"Hire a tutor" said the Algebra teacher

[aprilgail2]

We have always had tutorials after school here starting in 1st grade...whatever kid needed help stayed after and got it...well this year the state cut over 100,000 of our state aid so that was the first thing they cut...god forbid they cut the precious after school sports..nope lets just cut the learning program!!

 

[pw2pp]

My DD had a tutor in 8th grade which had been recommended because she skipped Pre-Algebra and went straight to Algebra. The tutor was recommended by the School (Private School).
They gave us a short list of High School Students (same school as my DD's, since it was a small private school K-12).
We called one of them up and she tutored my DD just one day per week (after school) for just one semester. I can't remember how much we paid her, but it was a very low amount .
The tutoring was enough to give our DD a jump-start on Algebra.

So sometimes it is recommended that you hire a tutor even when you are paying for your child's education, so it is not even just a Public School thing.

 

[SeaSpray]

I'm sorry that your DS's math teacher won't/can't be of more help to you. Good job on getting him a tutor though Our DS13 has a mild form of Asperger's, mild ADHD, but it has never affected his behaviour or performance at school, fortunately. He's on the high honor roll, and he's also in Algebra this year, 8th grade. The difference between our situations is that when we met all of DSs teachers at the Open House last week, every single one of them told all of us parents that they stay after school for 1-2 hours every day and are available for extra help at ANY time, no prior appointment needed. I had no idea that some teachers wouldn't make themselves available to help a student who truly wants assistance.

 

[jmmom80]

I had no idea that some teachers wouldn't make themselves available to help a student who truly wants assistance.

i think it's great that there are teachers that are willing to stay after school to help students, but i don't believe they are under any obligation to do. and i certainly wouldn't think any less of a teacher that isn't willing to do so. teachers have families and lives outside of school also, and we all know that the pay isn't the greatest. how many of us would be willing to work an extra hour or two every day for no extra compensation?

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by jmmom80
i think it's great that there are teachers that are willing to stay after school to help students, but i don't believe they are under any obligation to do. and i certainly wouldn't think any less of a teacher that isn't willing to do so. teachers have families and lives outside of school also, and we all know that the pay isn't the greatest. how many of us would be willing to work an extra hour or two every day for no extra compensation?

You don't have to defend teachers to me. I give them a ton of credit for doing their jobs on a daily basis. And I didn't say that I felt they were obligated to give extra help. But every teacher that my 2 DSs have ever had (and they are now in 11th grade and 8th grade) have always been available for extra help, even if it was for one afternoon a week. I know they don't get paid much, relatively speaking. I personally would like to see teachers get MUCH higher salaries. They are overseeing OUR children for several hours a day, I think that position demands a lot more respect and $$$ than what they are given right now, in society.

I am just surprised that the OP's son's teacher was so adamant about not giving extra help, and telling her to get him a tutor. Sounded a bit cold to me, that's all.

This is a bit off topic, but my DH and I carefully chose which town to move to when we moved to Massachusetts 7 years ago because we specifically wanted a good school system, and now it's paying off with the excellent school system here. I do feel badly for teachers who are overworked with too many students, and low pay.

 

[missyc]

This was a BIG problem for me last year. DS10 was in 5th grade and struggling with math. The main reason I had a problem with his teacher and school was that they never had math class. Math was the only subject that they changed teachers for, and they would just never do it. I didn't realize it for quite a while. I got a letter from the school stating that DS was below level and would recieve in school remediation. Sounded great to me. I would ask DS how it was going and he repeatedly told me they weren't doing math...but reading. His reading was above grade level.
Long story short....he got a tiny amount of math help. I also found out that they skipped math class for anything extra that needed to be done, like decorating the hallways for a special event, the play practices, etc. They went 2 MONTHS with NO math class!
When I asked for help at the school I was given a list of teacher/staff available for tutoring at $33-40 per hour.
This was the "A rated school" of the "country club moms" as I called it.
I changed DS's school this year to a school that is considered a "bad" school and we love it! No problems of any kind, lots of extra help built right into his schedule, and he loves it there!!

