BASIS student, have they left the school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know NO ONE at Basis whose kid watches tv during the week.

D watches 'Regular Show' with me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^NP - That is a very smug comment. It is also very presumptuous of you to assume her child is watching TV and is on the computer. I also have a child at Basis and I understand what the poster is saying although I don't think DCUM is the place to say it. Every child comes in with a different needs and skills. The science is taught so quickly that my DC often has not grasped the material in order to do the homework. We have bought a science book off of ebay and that provided some help but we are finding that the teacher is also introducing concepts beyond the book. Hence we have also resorted to quizlet and Answers in order to assist with getting the work done in a timely manner. No one at the school recommended this but as I use it to check his homework, I recommended it to my DC to assist him in correcting the answers I have identified as in error. I have also downloaded numerous different explanations of concepts with which he was having difficulty with during homework or quizzes and had him review it. So far it is working and he got 100 on his last science test (not quiz). I'm assuming at some point I will also be assessing Khan Academy for reinforcement. Homeword for my DC's science class is 50% of the grade and you get 50% off if you do not turn it in in the beginning of class when the teacher walks around to collect it. I have not complained although my child's organizational skills are not the best and he has received numerous 50s when I know the homework was done because I checked it. It is teaching him maturity and responsibility.

I hope this helps the OP.

Wait a sec. I am honestly curious about this. That seems an awful lot of parental effort going in to your child's 6th grade academic work. I went to many presentations on BASIS where they insisted that one of their core philosophies was that parents should not be so involved. It should be up to the student to monitor their own work habits and academic needs. And the student is supposed to take initiative and come to the teacher with problems. I thought that is why they don't put homework online: so it remains fully the students responsibility to use the Cj. How do you square that core philosophy with the lengths you are going to to provide materials and re teach the science class? What is going on in class? Is this a problem with the teacher or the curriculum or is it a specialized circumstance with your child?

[Anonymous]

The 5th grade science teacher at basis is an awful woman who finds pleasure in finding fault in her students' work. My child ended up with an A in her class but she tried hard to find ways to downgrade and penalize Dc and classmates, often for her mistakes, yet she does not practice what she preaches. I like most of the teachers there but she is horrible, so it's not surprising this parent has to find ways to work around and supplement her and her class/instruction. At an age when science is still considered fun by the majority of children out there, she has robbed many kids of that joy. Here's hoping she does not return next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^NP - That is a very smug comment. It is also very presumptuous of you to assume her child is watching TV and is on the computer. I also have a child at Basis and I understand what the poster is saying although I don't think DCUM is the place to say it. Every child comes in with a different needs and skills. The science is taught so quickly that my DC often has not grasped the material in order to do the homework. We have bought a science book off of ebay and that provided some help but we are finding that the teacher is also introducing concepts beyond the book. Hence we have also resorted to quizlet and Answers in order to assist with getting the work done in a timely manner. No one at the school recommended this but as I use it to check his homework, I recommended it to my DC to assist him in correcting the answers I have identified as in error. I have also downloaded numerous different explanations of concepts with which he was having difficulty with during homework or quizzes and had him review it. So far it is working and he got 100 on his last science test (not quiz). I'm assuming at some point I will also be assessing Khan Academy for reinforcement. Homeword for my DC's science class is 50% of the grade and you get 50% off if you do not turn it in in the beginning of class when the teacher walks around to collect it. I have not complained although my child's organizational skills are not the best and he has received numerous 50s when I know the homework was done because I checked it. It is teaching him maturity and responsibility.

I hope this helps the OP.

Wait a sec. I am honestly curious about this. That seems an awful lot of parental effort going in to your child's 6th grade academic work. I went to many presentations on BASIS where they insisted that one of their core philosophies was that parents should not be so involved. It should be up to the student to monitor their own work habits and academic needs. And the student is supposed to take initiative and come to the teacher with problems. I thought that is why they don't put homework online: so it remains fully the students responsibility to use the Cj. How do you square that core philosophy with the lengths you are going to to provide materials and re teach the science class? What is going on in class? Is this a problem with the teacher or the curriculum or is it a specialized circumstance with your child?

My child is in 5th. I think the science teacher is good. She is showing him that he is responsible for stepping up and learning the material however he gets it done (in preparation for the three science claases next year.) I am not going to let my DC flounder while he gets adjusted to the new workload and new material that he has never been exposed to. The same people that are arguing that you should not be so involved will be the ones that when your child does poorly will blame it on TV, computer time, poor parenting, low socio-economics, etc. It may be that it is more a function of children not fully understanding the relationships of independent variable vs dependent variable or quite understanding what golgi bodies, nucleulus and about 10 other terms related to cell do that I don't even remember. I make my child do the work and figure it out but I am showing him where he can get additional resources that he must look up himself. I hope/expect by February my role will be greatly diminished.

