Rock and a Hard Place

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-12-2003
Rock and a Hard Place
1524
Thu, 11-20-2003 - 10:45am

There's something on this board that has been bothering me, and I hope I can articulate it.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2003
Tue, 11-25-2003 - 7:28pm
I understood that - and I still think it is useless information and counterproductive. What purpose does it serve? Are you serious? Shaming parents into reading to their children? Yup, now it sounds like a great school. I am serious, I would question the validity of such charting. It is outrageous and I would be complaining loudly!
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-23-2003
Tue, 11-25-2003 - 7:31pm
See my post below. She presented a pareto chart of how the kids did in a pre-reading test involving recognition of letters. I questioned why so many kids were off the bottom of the chart. She's wasn't gossiping.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-23-2003
Tue, 11-25-2003 - 7:32pm
No, parents who see their child at the low end of the class just might be motivated to make changes to do something about it. Parents who see their child at the top of the class are going to keep on doing what they're doing because what they're doing is working.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
Tue, 11-25-2003 - 9:09pm

So its really the parents who are competing?

PumpkinAngel

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2003
Tue, 11-25-2003 - 9:17pm
That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. It is totally unneccessary for the teacher to share such information. She should, in a face to face interview, discuss your child's progress. If there are concerns about your child's progress, or lack thereof, that is not an appropriate way to address it. We just attended our first parent/teacher conference and the teacher absolutely did not discuss the progress of any other child - neither generally nor specifically. She did not indicate to us where our child fares in relation to the rest of the class - nor should she! She discussed his progress period. I have seen one child through hs and college, and never once did I have a teacher tell me where my child rated in relation to the rest of the class - far less show me a chart! If any had, I would be complaining - I don't care what you say, it is totally inappropriate.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2003
Tue, 11-25-2003 - 9:18pm
Have you ever heard of anything so outrageous?
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-17-2003
Tue, 11-25-2003 - 9:25pm
So how exactly did the conversation go from, "A lot of kids are at the bottom because they aren't read to," to "The kids who aren't read to are kids of sahms, the dc kids are the ones at the top"? For that matter, how does she know the scores are a reflection of children who are or aren't read to? I used to teach K4. If I presented such a chart (which I never would have b/c such comparisions mean little; children will learn when they are ready. For instance, I had one little boy who was behind the rest of the class at the beginning of the year--by February he was ahead of everyone else-b/c he was ready to learn those skills), my class would have been all over the range, not b/c of differences in being read to but b/c of differences in readiness and ability.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
Tue, 11-25-2003 - 9:26pm
No...I have not.

PumpkinAngel

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-23-2003
Tue, 11-25-2003 - 9:28pm
I ASKED her why so many were at the bottom because it surprised me.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-23-2003
Tue, 11-25-2003 - 9:29pm
NOOO! The parents might not realize their child needs help and it, certainly, doesn't hurt to reinforce when parents are doing something right. The parents aren't competing. They're helping their kids. To do that, it helps to know where they are with respect to their peers. I know where my dd's are compared to their peers and I have a good idea as to their aptitudes. That helps determine if they need help.


Edited 11/25/2003 9:39:09 PM ET by cyndiluwhoagain

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