My middle school aged dd

**krisathome** · 08-30-2005, 04:59 PM

A little background info: My dd, Jenna, has been in the resource room at school since 4th grade. She should have been there sooner, like in 1st grade but the teachers just kept passing her on and not getting her the help she needed. By the time she was in 4th grade the teacher noticed right away she need help, especially in math. So she was moved to the rr for that class.
And she stayed there through 6th grade. She got up to a 4th grade level in math.

Now Jen has started middle school and because of budget cuts they have put all the resource room kids in the regular classes. So that means that she is taking pre algebra--which she does not understand. The rr teacher and the regular teachers are suppose to be available to help the kids before school and they are but I just don't understand how they think these poor kids can be thrown into a regular class when they are so far behind to begin with???

Last night my dh spent an hour working just on math with her and she still looks at him like he is speaking a foreign language. This is the first year our public school system has tried this and so far I am not happy with the whole situation. I'm afraid she will end up farther behind than ever!

Has anyone had a similar situation? And did it work??

**canadian gardener** · 08-30-2005, 05:18 PM

Have you considered tutoring her privately, either doing something yourself, that the resource teacher could show you, or perhaps using one of the tutoring services like Sylvan?

Plenty of material available in homeschooling stuff to help tutor her even just 20 minutes a night if you are up for it. I know the school should supply this service, but not all do, and as a parent, it's safest to fill that gap before it get's worse no matter who should deal with it at the school.

http://www.masterypublications.com/index.htm

is a link to a math program that has a great track record with special needs as well as gifted kids. The teacher designed it to work with both groups as well as ADD kids who need less visual distractions.

It's one that a lot of homeschoolers have used. I learned about it thru Mary Pride's review of it. She and Cathy Duffy (the shopping bags of homeschooling LOL) both gave it great reviews.

that said, I've not used it, mine were past that stage when I began homeschooling, but I did have to backtrack and redo several years worth of math that had been left out.

My kids had taken a spiral curriculum, in which they are supposed to meet, then learn then review vital concepts over a 3 year period. Unfortunately each teacher "knew" the one before or after her would cover that concept so they left it out.

My kids math education had more holes than swiss cheese.

I got them thru it, and went on to homeschool till graduation, and they've both done very well in their university math courses (both have now got science degrees).

Hugs, and keep at it. No teacher however good will ever have as much at stake in your kid's future than you will.

Hope that helps.

**canadian gardener** · 08-30-2005, 05:25 PM

oh and why I stress this is because algebra is abstract thinking, and that year tends to bring out the worst holes in a child's math education. Any shaky areas are really stressed when they are dealing with abstractions like x and y.

Back up and fill in the shaky stuff, using a tutoring program like the link I gave, and get her rock solid on her earlier math and she should be able to cope with algebra, although probably at a slower pace than the other kids.

My dd had a 2 steps forward one step back learning style in math. She needed a LOT more review than our son did. All kids are different in their learning styles. She is just as good at math as he is, but they just learnt at a different pace, which was one of the reasons homeschooling worked well for us.

**AmyBoz** · 08-30-2005, 05:28 PM

Unfortunately, that's what is happening all over the nation as money is being stripped from public education and put into other areas, like the war.

Margery gives a good suggestion. Spend some time with her at night, reinforcing the basic skills she'll need for pre-algebra and also go over any homework with her and make sure she has a basic understanding of the concepts, even if she doesn't get every problem correct.

If nothing else, it's nice time to spend with her, and believe me when I tell you, teachers all over the nation are doing our best to cope and help everyone be successful despite the cuts.

**canadian gardener** · 08-30-2005, 05:28 PM

One more thought (I'd edit but the thingy won't let me back into my own reply)-- I began homeschooling ds the year they began with really serious algebra instruction. While I was busy backtracking, and solidifying his math and his sister's, his classmates were really struggling over at the school.

Their parent's kept calling and asking for help with their kids. Everyone who had their kid in the same school had similar gaps and problems, and it was the algebra year that really pointed that out.

**canadian gardener** · 08-30-2005, 05:36 PM

I should make it clear that I believe the teachers to be a totally dedicated hard working, caring and compassionate bunch. the duds usually don't survive long in the pressure cooker.

But given larger class sizes and less funds, parents who are worried need to take matters into their own hands and do what they can to help their children learn whether it's helping with math, or learning to read or practicing a skill set like the times tables.

I've got a low effort homeschool thread I just bumped up for anyone else that wants to support their child's learning efforts in a no pressure way for mum or kid.

Long before I began homeschooling I used some homeschool materials to do little bits for 5 minutes a day here and there, and it really does help.

**SHOPGIRL** · 08-30-2005, 05:41 PM

Krisathome, I've got a question for you? You mentioned that your daughter was put in the resource room in 4th grade. Does this mean she was tested, and found to have a learning disability? I teach at a middle school in Michigan, and although we have inclusion(where LD students are put in regular ed classes), we have special education teachers that provide tutorials that help them. We also have basic math classes so depending on the learning disability, some kids are not in regular math glasses. If your daughter has a learning disability in math, pre-algebra is not a class she should be taking.
By law, students in special education actually have more rights than regular ed.

Usually, when an LD kid is put in regular ed, the special education teacher makes modifications for the LD student. So, even if they are in the regular ed classes, they are not doing as much work as a child without a learning disability.

Have you spoken with the teacher? Have you had an IEP?

**krisathome** · 08-30-2005, 11:46 PM

Margery, thank you for your words of wisdom. It helps to know that there are courses of action I can take to get her more help. I would LOVE to send her to Sylvan but it is completely out of our budget.

Yes, I've spoken with the teacher, the resource room teacher that is. And yes, we've had an IEP. No, she was never tested to see if she had a LD. She does eventually get the concept of most things it just takes her longer than most kids. She is one of the youngest in her class(a mistake I wish I could remedy-I let my dh talk me into letting her start school too early). She really has been having trouble with learning from the very beginning. I use to leave the PT conferences crying when she was in kindergarten. The teacher had nothing positive to say about Jenna except that she was quiet and polite. Which is why they didn't get her any help right away-they took the behavorial problem kids for help first. Had to get the bad kids out of the regular classroom, ya know. So she got swept under the rug and forgotten. Can you tell I am still smarting from this???

**canadian gardener** · 08-31-2005, 10:13 PM

Yes, and I'm sending you a big fat squishy mum to mum hug!!!! That does hurt.

Both mine are December babies, one on the 8th, the other Dec 28th so I hear you.

I bucked the family and kept ds back a year--repeated kindergarten. Many times I wasn't totally sure if that was the right thing either. then dd I let her go in early, and she was fine although she has always had a 2 steps forward one back learning style.

ds's learning was a nice steady curve. Dd well, she rabbitted around worse than a teenager learning on a stick shift.

talking with another homeschooling friend and 2 out of her 4 kids learn the same way, a boy and a girl, and they are both summer birthdays so you know it may not even be the birthday, but learning style.

we were swapping notes, and I was giving her some tips on teaching math with the 2 forward one back kind of learning where the kid just needs more review than other kids.

Nothing to do with brains. Bright kids who need more review just need to back up and take another run at every concept as they come to it.

Just the way they learn. Some kids are just built like that.

Helping my dd just meant backing up to where she last felt confident in the book, and taking another run at it, reteaching the concepts and redoing the work, (I got her to do every other or every third problem rather than ALL the problems from 2 chapters back if you follow me)

Big hugs

HTH!!!!