Expert: Michael Wall Date: 3/19/2008 Subject: failing subjects and potential recourse
Question Mr. Wall,
Thank you for your attention. Our 6th grade 13 y/o son is nearly 1 yr behind in Math and 1/2 yr behind in English. He attends a small Christian school for his third year, 4th, 5th, now 6th grade. Using the PACE curriculum, steadily falling behind. We will ask school to explain and ask why this occurred, and yet why he has been graduated each year. We were not provided info to clearly show his severe place so far behind. All attendance, homework, report cards show excellent marks. We feel a bit of deception has occurred, at a minimum some obfuscation of the reality of being so far behind, and still being allowed to advance. No special tutoring plan was written or offered, no summer school, no direct presentation of his poor progress. Your advice is very much anticipated. Any resource you might recommend is greatly appreciated. We would like the school to admit to responsibility for his being so far behind, admit to being responsible for bringing him up to full 6th grade level, and also provide or pay for extra tutoring necessary to finish all required Math and English material.
R/ David
Answer David,
I am so sorry to hear about this difficult situation. Your son must feel very frustrated. I will give you my thoughts not as someone associated with private schools in the past, but as a former teacher and current parent. I believe the issues are universal, applying to any kind of educational institution.
My first question deals with your son's status of being behind in those subjects and your statement that he has always received excellent marks. Not having been involved in conversations you have had, I can only speculate at possible causes (and suggest a course of action), and these may not even cover all possibilities:
-grade inflation (The best way to track this is to look at actual assignments and grades. Are they on a curve [which might place other students in similar circumstances as your son?] Do they show consistent errors in particular areas that were never addressed to bring him to mastery in those areas?)
-too many extra credit/make-up opportunities that do not require mastery of the information (In your son's case I would not allow extra credit until he masters the concepts. You want the grades to reflect learning at this point, not effort.
-effort grading (While it may seem a nice gesture to boost a child's grade for effort, in whatever form, effort is not only a subjective item on which to grade, but it also ignores or mitigates the need to master the information. For both this and the above, lack of mastery in early, fundamental ideas can be crippling when they are needed later on to build into more complex subject matter.)
-poor communication (This seems to be a major point of contention between you and the school according to your question to me. It is both expected and reasonable for you as parents to request that the school come up with a plan to bring your son up to grade level, and to consult with you about his progress in a manner that is more aggressive than with other parents. Has your son missed lessons or assignments? Has he had poor marks on exams or homework? Without being fully informed you cannot expect to help from home, nor can you expect to be able to track his progress with the teachers as school. I suggest a planner. (I cannot imagine one is in use by the school, or you would have had daily access to your son's assignments, marks, progress, and any concern the teachers had.) This planner is designed to have your son (not the teacher) write down all homework, what was covered in class (topics, not notes), grades of material handed back that day, and any other pertinent information. It should be brought up to the teacher at the end of class to review, sign, and perhaps write a comment if appropriate. The teacher can also send your son back to make a more complete entry before he/she will sign it. This method is one of the best I know to easily track progress.
-charm (Unfortunately, some children are so nice, so affable, that teachers don't want to grade them as poorly as they earn. I don't suspect that this is the case as you say all marks have been great, but it a consideration.
Regarding tutoring: As a math teacher in middle school, I always offered extra help. It might not have been convenient for the parent to pick up the student later than normal, or drop off before school, but that is part of the commitment. I have not known of any cases where a child's teacher was allowed to charge for extra help, so in this case cost should not be a concern. I did tutor students in the school who were not my students, but that is at times not allowed on school grounds. For that, as for tutoring of students from other institutions, I was of course paid. That said, if you cannot get satisfaction in extra help in school, and you choose to stay there, I cannot agree with your thought that the school pay for outside tutors. In a way I have to ask, "Why would they?" They are teachers! They should help him right there. If his teachers are not willing to create a program to bring your child up to speed in these subjects (and note that you may not be pleased with the burdens it places on him or you for time and effort), I would first involve the head of school. After that, I suppose you could find out about the organization that certifies or accreditates the school. After that, you may be forced to think about a change in schools. I can't fathom that they are not interested in teaching, so I do hope this can be worked out between you and them. Please make sure that they are given ample opportunity to tell 'their side' of how this might have happened (if for no reason than to examine their system so that this does not continue to happen) and to offer solutions. If you sense an attitude of compassion and earnest effort, wonderful. If you get a response that places themselves outside of any (even shared) responsibility for the outcome and the solution, the school may not be for you. Please also be open to the possibility that your son might have been a part of keeping information from you. I don't know that he did, but they may bring it up as a part of the communication problem. He must buy into the effort to return him to grade level as much as (if not more than) anyone else.
The last thought I have is level. My understanding of PACE is that it is accelerated. If we are talking about the same curriculum, it may be possible that it moves too fast for your son. The differences between elementary success and middle school success can be huge. I offer that as one more consideration.
It is difficult to be at a distance as I am, and not privy to so much of the information and views involved, but I hope that I was at least able to give you food for thought. Please let me know how it turns out.
