Reply to S/O: what to do, given that so many schools use Lucy Calkins?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m the poster from the Lucy Calkins thread with the 1st grader who is very smart but is struggling with reading and writing.

She is not behind in reading, per se, but given that she tested at 135 FSIQ on the WPPSI with no dips in abilities, I’m not thrilled that she’s currently only able to read level D/E books with some assistance from me.

Her writing is more concerning, though. Her school uses the Handwriting without Tears program, but she still forms letters in very non-conventional ways and often reverses them. I know that’s not out of the range of normal, but she’ll turn 7 in October. My understanding is it’s only normal through 7.

She is in speech therapy and receives Orton-Gillingham tutoring. We also have a neuropsych eval scheduled for October.

I know we will end up learning a lot from that eval, but if there aren’t underlying issues like dyslexia or dysgraphia, how do we make sure she reaches her potential for reading and writing? We can keep up with tutoring, but how effective will that be, if it’s being undermined by ineffective classroom instruction?

Her school seems to use a combination of LC and more phonics-based approaches. Moreover, it seems like switching schools might not help, since so many of them use LC to some extent.[/quote]

OMG you seriously need to chill.  It’s not a switch on and off at 7. There’s a lot of brain wiring that need to happen for reading to click, and some education experts think we push it too soon here in the US, traumatizing all the kids whose brains aren’t quite ready at 5 or 6, and turning them off reading. In Finland, they don’t START teaching reading until 7 and Finnish kids score among the highest in tests of reading proficiency.

Even children who start reading young may not master other important elements u til much later. My eldest started reading at 2. Taught himself after he figured out letter,phonics. But his ability to create pictures in his mind while he read didn’t totally click until late second grade. He has an IQ of 157.

You sound conscientious but also highly anxious. Level D/E at her age is fine. High IQ is not essentially correlated with precocious reading ability. All kids converge around age 8/9 and that’s when you can start seeing the giftedness emerge. My eldest now reads super fast and with unusual comprehension and understanding of emotional nuances.

Please get help for your anxiety now before you damage your child.[/quote]

The learning specialist at her school and her O-G reading tutor flagged concerns. She also has moderate to severe articulation issues, which is why she’s in speech therapy.

But thanks for your “concerns” about my anxiety.

And no, all kids do not converge at age 8/9. Some kids have underlying issues. Abilities differ. This whole notion all kids will eventually end up on the same level is completely misguided.[/quote]

You previously presented your child has having a high FSIQ and having no dips in abilities. You said you were dissatisfied with her reading level given that she's smart.  You did not share that she had been flagged as having reading issues.

Of course that's a different case.  If she does have such issues, it's not about reading being taught poorly at her school(s).  It's about meeting her special needs. You presented her as smart and underperforming potentially due to poor instruction at her school. Now it's because she has may have underlying learning disabilities.

Yes, most neurotypical kids do converge on reading around age 8/9. I certainly should have qualified that to except neurodivergent children.  However, you were  quite disingenuous in how you presented your daughter's reading challenges. If your OG reading tutor has flagged concerns, there's clearly something else besides poor curriculum/teaching going on. [/quote]

I was not being disingenuous at all. We are in the process of figuring out what is going on.

Everyone on this thread seems to get that except for you. [/quote]

Sorry but the above poster is right. If there are underlying learning issues, the curriculum is sort of irrelevant. [/quote]

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