Reply to 6th Grade Math Options

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Well, the more information the post the more nervous I get about accidentally IDing him, but he has been taking higher level math classes outside of school and doing well, which is both good for him (it's challenging, keeps him humble, and teaches him how to work) and contributing to the boredom problem at school big time. He's slated for Lakelands.[/quote]

I’m sorry. So you are sending him to an outside math school that exposes him to untaught content and then bragging about a map score that reflects access to advanced/untaught content? And that you say is directly contributing to his boredom in school? It is not a race to skip foundational levels of math at age 9. It’s fine if he enjoys the outside math but I think it’s a stretch to say his map score indicates he’s an extreme outlier especially since he’s being tutored in the content outside of school.[/quote]

What are you sorry about? No, I'm not bragging about his MAP score, I'm not even sure what it is, I don't even know what that test covers. I provided it to the best of my recollection because a PP specifically asked. I don't care about how he does on a standardized multiple choice math test and I totally agree it's not evidence that he's an extreme outlier. He's not skipping anything foundational, he's just already done everything he's doing now and I think has already done nearly everything he's slated to do in 5th grade compacted, and by the end of this year will probably have already done everything covered in AIM. He enjoys the outside work; I won't stop him from doing it just so he won't be quite as bored in school. It's very obviously good for him, you'll have to take my word for it. But if there's another way to be less bored in school, that would be good because he's getting more and more upset about it.

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If what you are doing exacerbates the boredom but you are unwilling to change that choice to alleviate the boredom (which is a legit choice and I see your reasoning), then I recommend you direct effort into developing his frustration tolerance. Many kids will be “bored” with certain parts of school. The basketball star will be bored in that unit while other kids learn to dribble. The violin player will be bored in beginner orchestra. These children can learn and develop valuable skills and character traits from these moments as well. [/quote]

That's a good point and I admit I don't know exactly why he finds the boredom of his math class so personally offensive. I was bored in school myself and I don't remember being overly troubled by it. We've talked about it but he can't articulate why he finds it so upsetting very well. I do have some guesses, though. During the year+ of virtual, when he was done with his math he could read a book or run around the living room. Now he must do only the assigned work, and if he finishes early, do worksheets from a specific pile. If he finishes those (which he hates, for some reason)...he may start over. He may not read, quietly work on his outside math, etc. It's his first real exposure to someone who demands he submit because she says so and is not interested in discussing reasonable alternatives. So, it would be good for him to learn to deal with that because lord knows it won't be the last time he'll have to, but so far what he seems to be learning is that he really hates school.[/quote]

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