Every human being is an individual. Everyone knows that. Even identical twins have subtle physical and personality differences. Teachers vary, just as their students vary, just as snowflakes vary. Think of that. No two snowflakes are exactly the same. Think of a teacher with a classroom of 35 students. Think of the number of teachers any given student has throughout his/her elementary, secondary and college years. Teachers come and go like the ebb and flow of the tide. Many do so without making much of a difference in the landscape of a child's life. Others leave a beautiful ripple extending a lifetime. Still others leave a damaging scar on the heart of a child.
Teachers are authority figures. They are experts. They are ignorant. They are loving and spiteful; passionate and dull; caring and ambivalent; influential and forgotten. To a first grader they are a god. To an eighth grader they are a nuisance and to a high school senior they may be the ticket to a scholarship; to a college student, the gateway to a career.
I met today with a teacher and a principal and a doctoral student hoping to some day be a principal. The teacher I met with today is the loving, caring kind. The kind who teaches because she wants to share a piece of herself with another human being--or 40 this year alone, no doubt with hundreds throughout her career. She cares about each student as a whole package--their health, their intellectual and interpersonal growth. She cares about their mothers. She cares about my son. She cares about me. Her name is Heather Jensen and she is Taylor's sixth grade teacher.
Taylor has had a rough year this year. This was his first year back in school following three years of home school. We made the decision to home school in to help Spencer with his anxiety, but it turned out to be a good idea for Taylor as well since he was diagnosed with diabetes during this time. His health has been less than ideal to say the least. This year he has missed exactly one third of the school days.
His teachers have been helpful in getting him caught up and in prioritizing what he should get caught up. I worry that he is not getting everything he needs. I worry more about next year when he moves on to middle school. I think he will need to have a 504 in place next year, so we got one approved now so it will go with him. We will modify it as needed, but for now we will go through the red tape to get him qualified. It actually wasn't hard and Mr. Theler, the principal was very supportive and helpful. He doesn't really need one now because the teachers are doing what is best for him anyway, but I worry about next years' eight teachers in a large sea of very small fish that happens to be called, Vista Heights Middle School.
Spencer has had a good experience there in spite of its large frightening façade. We have come to know one of the counselors there, Mrs. Web, very well. She too has been concerned about my son, Spencer, this time. She has been our go-to girl in many ways. When Spencer was unable to finish the school year last spring due to his having extreme anxiety about the CRT testing, she was very understanding and supportive. This year when we "baby-stepped" Spencer into the school year first by allowing him to take one class of his choice for the first semester, then half time for the first couple of weeks of the second semester, then allowing him to add two more classes because he was too bored at home with his mom--go figure. She hand selected his teachers and even allowed us to not have math the last period of the day. She has offered encouragement to Spencer and has even asked him to befriend another student who is in the same boat this year as he was last year. Spencer would love to, but like Spencer last year, he has not made it to school for several weeks. She has been a crucial influence in Spencer's recovery and successful transition back into school.
I enjoyed home schooling my children much more than I thought I would. I would go to bed each night exhausted, but fulfilled and surprised at how much joy I had in knowing I had done something worthwhile. My house was not as clean as I would have liked and there were days I didn't get a shower, but I wouldn't have traded either of those luxuries for the time I got to spend with my children. It was good for us to have some flexibility in our days and weeks. We had a lot of external difficulties during this time. If we needed a break to go the park, or go swimming, or sleep in, or clean the house we could do it. It fit a need for us at the time. However, as time wore on I became a bit burned out. Not all of the burnout came from homeschooling itself; in fact, as I look back at those years it probably had the smallest effect. We tragically lost a mother/grandmother as well as two business and a dear friend. The emotional stress of these and the resulting financial difficulties coupled with Taylor's developing diabetes during this time took their toll on me.
