Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 15:52     Subject: smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
Anonymous wrote:Very few teachers are actually able to pull off differentiating. Most just end up teaching to the middle and ignoring the top and the bottom. Differentiation simply does not work as a wholesale practice in schools.


I agree. It is code name for nobody gets any instructions.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 15:51     Subject: Re:smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
Even if kids are tracked, good teachers diffentiate. If you think any class is full of kids on the exact same level, you are sadly mistaken. Life just does not work that way.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 15:49     Subject: Re:smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
I taught school for 12 years. I know that I differentiated successfully and so did my co-workers. Any good teacher differentiates.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 14:48     Subject: smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
Very few teachers are actually able to pull off differentiating. Most just end up teaching to the middle and ignoring the top and the bottom. Differentiation simply does not work as a wholesale practice in schools.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 14:33     Subject: smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
as I understand it, your problem is that the school doesn't do things exactly to your child's liking, and you are convinced your child is too good for school.

you think this can be solved by private?
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 14:04     Subject: smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
Or, since mom wants her to write on different topics, do that after the boring, boring, boring ones are done. The teacher may or may not mark it, but if the dd is really that bored it won't matter.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 14:03     Subject: Re:smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
Anonymous wrote:
since she's not allowed to group kids by ability or allow them to do anything different than the other kids are doing!!


I find this very difficult to believe. I taught school in three different systems and never heard of anything like this.


I can see it as regular work. Although the grouping part is hard to believe. Regular work though? Princess needs to do it. I can see zero reason why she wouldn't be allowed to offer such a student tougher work once her required stuff is done. It's pretty simple. Either take it from another book, or find it online. Have it at the ready for anyone who is ready for it. I'm not buying OP's story.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 13:24     Subject: smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
This was me - in 2nd grade. I had paper and extra math worksheets in my desk. I could do my math problems or draw and would get "prizes" from my mom for not talking / disturbing other kids.

Prizes were stickers, ice cream, special Saturday art lessons after several months of good behavior.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 13:00     Subject: Re:smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
since she's not allowed to group kids by ability or allow them to do anything different than the other kids are doing!!


I find this very difficult to believe. I taught school in three different systems and never heard of anything like this.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 08:36     Subject: smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
OP, my son has read far above grade level since grade one. His comprehension lagged in grade 3, and once again picked up the next year and has stayed that way. He is now in grade 7. Math marks? A all the way through until first report this year. Then he had a C because he didn't show his work. Teacher knows ds knows how to do it, but he must show his work.. neatly.

He talks a lot and always has. We didn't give him the "bored" excuse even though he was. Bored or not he is still expected to pay attention, and if he is finished his work then do something quietly without disrupting anyone else. Including the teacher. You cannot convince me that your dd isn't allowed to read, or draw or something when she's finished. There is no reason for her to be disrupting others.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 08:19     Subject: Re:smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Your daughter definitely needs to be checked for ADHD. My husband and son both have it and they can hyperfocus on something that interests them.

And as crazy as some rules (like writing down how you solved a math problem) may sound, your daughter will have to learn to follow them if she is going to ever be successful in school.


OP here. My child does NOT have adhd. She does not hyperfocus on anything. The armchair diagnoses on this thread amaze me!

I had a chat with my dd's teacher this morning, and she agreed that dd is bored, and lamented the loss of gifted programs at the school. She agreed that dd can read an interesting book as soon as she trudges through the required tasks. And, sadly, she agreed that this solution is the best she can do for dd, since she's not allowed to group kids by ability or allow them to do anything different than the other kids are doing!! How stupid is that??

In the end, I left feeling really badly for my dd's teacher (and for all teachers who are stuck with these inane curriculums at public schools). DD's teacher is trying to do her best, but she's forced to teach what she's been given by the school, like it or not. This one size fits all education fits no one. And the teaching to the test has so little to do with educating the individual child, teaching her to think, offering her a variety of views of the world, inviting exploration and questioning -- all things a good education ought to be doing, especially in second grade while young minds are still developing.

Private schools are not all better, but at least they are not tied to this testing and these top-down directives that are ruining public schools. We looked at some private schools, but our current financial picture precludes private. The ones we looked at had a lot of innovation in their curriculums, and gave kids a lot more individual attention and choice. I don't like the exclusivity of some private schools, but for my child, a good private school would be a lot better than the unsatisfactory public she's in now.


Are you hearing what you WANT to hear OP, or did the teacher really say that?

My daughter is in the highest reading group. She's off the charts. And while she's also in the highest math group, she still struggles a bit. Teachers differentiate in public.

At her private, there was NO differentiation. We didn't know her reading or math level. In fact, when we made the switch, her current teacher (first year of public for my daughter) said she was reading books way below her current level.

So if you accurately reported what you heard, then she's at fault.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 08:00     Subject: Re:smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Her child can't even do math a year ahead of her grade and can only read one year ahead. I'd hardly say she was overly gifted.


She said her kid read the Lightning Thief in two hours. That book is an ending 4th grade level book and her kid is at the beginning of second grade. So she is at least two grade levels above in reading.


Reading is great. Comprehension is better. Who knows what her comprehension is?

As long as parent sends this strong a message that school is not worth the child's time, the child is going to have problems in school.
You're attitude toward the school and teacher comes through loud and clear. As long as you continue this way, and do not expect your child to listen, participate, follow rules, she will have problems and the math, which doesn't come as easily for her will get worse.

My child recently failed a math test bc she did all the work her head. The teacher was emphatic that she needed to show her work. my child was outraged that she was marked down for things she knew. We (parents) told her if teacher says show the work,show the work. Next test was an A.

I read under my desk all through elementary schools was naive enough to think my teachers didn't know. How you treat the teachers and what you communicate to your child will make a lot of difference.


YES!!! Very well put.

I am so tired of "bored" being used as an excuse for poor behavior.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 07:41     Subject: Re:smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Her child can't even do math a year ahead of her grade and can only read one year ahead. I'd hardly say she was overly gifted.


She said her kid read the Lightning Thief in two hours. That book is an ending 4th grade level book and her kid is at the beginning of second grade. So she is at least two grade levels above in reading.


Reading is great. Comprehension is better. Who knows what her comprehension is?

As long as parent sends this strong a message that school is not worth the child's time, the child is going to have problems in school.
You're attitude toward the school and teacher comes through loud and clear. As long as you continue this way, and do not expect your child to listen, participate, follow rules, she will have problems and the math, which doesn't come as easily for her will get worse.

My child recently failed a math test bc she did all the work her head. The teacher was emphatic that she needed to show her work. my child was outraged that she was marked down for things she knew. We (parents) told her if teacher says show the work,show the work. Next test was an A.

I read under my desk all through elementary schools was naive enough to think my teachers didn't know. How you treat the teachers and what you communicate to your child will make a lot of difference.
Anonymous
Post 12/21/2013 19:01     Subject: Re:smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
In my house, "bored" was considered a "dirty" word. That's a copout for a child who wants control.
Anonymous
Post 12/21/2013 17:22     Subject: smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?
OP, your daughter needs to learn to listen. and follow directions. Reading when she's finished is a great solution to part of the problem.

However, as a parent of another kid in any class.. I'm a little peeved that you think it's okay to come up with excuses for her disruptive behavior. Teach her to follow instructions and not be disruptive. She sounds spoiled, honestly. I don't care how smart you think she is.. smart doesn't give her a reason to disrupt other students. Teach her some manners for heaven's sake. Maybe she could speed read her way through some books on behavior.