school question

[lowie]

we have a meeting with my son's teachers in 2 weeks. he was moved into 'advanced' classes this year after a very easy year in 2nd grade. we had him tested privately last year at which time he was reading at a 5th grade level and his math was at a high 4th grade level. his IQ is 135.

in 2nd grade he was bored, wasn't being challenged and got easy a's all year.

now he's struggling and he wants OUT of advanced class. turns out that the teacher told him that if he can't bring his grades up that he won't be able to stay in advanced class. he latched onto that idea and now wants out because he knows that he can breeze through regular class with little effort.

he's recently missed quite a bit of school due to the death of his grandfather and the teacher is insisting that he make up every piece of work, and it's overwhelming him.

i don't know what to do. i can either move him back to regular classes where he will be happy and confident, although not challenged. or leave him where he is and push him to make it work. i'm scared if i pull him out that he'll miss out of learnign opportunities, but if i leave him in that he'll begin to dislike learning.

advice?

 

[freckles and boo]

He has YEARS of school ahead of him. Why make him miserable in third grade? You can also find plenty of challenges for him outside the classroom if you are worried about keeping him stimulated.

 

[bgirl29]

As I was reading your post you said I can move him back where he would be happy and confident, and I thought well what can be better than having a child that is happy and confident. I also have an 8yr old and I cannot imagine what she would be like if I had to push her to do more homework every night than she already has. That is a tough decision good luck with it.

 

[Minnie_me]

We just made this decision for my 11-year old DD. She has always been in accelerated math and reading. But last year, her math grades dropped into the 80s (still not terrible, I know, but we're used to 100s and upper 90s with her). The accelerated math teacher strongly believed that she belonged in his class. But she didn't like it. She felt that she was missing the introduction to the concepts and skipping right to the extended activities without really understanding it.

So we pulled her out for 6th grade, and she couldn't be happier!

I wouldn't be surprised if she goes back into accelerated math at some point in her school career. But if she doesn't, it's no big deal.

The bottom line is that you want your child to feel good about him/herself. You know what to do.