 

[sharbear]

Sometimes it is better to have someone other than the teacher to explain concepts one on one. In our school the policy is that a students' teacher is not also their tutor. Someone else from the department can be the tutor but not that specific teacher.

Algebra in the 8th grade is a honors or higher level class. He could drop down a level, therefore if help is needed the parents would need to hire a tutor.

Also the teacher needs to move at a pace that is comfortable for the rest of the class, I suspect that the rest of the class is able to move at the pace that she is teaching and is understanding the concepts that are being taught. Be glad that she offered the option of hiring a tutor, she must think that with a little extra help he should be able to keep up with the class.

Something that we do which helps with Math homework is to read the chapter and do the example problems. Even if the teacher has explained the work in class it is very beneficial to actually do the example problems. Also be sure to write down all of the steps. If you write down all of the steps it really helps. It takes a lot of paper but it helps. Also make sure the work is neat. Math is very precise and if you can't read your work then mistakes happen later in the problem.

 

[missyc]

Yikes, my 1st post got long. Sorry!
But I did forget to say that if your child is diagnosed with ADD or any other dissabilities (learning or otherwise) I think the school is required by law to provide the "extra" that he may need.

 

[I_Know_You2!]

100 years ago when I was in school, I had a student math tutor for Algebra. Totally save my butt to have someone other than the teacher, explain it to me. I actually learned it rather than getting by.

 

[idofabric]

wow, I feel lucky.
At our middle school most of the math teachers come in an hour early 1-2 x's a week and help students. Other teachers also do this either befor, after, or during lunch. Some students have gone to a different teacher then the one they have now to get help, never heard of a teacher that did not help any student. But this is a smallish art magnet school that got the Presidental Award for Excellance last year and state awards for some thing every year. Most of the teachers have clubs, programs et. a few times a week on there own time so they think that helping students is easier to do then slow down the whole class. This is a middle school with only about 500 students in 3 grades.
Our local HS is the biggest in the state of S.Carolina. 4000+ at the begining of each school year and a drop out rate of 300-600 a year. Bad. But even the teachers there take turns helping out students. We have over about 100 teachers there.

Both schools have class sizes of about 23-30 students.
I sub teach at both schools. But NEVER math! I do great at word problems, and Geom. ( 'cause I quilt and use that type of math all the time), but never ask me how I do it. I'm dyslexit and can' spell either, as you can see!

 

[Serena]

I don't mind the teachers not being able to help after school. But I would have appreciated some suggestions or names to call for tutoring.
I had no idea where to start looking and when I asked for some names they didn't have any idea.
So, I had her just grab some numbers from kids in her class and she was able to pass the class, but in her magnet she couldn't have a C, so she had to take it over again. She did get it better that time.

 

[damo]

By the time a student needs a tutor, it has come down to way more than just struggling with the current work. As a math tutor, I find that I need to reteach many of the basics; mainly integers, fractions and most of all, algebra. Another thing that I find really important for me to do is instill a new sense of math confidence. Once a student gets over the mind block that they can't do it, it is amazing what they can actually do with minimal assistance.

Parents need to realize that the methods used to solve simple things like adding and subtracting fractions are the exact same methods used in more complex rational expressions and if the student doesn't get the first method, then they are really going to have a tough time with the second.

So, in summary, your child's math problems are most likely not the fault of the current teacher but are an accumulation of bad techniques acquired over the past few years. A good tutor will see that and make a big difference.

 

[hentob]

If not, you should get one. Fast. Your child has Asperger's and, by law, the school needs to provide him with the help he needs.

Luckily you have the money to pay for a tutor (around here, they are around $30 an hour), but believe me, there IS money that the school has (local, state and national) put aside for students with disabilities.

Could you imagine a blind student that is having trouble with something at school being told to "Hire yourself a tutor"? Wouldn't happen. A disablility is a disability.

What if you couldn't afford to pay for a tutor?

