Answers From The Teacher
At a recent conference concerning my fourth-grade daughter, the guidance counselor stated that if my daughter doesn’t improve in the second half of the school year, she would be recommended for summer school. I don’t see summer school as a very good option because my daughter already dislikes school. I can’t imagine having to force her to go to school in the summer. What are our options?
Start by finding out why your daughter dislikes school. If she’s constantly struggling to keep up, it’s easy to see why school is not interesting or important to her. It’s possible that she needs some extra help, either within the school or outside of school to improve her areas of academic difficulty. Try to discover her specific needs. Is she still struggling in math? Does she need to memorize her multiplication facts? Can she read a book on her grade level for twenty minutes or more on her own?
Before you decide against summer school, investigate the summer program thoroughly. Sometimes the programs are designed to include a very low teacher-student ratio. Working closely with a teacher in a small group may be just what your daughter needs to help her catch up.
Find out what programs are available for your daughter during the school year. Can she stay after school for extra help sessions? Can you help her at home by making sure she gets to school everyday with all her homework completed? Make sure she has a good night’s sleep and a decent breakfast everyday.
If she doesn’t want to attend summer school, your daughter will need to do her part as well. She needs to make a sincere effort during the second half of the school. Be sure to help her in any way you can, but keep her aware of the consequences if she doesn’t do all she can to help herself.
My son has a homework planner that I’m supposed to sign every night. My son usually does his homework, but try as I might, I don’t always remember to sign his book. Now I’m getting notes from his teacher reminding me to sign the planner. What’s the big deal if I don’t sign the planner?
The homework planner is a way to keep in touch with the daily goings on of your son’s education. Your son’s teacher assumes you’ve read the planner if you’ve signed it and assumes you haven’t read it if you haven’t.
You and your son need to develop a system to get the planner signed every night. Then you have to stick with the system. Homework time, dinner hour, the needs of other family members can all make getting the notebook signed difficult, so you need to develop a ritual that perhaps takes place before or after all the hubbub of the evening. Perhaps he can bring the planner to you just as he sits down to complete his homework; perhaps he can leave it for you on the kitchen table to read and sign first thing in the morning. If you put your heads together, you can come up with a method that will work well. By remembering to sign the planner every night, you are letting your son know you care about his education, even though checking and signing the planner can be a little inconvenient at times.
Send questions to: Answers from the Teacher, P.O. Box 54, South Egremont, MA 01258. Questions may also be e-mailed to answersfromtheteacher@adelphia.net.
