t mean “most desirable.” It means that certain students are to be seated near the teacher and/or away from distractions because they have some sort of difficulty in the classroom. Those are not the kids who are seated with their backs to the board, and therefore, to the teacher.

The good news is that this means your dd doesn’t require extra attention due to struggling in the classroom. The bad news is that she will get very little attention. This is true for white children too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids who are smart, academically advanced, well behaved, and have no known issues are always going to be afterthoughts. The teacher is required to give students preferential seating if it’s in their 504 or IEP. In this case, “preferential” doesn’t mean “most desirable.” It means that certain students are to be seated near the teacher and/or away from distractions because they have some sort of difficulty in the classroom. Those are not the kids who are seated with their backs to the board, and therefore, to the teacher.

The good news is that this means your dd doesn’t require extra attention due to struggling in the classroom. The bad news is that she will get very little attention. This is true for white children too.

I wouldn't have put it quite this way, but the overall gist is correct. Think about it - if 1/4 of the kids in the class have an IEP or 504 plan, and preferential seating as a result, then a handful have vision issues, and a handful are just kind of inattentive but undiagnosed. Now you've got half the class that NEEDS to either be near the teacher or face the board. The kids who don't have learning differences, or low vision, or behavioral challenges, are going to end up with less advantageous seating.

Is it hurting her, or just bothering her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids who are smart, academically advanced, well behaved, and have no known issues are always going to be afterthoughts. The teacher is required to give students preferential seating if it’s in their 504 or IEP. In this case, “preferential” doesn’t mean “most desirable.” It means that certain students are to be seated near the teacher and/or away from distractions because they have some sort of difficulty in the classroom. Those are not the kids who are seated with their backs to the board, and therefore, to the teacher.

The good news is that this means your dd doesn’t require extra attention due to struggling in the classroom. The bad news is that she will get very little attention. This is true for white children too.

And these days, that's honestly probably half the kids in the class so it likely has nothing to do with your kid. The reality is most smart kids that aren't problems will get ignored especially in early elementary. That's just how it is here and if you care, you need to compensate for the is at home.

[Anonymous]

You are over thinking this but if it's bothering your child then you should email the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Kids with IEPs and 504s get the best seats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are over thinking this but if it's bothering your child then you should email the teacher.

+1 presumably, there are other kids whose backs are to the screen.

It may have just been on oversight by the teacher that your DD is always in that position, but then again, maybe she also did it because she knows your kid is smart and hardworking, and can deal with facing away from the board.

I do think this type of seating arrangement is stupid in general, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids with IEPs and 504s get the best seats.

Another option is to buy a diagnosis for a 504. That's how a lot of parents solve this. It's pretty easy to get an ADHD diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

My son with an IEP and preferential seating always had a great seat with that stupid classroom arrangement, and my highly functional daughter never had a good seat. Indeed, throughout elementary, she was placed next to the most troublesome boys to be a calming influence! Yours might be in a similar situation, so keep an eye on it.

In middle and high school, it gets better, OP! Make sure your DD takes all the advanced classes - compacted math in 4th and 5th, to start her off on the right math track, foreign language starting in 6th (take the full 1AB course, not just 1A) and the "advanced" (regular) versions of social studies and English. For math they place based on MAP scores, so make sure she's well-rested and prepared for her MAP-M tests. Lots of reading for MAP-R.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I m thinking too much. My kid only told me that she has to turn to see the board and she had to copy a spelling which took her time and was not able to finish work in time.
I have seen her seating since school started cause I volunteer in the class. And both times she got seat changed was facing her back away and sitting at the furthest table from the teacher.
I guess we just have to teach them to be self learner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids with IEPs and 504s get the best seats.

Another option is to buy a diagnosis for a 504. That's how a lot of parents solve this. It's pretty easy to get an ADHD diagnosis.

NO. Stop spreading lies. No psychologist or developmental pediatrician worth their years of training will do a fake assessment to give a fake diagnosis.

You are hurting all the children with special needs and their families by suggesting their disabilities are fake.

SHAME ON YOU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I m thinking too much. My kid only told me that she has to turn to see the board and she had to copy a spelling which took her time and was not able to finish work in time.
I have seen her seating since school started cause I volunteer in the class. And both times she got seat changed was facing her back away and sitting at the furthest table from the teacher.
I guess we just have to teach them to be self learner.

Or... you learn to be the squeaky wheel, OP. Be nice and polite, but remind the teacher that your child should have a better seat next time. Continue to volunteer so you monitor the situation. If your child says she could not copy the spelling in time because she had to turn her head, that's another opportunity to be the squeaky wheel: you send an email to the teacher to explain that the poor seating is affecting her learning. Squeaky wheel is an art form And you don't care at all that the teacher rolls her eyes. Your kid won't have her next year.

[Anonymous]

Here’s another thought. If it’s a strange configurations, see if your daughter can swing her desk so she’s looking forward during instruction time and then swing it back so she can do her group work and rest of her work.

I never had an IEP or 504 when I was at MCPS every single teacher, when I asked, let me face forward, so I could better pay attention.