Please look into an IEP. It will help your child in more ways than you could imagine.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[TnKrBeLlA012]

Both my daughters struggled in math. Algerbra was the worst. My oldest daughter took it for 2years and I couldn't wait for it to end. We hired tutors, honors high school kids. Nothing really made a ton of difference. She was just not a math person,nor was I. I think either you are a math person or your not. She did pass her classes,but if she had to go help someone else on what she learned in the class, forget it. So basically that was 2 years of ,what I don't know. She does attend college and seems to do well in the sciences. She wants to be a nurse. My other daughter just sticks with the basic math. I have had to hire tutors for her to.Teachers don't always have the time to work with the ones who need the help the most. Not that I fault them but the class size is alot. I even sent my kids to a private school hoping for more help,that didn't happen. So as a parent I didn't want them to feel bad or left behind so I did what I had to do. We paid tuition and paid tutors.

 

[TnKrBeLlA012]

I forgot to add in my last post. I once even paid the teacher that taught my daughter,to tutor her after school. Just thinking about it now makes me think how sad that was. I have to pay the teacher?

 

[jmmom80]

Originally posted by TnKrBeLlA012
I forgot to add in my last post. I once even paid the teacher that taught my daughter,to tutor her after school. Just thinking about it now makes me think how sad that was. I have to pay the teacher?

for after-school tutoring? of course, why wouldn't you?

 

[skiwee1]

This happened with our DD in high school. She just couldn't get the concepts. Everything the teacher tried, even staying after school with her once a week, helping her more in class, was not working. So we hired a college algebra tutor and she went to him 3 days a week for a month. She finally understood it then. She went from a D on her first marking period to an A on the second. It was the best thing we have ever done.

 

[missypie]

OP here.

Less than two weeks into the school year we had a meeting with all of DS's teachers...not a formal ARD, just a meeting to say "He looks fine, he's smart, but he does have a neurological problem and here's what to look out for." We asked the teachers to let us know as soon as possible if there were any problems.

Well about 2 hours after the meeting was over we got an email from the algebra teacher (it's 8th grade preAP math) saying "Hire a tutor." In context, it seemed like she was thinking "I don't know what a special ed student is doing in my preAP class, but I'M sure as heck not going to do anything extra for him."

He got As and Bs in 7th grade preAP math. If we dropped him back to regular 8th grade math, he would be taking the class he had last year again.

As I said before, the tutor came yesterday afternoon for the first time. Senior in high school, math brain, very nice girl, lives only 2 blocks from us, $20 per hour. Of course I'm willing to hire her all year if need be.

But I still don't like the Algebra teacher's attitude. Special ed kids ARE more trouble. We DO need more funding for help for them. But giving them a FREE and APPROPRIATE public education is the LAW. Okay, rant over. Thanks for listening.

 

[GEM]

Originally posted by TnKrBeLlA012
I forgot to add in my last post. I once even paid the teacher that taught my daughter,to tutor her after school. Just thinking about it now makes me think how sad that was. I have to pay the teacher?

Well, of course. Teachers are just like anybody else. They have certain work hours. The difference is that teachers already spend a HUGE amount of time at home in the evenings doing lesson plans, grading, etc. They spend an incredible amount of time outside of class as it is. And, like everyone else, they have families - dinner that needs to be cooked, kids that need to be picked up at soccer practice, etc. I know many teachers that do extra tutoring on the side to make a little extra money. Why on earth shouldn't they be paid for that?


As far as what the math teacher owed the op's son - there is only so much that a teacher in a regular classroom can do. A math teacher with a room full of students, especially at that grade level, really doesn't have much time for one-on-one special help. If your child is in need of extra help and is entitled to it by right, then you need to talk to the school system about a tutor or whatever you think is appropriate. You really can't expect one teacher who probably has upwards of 100 students to devote all that much special time to your child. It just isn't possible.

 

[jmmom80]

But giving them a FREE and APPROPRIATE public education is the LAW.

then as someone else suggested, get him an iep so that he gets the free and appropriate education. i'm glad that you got him a tutor, but i don't think it's appropriate to expect teachers to stay after their regular hours to help students.