tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post7879885881755661499..comments2023-09-29T05:32:04.308-07:00Comments on StrangePegs: How the System Failed My Son: Part Two -- Confirmation BiasAndrew Leonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-15918620519218010302016-06-03T06:04:40.167-07:002016-06-03T06:04:40.167-07:00Fair enough.
The only time I looked good in mat...Fair enough. <br /><br />The only time I looked good in math was when I faced one of those when entering my freshmen year. I had no problem.Tony Laplumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07854455859399339169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-19035760831707486902016-06-02T13:23:36.049-07:002016-06-02T13:23:36.049-07:00Tony:
1. Charter schools are generally part of the...Tony:<br />1. Charter schools are generally part of the public education system and, therefore, have to meet the same standards as any regular/normal public school.<br />2. The charter school was not the problem, itself, because that was the district standard, not the specific school's standard.<br />3. BECAUSE he was in a charter school and things were more flexible, he was able to work above grade level, just not far enough above grade level to keep him interested.<br />4. As I have said already, he had siblings in the school, and we didn't want them all going to separate schools. Besides, we couldn't predict the long term effects this one teacher would have on him. We did, indeed, think we could just tough it out through this teacher and everything would right itself eventually.<br />5. I'm talking about the system, because I'm looking at the long term effects of what happened. It's a system issue.<br />6. Also, I'm speaking as someone who has been in the system as a teacher. The system works to put people into boxes, large boxes at that, and, if you don't fit one of those boxes, they try to cram you in anyway.<br />(7. One of my best friends in college graduated valedictorian of his high school and, yet, could not pass the English entrance exam for college and had to take remedial English course before he could get into college freshman English.)Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-20369477951378097502016-06-02T11:17:14.234-07:002016-06-02T11:17:14.234-07:00I so agree.I so agree.angryparsniphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236094827257446781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-49443920454111814362016-06-02T06:38:37.917-07:002016-06-02T06:38:37.917-07:00The problem is, that's what everyone says now,...The problem is, that's what everyone says now, and because we have things like charter schools as alternatives, we keep believing that public education is terrible. And yet, both my brothers, who never skipped a grade, graduated as valedictorian, and continued being high achievers as collegiate scholars. One of them is a math/robotics teacher in, yes, a public school. I'm well aware of the stigma of public schooling. My high school was roundly demonized by elitists. Nothing is ever good enough for elitists. Including charter schools. <br /><br />How can you possibly say that the charter school itself was ultimately not the problem when it seemed to deliberately trap you in a catch-22? You need approval from the bad teacher to do anything? Really? That's insane. The easy solution would have been, if faced with such a roadblock, to take your son elsewhere, as soon as humanly possible. <br /><br />I keep wondering how old your son is now, and why you're placing such a heavy emphasis on how the school system failed him, when he continued to produce stellar results. What is it you were seeking? Confirmation of his genius? Why is that so important? The results speak for themselves. There will always be bad teachers. The best way to deal with bad teachers, or bad apples, is to find a way to deemphasize them. And yet at every turn you seem to emphasize this person, to make them more and more impossible to get around. If your child was spending all his time being as careful as possible, clearly he was never going to have ill-effects from the teacher. But you just wouldn't let it go.<br /><br />There's a question of ego in this problem.Tony Laplumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07854455859399339169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-17524062869841338392016-06-01T11:12:21.383-07:002016-06-01T11:12:21.383-07:00Briane: That reminds me, some school counselor sai...Briane: That reminds me, some school counselor said of me when I was in 3rd grade or so that I was developmentally delayed... because I wasn't reading Hardy Boys or whatever it was other kids my age were reading at the time. What I was reading were science-y books about dinosaurs/paleontology, astronomy, and zoology. I don't mean books on those subjects meant for little kids, either. I don't know anything about that until years later or that my mom had believed her, which might explain how I ended up with a collection of Hardy Boys books.<br /><br />Interestingly enough, the school librarian knew the truth of the matter and that I was the most talented reader in the school. But, you know, I didn't fit into the mold that everyone else did, so I was "delayed."<br /><br />With my kid, he was interested in learning. He actively wanted material that was interesting and challenging, but they wouldn't give it to him. He ended up getting all of that at home. I'm now realizing that that probably was an early reinforcer of his idea that school was a waste of time.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-80618414755241361752016-06-01T08:59:55.107-07:002016-06-01T08:59:55.107-07:00Oh boy.
