Need Opinions On How To Address A Matter

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-22-2003
Need Opinions On How To Address A Matter
5
Fri, 10-05-2007 - 6:32pm

Hiya all~


I've been in lurk mode for several weeks because, to be quite frank, this board is just too flippin' busy for me to keep up with!

Meez 3D avatar avatars games

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 10-05-2007 - 7:33pm

Honest. I kind of think you don't ask them to change the grade in the IEP. I think you definitely make it a point that they need to provide his accomodations in the future.

I think you use it to your advantage now with Noah as a learning experience. As middle school approaches the classwork and grades are going to get harder and harder he is going to get a few lower grades. He is going to need to learn that he is smart even if he gets a few lower grades. To problem solve and raise the grades. To take pride in his abilities anyway. To learn to persevere after getting a disappointing grade and to advocate for himself to get those accomodations.

I also will say that if he holds so much of his "worth" and "intellegence" based on his grades that is going to put a lot of stress on him as he gets older causing increased anxiety etc. That is no good for an Aspie kid.

Rather I say you tell him this time, yep that is a bummer. It wasn't a great grade but you are smart. You tried your best and this is what we are going to do to get the grades up. Look how much better your grades are already!

The teacher was in teh wrong. It was a goof unfortunately, but take it as it is. People make mistakes and then use it to grow.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-22-2003
Fri, 10-05-2007 - 7:56pm

While I agree with you in theory, and we've done our best to help Noah understand that the grade does not equal his self worth, I have to disagree with you with regards to the teacher.

Meez 3D avatar avatars games

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 10-05-2007 - 8:25pm

Sorry,

My friday afternoon brain wasn't reading well.

I thought since he had gotten A's afterward that it was a goof and now the teacher was implementing. I misread. I didn't realize that she was willfully not following his IEP and yep that is not ok. I hate teachers like that.

If she was willfully not following his IEP then those grades should not be considered accurate. They should be changed. Not sure what the best way to do that is (nixing those grades all together, giving him the extra time now to fix them and giving him full credit on what he does accomplish, or just changing) but if it wasn't one time thing then yeah, take her to the wolves.

As for not sending the stuff home, That is questionable as well. I know teachers won't always send everything home right away as we keep it for "portfolio's" which is a better way of assessing but some should still go hom and it all goes home eventually. Does she still have them?

Renee




Edited 10/5/2007 8:26 pm ET by rbear4
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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Sat, 10-06-2007 - 1:19am

I'm still trying to figure this one out. One of the big reasons we started pushing for an official dx for 9yo ds was because he needed help at school with the "BCRs (brief constructed responses" which sound like what you describe. Ds struggles with inferential and abstract thinking. His 504 was specifically written to address BCRs since that's what hurts his grades. His teacher doesn't get it. She does sometimes allow ds extra time to write, but that doesn't help ds imagine he's an escaped pig, to use your example. The teacher keeps telling me I need to study with ds, so he remembers the info for the test. Ds could probably recite the entire story word for word, but that doesn't help him with inferential thinking.

Ds teacher just sent interim reports home. It said ds was doing well except for BCRs and his handwriting. REALLY?! I'm stunned! Maybe that's because ds is AS and is the reason he has a 504 stating he needs accommodations for both BCRs and handwriting?!?!

So far I haven't seen a letter grade for ds. If I saw a "C," I'd flip like you did, and I would be demanding some adjustments, especially when the reason for the low grade is because of the teacher's failure/refusal to follow the legally mandated accommodations. How you COMPEL the school to respond is something I don't know yet, but I hope you raise enough Cain to find out!

Good luck!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2007
Sat, 10-06-2007 - 7:13am

I know how you feel because we were hit with this reality last year in third grade. My son's reading level is very high but he struggles with what they call "making connections".