I am a college educated educator and home schooling was never really in my mind, but it worked out well for us for a time. Last year it was time for Spencer to go back. This year Emma and Taylor were ready. I figured if I was going to give Taylor over to the public school system I wanted to try it first in the security of the elementary school. In spite of his health problems it has been good for him. He has grown in many ways, becoming more independent, confident, and responsible. But if anyone should be the poster child for someone returning to school it would be Emma; likewise, if there should be a poster teacher it would be her teacher, Mr. Larson.
Emma is a somewhat shy mama's girl who has a very difficult time reading. She was the last of my children I expected to want to go back to public school. But she had a bit of peer pressure and asked if she could go this year. The year before she went back to school we worked on math, which she is good at, and reading and reading and reading. I think she has a diagnosable disability, but I would rather not label her as such. If I thought it would benefit her I would have her tested and I came very close to doing it a few months ago, but for now we are going to continue working and working with her at home and with Mr. Larson. With the help of her teacher and lots of hours at home both before and after school Emma has made some great progress. Her fluency and comprehension have gotten so much better.
At the beginning of the year she even struggled with math, which was disappointing to her because at home she did so well. But at home I would read the math problems to her. She understands the actual math concepts, very well in fact, but there are so many story problems and so many directions you have to read on math tests and worksheets, she struggled. For the first trimester, I would sit by her and read her homework to her so she could complete it. At school when she would have to take the test on her own she did very poorly. She would come home after every test with additional homework and a retake test. The teacher allowed me to help her without any time restraints then take it back whenever we got it finished. He would grade that test and that would be the grade she would get. She worked so hard and we spent so much time doing this. She soon began to dread test day. There would be tears in the morning. We would pray together and she would wipe her eyes and head out the door. SHE NEVER GAVE UP. She has become my for hero of diligence and perseverance!
One day something clicked. Maybe she got used to the math program the school used. Maybe she figured out the language on the math tests. Maybe her hard work and determination paid off. For sure our prayers were answered. Her teacher always sends home a practice test to do as homework the day before an actual test. About a third of the way into the school year she brought home a practice test. She didn't need any of my help to complete it and when I looked over it she had only missed one problem. This was a milestone. I cheered for her and encouraged her and fussed over her. The next morning there were only a few tears. I thought of her and prayed for her all that day until she walked through the door. She did not know how she did on her test, but felt good about it. When we received the results the following week she had done amazingly well. She had only missed two. One of them, in my mind, she had actually worked out correctly, but she hadn't written it in the right spot. Her teacher is picky like that. High expectations are a good thing. Ever since that test she has gotten at least 90%. Every time! I have rarely had to help her with her homework, sometimes she even gets it done at school. Her confidence has grown in leaps and bounds!
At the end of each school day, the teacher works with small leveled reading groups while the rest of the students are working independently. In these groups the children read aloud with and to each other and with the teacher. The first time Emma participated in this activity she cried--at school. And then again--at home. I cried--in my heart. I talked to her teacher about this. Together we decided that this was a valuable activity for her to participate in so they would continue unless she continued to be traumatized by it. Luckily, she wasn't. It proved to be good for her and her teacher emailed me a few weeks ago to let me know that she had voluntarily read a part in a play that the class was reading together. The whole class. Not just the small group she had been reading with all year! Voluntarily! She raised her hand and asked to read that part. I cried in my heart again. This time tears of joy!
I cried at her first parent teacher conference as the teacher confirmed what I already knew. This was before the successful math test and before the play reading. We discussed the possibility of testing her and my reasons for not wanting to. He expressed his frustrations with the system and how we could work together to help her. I decided to wait until he tested her progress in January before making a decision to have her tested for a learning disability. She wanted to come to her second parent teacher conference. I let her because I knew she would get a glowing report that she needed to hear. While I know that she is not up to grade level and will probably not be for quite some time, I also know that she is a hard worker and that she will get there--eventually.
Because of Mr. Larson's engaging hands-on approach to science and social studies, they are Emma's favorite subjects. They have a classroom government complete with an elected governor and legislators. The present bills and share opinions on them. They have had a "mountain man rendezvous" and will have a handcart trek. They do lots of fun science stuff too (I think science is Mr. Larson's favorite subject). We have duplicated some of the science experiments at home and Emma has a "museum" on her dresser displaying her handiwork complete with labels and "do not touch" signs. For more than one family home evening she has shared what she has learned and we tour her museum. My beautiful rose has blossomed this years in unexpected ways. I have learned so much from her. We are so different in some ways and I am grateful for the insights I have gained from being her mother.