[Anonymous]

I agree with 13:02- she is the only teacher my dc has had issue with, and our neighbor's child's accomodations to the point that the admin is having to intervene several times a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 5th grade science teacher at basis is an awful woman who finds pleasure in finding fault in her students' work. My child ended up with an A in her class but she tried hard to find ways to downgrade and penalize Dc and classmates, often for her mistakes, yet she does not practice what she preaches. I like most of the teachers there but she is horrible, so it's not surprising this parent has to find ways to work around and supplement her and her class/instruction. At an age when science is still considered fun by the majority of children out there, she has robbed many kids of that joy. Here's hoping she does not return next year.

My DC got a B because of all the late homeworks. I didn't find out until Back to School night that if you don't place it in her hand it is considered late. My DC thought you should put it in the homework basket if she had already walked around. Since we have her, I must stay positive. She says this is to help them be able to handle the workload of Biology, Chemistry and Physics next year. We will see. I know one thing, I am glad we started in 5th as I think this adjustment would have been harder in 6th. I figure he will learn the skill of dealing with rigid teachers. Thanks for the support. See you on the other side.

[Anonymous]

We have accommodation issues also-she refused my dc accommodations for testing each time even after the school made it clear to her so that DC had to take them over w/accommodations later and told me the accommodations were a "crutch"-awful woman-my partner wants to call in DOE to intervene but we are holding off since the school is really trying to get her to deflate the mall-cop power trip she seems to be on. All the other teachers have been spot on, and Aiken is lovely.

[Anonymous]

I just saw this-we thought we were the only ones-dc cries and though she did ok in the class (her only B) i am afraid her dreams of being a scientist one day have been dashed-we came to Basis so that her interests in Science could be fostered, and we now are considering leaving now that those interests gave been soured by this woman.

[Anonymous]

Have parents thought of approaching the teacher as a group during office hours? I seem to recall she does not have parent hours, just student ones.

[Anonymous]

My child finds her (and her neck tattoo) scary and distracting. I tell him to hang in there since the rest of the lot seem solid and positive.

[Anonymous]

some of you are doing practically doing your kid's homework-- these are 10 and 11 year olds. You are crazy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My child is in 5th. I think the science teacher is good. She is showing him that he is responsible for stepping up and learning the material however he gets it done (in preparation for the three science claases next year.) I am not going to let my DC flounder while he gets adjusted to the new workload and new material that he has never been exposed to. The same people that are arguing that you should not be so involved will be the ones that when your child does poorly will blame it on TV, computer time, poor parenting, low socio-economics, etc. It may be that it is more a function of children not fully understanding the relationships of independent variable vs dependent variable or quite understanding what golgi bodies, nucleulus and about 10 other terms related to cell do that I don't even remember. I make my child do the work and figure it out but I am showing him where he can get additional resources that he must look up himself. I hope/expect by February my role will be greatly diminished.

Keep up the good work. you know what your child needs. From what you wrote you are just filling out the picture and giving you child the tools they need. The BASIS leadership has recommended Khan academy etc to help kids who want additional detail. I worked closely with my daughter in the beginning of last year (5th at BASIS) and by November things got better and by spring she was flying high. Now she is on autopilot in 6th and it almost seems like the work is easier this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just saw this-we thought we were the only ones-dc cries and though she did ok in the class (her only B) i am afraid her dreams of being a scientist one day have been dashed-we came to Basis so that her interests in Science could be fostered, and we now are considering leaving now that those interests gave been sured by this woman.

A bunch of you should go to Aiken and tell him about this - find your peers on boosters. IME, BASIS is very responsive and if the teacher is really that bad, they will do something immediately. In terms of accommodations, take it up with both Dr Johnson and the new special needs coordinator, email every time something happens, and cc Aiken. Teachers got fired last year.

[Anonymous]

In terms of math, your child may be in a class that is too advanced. On the science teacher, I would say that all of you should complain individually to Aiken via email. There is power in numbers. Especially if a kid is thinking about leaving BASIS because she no longer wants to be a scientist because of this teacher, TELL HIM THAT - next year she will have a bio, chem and physics teachers so one teacher will not have this kind of influence. And most of them are great, esp bio and chem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:some of you are doing practically doing your kid's homework-- these are 10 and 11 year olds. You are crazy!

My husband basically devoted his entire life for the first few months so that our sixth grader could get it, make it, and relax after being on honor roll a few times. It was a lot of his life, and we all felt neglected, but it was totally worth it. The child was completely unprepared but had unlimited potential and just needed the help and the confidence to go solo. Now we have no worries, except for our rising 5th grader who will undoubtedly need just as much help and hand holding. DC schools do not prepare our kids for BASIS, and I would hate to see them lower their standards because of it. Instead, some parents have to rise to the challenge. Well worth it, and time limited.

Not like the parents staying up til 2:30am doing science projects with their HiGH SCHOOL kids at TJ. And yes, it happens. Someone asked about it at a BASIS forum before the school even started.