OT - Public school teachers

[princesspwrhr]

I know this is way OT, but it's one place where I know I can get lots of varied opinions.

Currently I homeschool, but it looks like our situation may change and I'll have to put my oldest into PS. I don't homeschool because I'm against PS, nor do I think PS is evil/bad/wrong, that I and any other homeschoolers are better than PS or any other number of stereotypes. I homeschool because it's the best situation for my children. If I can work my situation to continue homeschooling I will, but right now the situation looks like PS in the fall.

I'm very nervous about this. My oldest will be going into 5th grade in the fall based on her age and enrollment. She's been doing 4th -7th grade work this year depending on the subject - but she'll only be *just* turned 10 when school starts so I wouldn't consider putting her in 6th grade at the middle school. We just did our end of year testing, and while we were doing it I printed off the released end of year state tests (from 2007) for 5th grade and she passed those as well without any issues. I did that becuase I know we've studied different things than the PS and I wanted to see how she would do. Obviously from that she'll have no problem with the curriculum if she can pass the state test for a grade she hasn't begun yet

Once she's enrolled and assigned I want to talk to her teacher, but I'm not sure how to approach any of what I want to say without having the teacher prejudge dd, or me, but I also want to make sure that any bias she may have about homeschooling doesn't carry over to my dd. There are also issues that I know will arise and I want to know in advance how they will be handled - for example one problem we had in PS before when dd was in K was she would finish work early and get up to get a book or get out some paper and crayons and the Teacher Assistant would punish her falsely assuming she hadn't finished her assignment. Granted that was more a problem with the TA than anything - that woman should have been in another grade, not K, but I digress. If dd can read at her desk if she finishes early then she won't start talking - but when she's bored she yaps on and on and on, which is distracting to other students and rude to the teacher. I know dd's strengths and weaknesses, and that can be helpful to her teacher, but in this day and age if you approach a teacher about your child it's easy to get falsely accused of being an overbearing helicoptor parent. I don't want special treatment - I just want to give the teacher any information that will be helpful to her and make the transition easier for dd. She's HIGHLY social, loves to talk to everyone, gets along with everyone, is easy going and laid back, but gets her feelings hurt easily (what 10 yo girl doesn't! ROFLOL)


So, my question is for PS teachers - if you have a student transfer in from homeschooling, would you like the parent to meet with you? What would you like to know about the child? She's not going to have a file you can go and read. The whole thing has me stressed out. It's just not an easy decision to make, the feelings are very reminiscent of when we decided to pull her out to homeschool! How's that for irony?

 

[DisneygirlTeacher]

It can't hurt to talk to the teacher. Personally, as a teacher myself, I like to get to know the child first. There is no reason if your daughter gets her work done early that she won't have something else assigned to do. Just in my experience, the homeschoolers do tend to think they can "do whatever" (such as talk on and on or get up and walk all around) because they are used to a "not as structured" environment at home. Not that they are bad or rude, in fact, quite the opposite. I had a little girl this year who was homeschooled last year. She was very, very behind the other children when she came, however, ended up doing very well this year. She just didn't understand the rules and limits when there are 19 other children in a class (it was first grade!) I was so proud of her accomplishments. Since it sounds like your girl will do fine, just talk to the teacher after school gets going and explain what you told us. It is just different in a large group setting, but at 10 years old she should be able to understand it all right away! Good luck, you sound like a very nice and caring mom!

 

[Jen414]

I'm a PS teacher--grade 5 as a matter of fact. I think you should definitely go and talk with the teacher once you know who it is. You're right, your daughter has no file, so how will the teacher know anything about her. Even if I get a new student from another district, I would love for the parent come in and talk to me about their child's strengths, weaknesses, quirks, anything. Files, if they exist, really aren't that great because most teachers aren't going to risk putting anything that could be misconstrued in writing. A verbal conversation is what I rely on to start with from the previous year's teacher, and since you're that, I think you should go and talk with him/her. As for the reading thing, I have lots of kids who do that--some I can barely get them to close their DEAR book and go out to recess. Good luck. I hope you have a positive experience next year. If at any time it's not working, get in contact right away with the teacher and if you don't get results, follow the chain of command.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

I stay at home now, but I used to teach 2nd. I don't think you need to worry about a file. I never once looked at a file at the beginning of the year.

I love parent teacher conferences and always gained so much insight into the child. That said, I would give it a few weeks unless there is a learning disability that needs to be addressed from day one. Teachers are extremely busy the first couple of weeks of school. Some teachers like to get to know the child first before they even ask the previous teacher anything. There are even some teachers who don't want to prejudge a child and never talk to a previous teacher. I also like getting to know the child a bit so I can be better involved in the conversation. Otherwise, it will be you talking at the teacher.

Hope it all goes well!

 

[princessmom29]

Another teacher here. I teach HS and i agree with pp's about getting to konw the child first. I would give the teacher a couple weeks to get to know her so that she/he will have a frame of reference for conversation. Also, please don't think that all public school teachers are anti-homeschool and will judge you. I try to teach acceptance and tolerance in my classroom as do most of at my school. i refuse to allow students to judge each other based on race, clothing, neighborhood ect. It is no different in this situation. There is a unique set of problems that accompany many homeschool children whaen the enter the classroom, mostly based on boundaries and or/ social skills, but it sounds like your DD will be fine with a little coaching from you. The only extremely negative experience I have had with a previously homeschool child resulted from a parent who resented being forced to put her child's education in my hands and let the child know it. When a parent is hostile to a teacher the child often thinks he/she no longer has to show any respect to them. As long as you have a positive attitude about the situation it sounds like your DD will be fine.

 

[DevilDuckie]

Let your daughter make her own first impression. A couple weeks into the year give the teacher a call and ask to chat about how your kid is adjusting but give her that time to create her own school identity. She may pick up quickly that it is not okay to be a chatterbox in class all on her own.

 

[OU1247]

I agree with Devil Duckie...As a PS teacher for 19 years the first couple of weeks of school are always stressful and very busy. Let your DD go in and shine and then shoot and email or give the teacher a call and set up a conference.

I think that would work out great! Homeschooling is hard. I couldn't do it...even though I teach for a living...Most teachers are really hard workers and caring people. They will love working with your daughter.

 

[shelly3girls]

I agree with DevilDuckie. We moved our DD from private Christian school to PS. We did it only two days before school started and I know the teacher had no advanced knowledge of who DD was or a file to read. My DD was very much like yours. She was ahead in many areas and quite social. Within the first couple of days the teacher gave her a book to read at her desk when she finished her work. We had a conference a couple of weeks into school after the teacher had time to assess her. It also gave us an opportunity to discuss how DD was adjusting to school.