I am grateful for the power of good teachers. These human beings who dedicate their lives to helping children. I spend nearly as much time doing homework, or nagging about it as I did as a home school mom. But it is nice to have backup, someone else to hold them accountable and someone else to explain things in a different way. Hooray for teacher power!
Teachers are authority figures. They are experts. They are ignorant. They are loving and spiteful; passionate and dull; caring and ambivalent; influential and forgotten. To a first grader they are a god. To an eighth grader they are a nuisance and to a high school senior they may be the ticket to a scholarship; to a college student, the gateway to a career.
I met today with a teacher and a principal and a doctoral student hoping to some day be a principal. The teacher I met with today is the loving, caring kind. The kind who teaches because she wants to share a piece of herself with another human being--or 40 this year alone, no doubt with hundreds throughout her career. She cares about each student as a whole package--their health, their intellectual and interpersonal growth. She cares about their mothers. She cares about my son. She cares about me. Her name is Heather Jensen and she is Taylor's sixth grade teacher.
Taylor has had a rough year this year. This was his first year back in school following three years of home school. We made the decision to home school in to help Spencer with his anxiety, but it turned out to be a good idea for Taylor as well since he was diagnosed with diabetes during this time. His health has been less than ideal to say the least. This year he has missed exactly one third of the school days.
His teachers have been helpful in getting him caught up and in prioritizing what he should get caught up. I worry that he is not getting everything he needs. I worry more about next year when he moves on to middle school. I think he will need to have a 504 in place next year, so we got one approved now so it will go with him. We will modify it as needed, but for now we will go through the red tape to get him qualified. It actually wasn't hard and Mr. Theler, the principal was very supportive and helpful. He doesn't really need one now because the teachers are doing what is best for him anyway, but I worry about next years' eight teachers in a large sea of very small fish that happens to be called, Vista Heights Middle School.
Spencer has had a good experience there in spite of its large frightening façade. We have come to know one of the counselors there, Mrs. Web, very well. She too has been concerned about my son, Spencer, this time. She has been our go-to girl in many ways. When Spencer was unable to finish the school year last spring due to his having extreme anxiety about the CRT testing, she was very understanding and supportive. This year when we "baby-stepped" Spencer into the school year first by allowing him to take one class of his choice for the first semester, then half time for the first couple of weeks of the second semester, then allowing him to add two more classes because he was too bored at home with his mom--go figure. She hand selected his teachers and even allowed us to not have math the last period of the day. She has offered encouragement to Spencer and has even asked him to befriend another student who is in the same boat this year as he was last year. Spencer would love to, but like Spencer last year, he has not made it to school for several weeks. She has been a crucial influence in Spencer's recovery and successful transition back into school.
I enjoyed home schooling my children much more than I thought I would. I would go to bed each night exhausted, but fulfilled and surprised at how much joy I had in knowing I had done something worthwhile. My house was not as clean as I would have liked and there were days I didn't get a shower, but I wouldn't have traded either of those luxuries for the time I got to spend with my children. It was good for us to have some flexibility in our days and weeks. We had a lot of external difficulties during this time. If we needed a break to go the park, or go swimming, or sleep in, or clean the house we could do it. It fit a need for us at the time. However, as time wore on I became a bit burned out. Not all of the burnout came from homeschooling itself; in fact, as I look back at those years it probably had the smallest effect. We tragically lost a mother/grandmother as well as two business and a dear friend. The emotional stress of these and the resulting financial difficulties coupled with Taylor's developing diabetes during this time took their toll on me.