It can be tough for an institution to dea...Oh boy.<br /><br />It can be tough for an institution to deal with specific individuals; but schools aren't banks or government agencies, and so should have a bit more flexibility. Especially a charter school.<br /><br />Saying "learning disabled" often times helps shunt away responsibility from people who otherwise have to do something. We have a niece who (we were always told) had an (unspecified) learning disability that kept her from reading at her grade level. One time at a family gathering she was in the side room just reading "Twilight," which whatever its faults was above her grade level at the time. I asked her about it and she told me the entire story, demonstrating that she could read and comprehend the material just fine.<br /><br />The problem there wasn't that she couldn't read. It was that (like your son) she was uninterested in what the school was having her read. I say all the time that part of the fault for my not applying myself more in school is my own, but that wouldn't apply to a 1st or 2nd or 3rd grader. At that level especially the school has to try to find a way to get the kid interested in learning.Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-31037894616063791712016-05-31T14:14:37.748-07:002016-05-31T14:14:37.748-07:00Tony: As I said in the previous post, I had alread...Tony: As I said in the previous post, I had already talked to the school administration and they needed the recommendation of the teacher, so that's where I went.<br /><br />Also, I didn't say that he worked "incredibly" slow, just slow. He was careful and deliberate, the kid who was completely coloring inside the lines by the time he was four because he took his time to do so. At his birthday party when he turned five, we had a dozen kids with cake smeared all over their face, every kid except my son, who was spotless. There was and is no autism or anything remotely like it involved. He was/is just incredibly (now I'll use that word) smart with incredible (again) attention to detail. It made him work more slowly than other kids who were just trying to go play.<br /><br />There was no problem with the charter school. It was a really good school on the whole with this one horrible teacher in it. Regular public schools are much, much worse for any kids who work outside the norm.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-71574940650172536872016-05-31T14:08:44.591-07:002016-05-31T14:08:44.591-07:00parsnip: That's part of the problem with the s...parsnip: That's part of the problem with the system: You don't actually need to be able to teach or be any good at it to get to be a teacher.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-3364603556790577462016-05-31T13:45:26.583-07:002016-05-31T13:45:26.583-07:00ABftS: Well, I have left out the story where I got...ABftS: Well, I have left out the story where I got called to the office for ripping her a new one in the middle of the quad for an equally inane comment that she made to me.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-55450150025282631382016-05-31T13:43:55.243-07:002016-05-31T13:43:55.243-07:00Lee: I guarantee you that there was no spin going ...Lee: I guarantee you that there was no spin going on. She just didn't have her facts straight.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-49746478869466654082016-05-31T13:42:59.661-07:002016-05-31T13:42:59.661-07:00Shannon: I had a teacher who routinely called ever...Shannon: I had a teacher who routinely called everyone in the class stupid. Well, everyone except me and one or two others. But that's a story all unto itself.<br /><br />I don't even know what to say about teachers like that. I can't imagine how they were ever let into a classroom to begin with.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-30468151469003510132016-05-31T07:09:39.586-07:002016-05-31T07:09:39.586-07:00It's also worth noting that when you used the ...It's also worth noting that when you used the term "charter school," that might have been one of the biggest indicators of what's really going on here. Was this a deliberate choice? Why not put him in another school? Tony Laplumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07854455859399339169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-51371629394767549832016-05-31T07:07:24.809-07:002016-05-31T07:07:24.809-07:00Why did you even talk to the teacher, and not the ...Why did you even talk to the teacher, and not the school itself? If you a problem, you address those who can fix it. Clearly the teacher was bad, so why talk to them? Tell the people above them.<br /><br />As far as your son is concerned, the fact that he as incredibly slow <i>does</i> go against traditional logic for intelligent students, who tend to go fast <i>because</i> it's so easy for them. Your description of him almost sounds like autism, or something like it. <br /><br />It sounds like everyone involved was making this situation worse...Tony Laplumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07854455859399339169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-72402915097171109142016-05-30T22:35:42.168-07:002016-05-30T22:35:42.168-07:00As I read this I have tears in my eyes and anger s...As I read this I have tears in my eyes and anger so much anger.<br />I had a similiar problem with my son. Super smart worked beyond his class level. Had speech problems and other ones also. But we were lucky that the smaller school district we lived in had some great teachers. <br />I was a volunteer in every class and was in the PTA for so many years. I really had no life. I made myself the go to Mum. I picked out the teachers I though would be understanding. He had a series of therapists at school. It was a tough haul but you do what you have too.<br />Some teachers should not be teaching.<br /><br />cheers, parsnip and thehamish angryparsniphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236094827257446781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-27754599293123495482016-05-30T18:29:28.702-07:002016-05-30T18:29:28.702-07:00I'm an idiot and even I know there's only ...I'm an idiot and even I know there's only 11 colonies.<br /><br />(That's just a joke, people. A joke.)<br /><br />I... I really can't believe that happened. That's awful. And insane. And so rage inducing. If someone had called my (theoretical) kid 'stupid' I think they'd have to have security escort me, or rather drag me, from the building.<br /><br />I can't believe the problems at this point are only BEGINNING. Eager (well, as much as one can be) to read the next part.A Beer for the Showerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17029139745335325356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-50227670740344669252016-05-30T16:53:50.184-07:002016-05-30T16:53:50.184-07:00I won't say that I always loved school, but I ...I won't say that I always loved school, but I didn't hate it either. I had wonderful teachers who seemed to genuinely care about their students and their jobs. A lot of kids today are under too much pressure in some cases and in others they have not enough incentive to learn thus providing little positive stress/pressure.<br /><br />As for the 12 colonies, maybe she was considering the Carolinas to be one colony. Why should there be a North and a South? Maybe it's some new politically correct outlook.<br /><br />Arlee Bird<br /><a href="http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Tossing It Out</a><br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-66736164559410446462016-05-30T14:16:05.812-07:002016-05-30T14:16:05.812-07:00Wow, that's mind blowing. My kids and I have b...Wow, that's mind blowing. My kids and I have been lucky in our schools/teachers. My oldest brother, on the other hand, was taught to hate school in kindergarten. He had a teacher who called him stupid in front of the class multiple times, who said he was retarded because he couldn't color in the lines. She was one year from retirement. The school wouldn't do a thing to her. She berated him openly. He had a series of bad teachers after her, and he never learned to love anything about school. It's sad. My parents spent a LOT of time fighting for him. That shouldn't have to be necessary. Shannon Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934641808195675935noreply@blogger.com