Question for Parents

[Anonymous]

OP -- if you really are a teacher - you shouldn't be posting anonymous posts on the web. You also shouldn't be teaching second graders with your type of attitude. You're the one who mentioned Yale -- who in the world could tell if some second grader is Yale Material? That's ten or so years away. You need serious help and another career away from ruining yourng kids.

[Anonymous]

Why are you posting annonymously? Are you special? Or do you mean to suggest that only fools post on these boards?

Please educate this board about inclusion and exclusion criteria for annonymous posting?

[Anonymous]

OP, stick to your guns. We all know who needs "serious help" here.

[Anonymous]

The only guns she brandishes are her son's toy guns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't put the girl in a box -- I think too many teachers do that. How do you know she's not Harvard or Yale material? Maybe she'll get in through a back door approach. If I had listened to my daughter's teachers -- she'd likely be at some dumb second tier school. Instead, we believed in her and she's at a top Ivy of her choosing. She's a sports star and had about 20 or so choices. I hope the poor girl proves you wrong. I always root for the student over the teacher. Sorry -- they're paying your salary.

OK - that first statement is so obnoxious and condescending.

and your second statement I highlighted? Wow, PP! That really shows what you think is important in life, eh? Throw some money at something and you can get your way. Apparently, a teacher's training and practical experience don't count. Did your daughter truly EARN her grades, or did you buy them for her?

You're a sorry excuse for a parent.

[Anonymous]

What has happened to instilling a love of learning?

The OP understands that the child is "quirky, bright, artsy, [yet] often unfocused." Knowing the child's attributes and learning style can go a long way in HOW and WHAT the student masters. Thankfully, OP is aware this; the parents, however, are not.

The insecurity on these boards amazes me. I am my daughter's harshest critic AND best fan. So I make it a point to understand and RESPECT her learning style. Now, does that give my daughter a "right" to ignore other learning modalities? no! But her specific learning style will dictate how she learns best.

So the student to whom OP refers may not fit the Harvard mold. Is that so terrible? As parents we don't own our children; we are here to guide them. So guide them in the direction of their strengths and likes so that they're happy and well adjusted.

Not everyone is a linear thinker; if we were all cut from the same mold, we would have died off a long time ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are mediocre with that attitude pp --we don't use any sort of drugs, alcohol or tobacco in our family -- we'll save that for you so you can deal with being a loser

wow, what a jump...Prozac is in the same category as penicillin or birth control pills..
So, NO drugs ever enter your home? even tylenol?
smh


To OP
The parents sound 'over the top', however, some teaching methods which engage the child may address the weaknesses, such as making posters for the wall to improve the handwriting....

[Anonymous]

No drugs...means no aspirin. We don't believe in that stuff...nor no coffee. It's our religion.

WIIWYK? (What if it was your kid?) I wouldn't want this teacher teaching my kid. She should ask her school for suggestions not some anonymous board. I don't really believe a teacher would post something like this anyway. I think someone did it to stir things up and to show how ridiculous it would be to judge whether a second grader is "Yale Material".

[Anonymous]

Back to the original question. I'd be tempted to say that "with kids as bright as your daughter, often the key is helping them find their passions. Once they do that, they push themselves. And until they do that, as long as they're doing good work (and your daughter is), it's often counterproductive to push."

[Anonymous]

OP.
Have you reminded the parents that many students do not figure out who they are academically until they are older and that there is no way to know what kind of student she's going to be in high school. I mean, this is so obvious! Also, is the Head of School involved at all? I would think the Head of School could counsel them out of this Ivy obsession. Which is what it is. Ivies reject valedictorians for crying out loud. Perhaps hearing this from someone else would get them to relax a bit about the future. What a shame that these parents are putting themselves, their daughter and her teacher (you) through this. She sounds very lucky to have you. I hope these parents work on accepting their daughter for who she is.

[Anonymous]

I think the girl should switch schools.

[Anonymous]

I would just keep stressing that this is SECOND GRADE. If you can reassure them that she is mastering the curriculum, and showing her intelligence in a variety of ways, they might relax about the grades.

[Anonymous]

Which reminds me--our school doesn't give out grades in second grade. Is this common?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:High horse pp -- if it were your kid you wouldn't want a teacher posting some dumb anonymous post. I am well aware there are 8 Ivies -- but my daughter had 20 choices of top schools to go to...Ivies aren't the only top schools fyi...several schools such as Stanford and Duke are rated higher than some of the lower ranked Ivies.

Good luck to your poor kids with your go along attitude--mediocrity is looking them straight in the face

Whatever. My kids are at a Big 3 with 99.9% WPPSI scores. I rather doubt they are gazing at mediocrity, but sanity.

Moreover, I don't think wanting to have a child receive targeted instruction and intervention for attention issues is a "go along" attitude. Clearly denial is just not a river in Egypt for you.

[Anonymous]

OP - as a former teacher, I can sympathize with where you're coming from. But I don't think you will be able to change the parent's view that their child is destined for Harvard/Yale.

Instead, could you turn things around on them? For example, tell them that you think their child (actually, all children) will react more positively and have more interest in something in which they feel they are making some progress. So ask the parents to say encouraging things about her handwriting even when it's not great. Tell them that the more they concentrate on the differences between her and the higher achievers, the more she won't be at all interested in improving her handwriting. Imply that the problem is them turning her off. But perhaps you've already done this sort of thing.