1st Grade Blues
WHEW! JUST GOT BACK FROM A 16 MILE JOG AND I FEEL GREAT!!
Okay, I'm kidding - but I do seem to have a good amount of energy - though that could be attributed to it being Friday.
I think I've experienced my first school related ISSUE as a parent.
On Tuesday night, I told Elliott that I would be attending the first graders prayer service at his school the next morning (I had been receiving flyers for nearly two weeks about it). Very somberly, he tells me I needn't bother. I tell him "Of course I'm going to come, silly!" Holding in tears, he again tells me that I don't have to go. This is a little odd for the lad - he loves this kind of stuff! He then bursts into tears and spends an hour crying about the fact that he doesn't have a "part" in the service. The first part of our talk dealt with us not always being able to shine in the spotlight; others need to get a chance as well, etc. But evidentially, that's not the issue...He tells me that the ENTIRE class has been selected to do anything from reading a scripture to holding a poster - the entire class, that is, except for him. He goes on to say that for the past 2 weeks, he has been the only student sitting at his desk while the others practice the program.
(Okay, that is pretty sad)
We went through all the scenarios as to why he was not selected to help out. Perhaps they began practicing when we were out of town? "Nope - mom, we all raised our hands for parts last week." When I asked if his teacher talked with him about his exclusion from the program, he said that she hadn't. I asked him why he didn't bring this to our attention earlier; Turns out he felt that this could be a punishment for something - that he wasn't sure if his teacher was mad at him, and didn't want us to be upset if she was. (Insert sad face here.) He's not one to make this kind of stuff up, especially when I say I am going to call and chat with the teacher about it. He really wanted to know why he was the only one in his class left out. By and far, the saddest part of this story was when I went in to his room to put away a toy after he was asleep; he was doing the hiccup breathing as he slept. Ouch.
Elliott quickly recovered but even so, I talked with his teacher the next evening. I explained that it wasn't the exclusion that I was most concerned about, but that it was the fact that she didn't even bother to crouch down next to his little ear to explain why. Without much enthusiasm, she said that he wasn't the only one excluded, and that they had picked parts when we were gone. Again, why didn't you say as much to him and wait...are you saying he's lying? This isn't the only problem we've had with the teacher, but this is the only problem we can put our finger on. I know teachers aren't always going to mesh with the parents, but even my optimistic Elliott hasn't had many great things to say about her - he often tells us she's "crabby" with the class. I guess the best word for her is "mechanical". She smiles when she is supposed to, but she really doesn't come across as happy. "She used to teach 2nd grade mom, so she gets cranky when we don't understand things very quick."
I think I may talk with the principal about it (not expressly about the program incident) but the attitude and lackluster feel we have all been getting from this woman. I really want Elliott's enthusiasm for school to continue and would rather a crabby teacher not be the reason he would rather skip a day or to, as he so suggested on Tuesday night.
Okay, I'm kidding - but I do seem to have a good amount of energy - though that could be attributed to it being Friday.
I think I've experienced my first school related ISSUE as a parent.
On Tuesday night, I told Elliott that I would be attending the first graders prayer service at his school the next morning (I had been receiving flyers for nearly two weeks about it). Very somberly, he tells me I needn't bother. I tell him "Of course I'm going to come, silly!" Holding in tears, he again tells me that I don't have to go. This is a little odd for the lad - he loves this kind of stuff! He then bursts into tears and spends an hour crying about the fact that he doesn't have a "part" in the service. The first part of our talk dealt with us not always being able to shine in the spotlight; others need to get a chance as well, etc. But evidentially, that's not the issue...He tells me that the ENTIRE class has been selected to do anything from reading a scripture to holding a poster - the entire class, that is, except for him. He goes on to say that for the past 2 weeks, he has been the only student sitting at his desk while the others practice the program.
(Okay, that is pretty sad)
We went through all the scenarios as to why he was not selected to help out. Perhaps they began practicing when we were out of town? "Nope - mom, we all raised our hands for parts last week." When I asked if his teacher talked with him about his exclusion from the program, he said that she hadn't. I asked him why he didn't bring this to our attention earlier; Turns out he felt that this could be a punishment for something - that he wasn't sure if his teacher was mad at him, and didn't want us to be upset if she was. (Insert sad face here.) He's not one to make this kind of stuff up, especially when I say I am going to call and chat with the teacher about it. He really wanted to know why he was the only one in his class left out. By and far, the saddest part of this story was when I went in to his room to put away a toy after he was asleep; he was doing the hiccup breathing as he slept. Ouch.
Elliott quickly recovered but even so, I talked with his teacher the next evening. I explained that it wasn't the exclusion that I was most concerned about, but that it was the fact that she didn't even bother to crouch down next to his little ear to explain why. Without much enthusiasm, she said that he wasn't the only one excluded, and that they had picked parts when we were gone. Again, why didn't you say as much to him and wait...are you saying he's lying? This isn't the only problem we've had with the teacher, but this is the only problem we can put our finger on. I know teachers aren't always going to mesh with the parents, but even my optimistic Elliott hasn't had many great things to say about her - he often tells us she's "crabby" with the class. I guess the best word for her is "mechanical". She smiles when she is supposed to, but she really doesn't come across as happy. "She used to teach 2nd grade mom, so she gets cranky when we don't understand things very quick."
I think I may talk with the principal about it (not expressly about the program incident) but the attitude and lackluster feel we have all been getting from this woman. I really want Elliott's enthusiasm for school to continue and would rather a crabby teacher not be the reason he would rather skip a day or to, as he so suggested on Tuesday night.
posted by Felecia at Friday, February 24, 2006
3 Comments:
oh, poor lil fella..
yes, Ido not like this teacher, not one bit..
a teacher should never make a student feel excluded from anything..especailly a first grader for goodness sake..
I would have a strongly wored talk with the teacher and princable..
ok, i am picking you up at 10 pm sat night and we are going to stalk prince outside the theater..mmkay?...
I'm going to call the principal on Monday about it; before Elliott set out for Kindergarten, we made a last minute decision to do private school and one of our reasons was assured individual attention to the child; this would seem like the exact opposite!
Okay, stalking Prince it is! I will be waiting on the front steps in all of my glorious purple!!
thats dissapointing... poor guy...
It's so tough to suddenly realize that perhaps those we trust our babies to every day may not always have their best at heart...
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