I am a college educated educator and home schooling was never really in my mind, but it worked out well for us for a time. Last year it was time for Spencer to go back. This year Emma and Taylor were ready. I figured if I was going to give Taylor over to the public school system I wanted to try it first in the security of the elementary school. In spite of his health problems it has been good for him. He has grown in many ways, becoming more independent, confident, and responsible. But if anyone should be the poster child for someone returning to school it would be Emma; likewise, if there should be a poster teacher it would be her teacher, Mr. Larson.
Emma is a somewhat shy mama's girl who has a very difficult time reading. She was the last of my children I expected to want to go back to public school. But she had a bit of peer pressure and asked if she could go this year. The year before she went back to school we worked on math, which she is good at, and reading and reading and reading. I think she has a diagnosable disability, but I would rather not label her as such. If I thought it would benefit her I would have her tested and I came very close to doing it a few months ago, but for now we are going to continue working and working with her at home and with Mr. Larson. With the help of her teacher and lots of hours at home both before and after school Emma has made some great progress. Her fluency and comprehension have gotten so much better.
At the beginning of the year she even struggled with math, which was disappointing to her because at home she did so well. But at home I would read the math problems to her. She understands the actual math concepts, very well in fact, but there are so many story problems and so many directions you have to read on math tests and worksheets, she struggled. For the first trimester, I would sit by her and read her homework to her so she could complete it. At school when she would have to take the test on her own she did very poorly. She would come home after every test with additional homework and a retake test. The teacher allowed me to help her without any time restraints then take it back whenever we got it finished. He would grade that test and that would be the grade she would get. She worked so hard and we spent so much time doing this. She soon began to dread test day. There would be tears in the morning. We would pray together and she would wipe her eyes and head out the door. SHE NEVER GAVE UP. She has become my for hero of diligence and perseverance!
One day something clicked. Maybe she got used to the math program the school used. Maybe she figured out the language on the math tests. Maybe her hard work and determination paid off. For sure our prayers were answered. Her teacher always sends home a practice test to do as homework the day before an actual test. About a third of the way into the school year she brought home a practice test. She didn't need any of my help to complete it and when I looked over it she had only missed one problem. This was a milestone. I cheered for her and encouraged her and fussed over her. The next morning there were only a few tears. I thought of her and prayed for her all that day until she walked through the door. She did not know how she did on her test, but felt good about it. When we received the results the following week she had done amazingly well. She had only missed two. One of them, in my mind, she had actually worked out correctly, but she hadn't written it in the right spot. Her teacher is picky like that. High expectations are a good thing. Ever since that test she has gotten at least 90%. Every time! I have rarely had to help her with her homework, sometimes she even gets it done at school. Her confidence has grown in leaps and bounds!
At the end of each school day, the teacher works with small leveled reading groups while the rest of the students are working independently. In these groups the children read aloud with and to each other and with the teacher. The first time Emma participated in this activity she cried--at school. And then again--at home. I cried--in my heart. I talked to her teacher about this. Together we decided that this was a valuable activity for her to participate in so they would continue unless she continued to be traumatized by it. Luckily, she wasn't. It proved to be good for her and her teacher emailed me a few weeks ago to let me know that she had voluntarily read a part in a play that the class was reading together. The whole class. Not just the small group she had been reading with all year! Voluntarily! She raised her hand and asked to read that part. I cried in my heart again. This time tears of joy!
I cried at her first parent teacher conference as the teacher confirmed what I already knew. This was before the successful math test and before the play reading. We discussed the possibility of testing her and my reasons for not wanting to. He expressed his frustrations with the system and how we could work together to help her. I decided to wait until he tested her progress in January before making a decision to have her tested for a learning disability. She wanted to come to her second parent teacher conference. I let her because I knew she would get a glowing report that she needed to hear. While I know that she is not up to grade level and will probably not be for quite some time, I also know that she is a hard worker and that she will get there--eventually.
Because of Mr. Larson's engaging hands-on approach to science and social studies, they are Emma's favorite subjects. They have a classroom government complete with an elected governor and legislators. The present bills and share opinions on them. They have had a "mountain man rendezvous" and will have a handcart trek. They do lots of fun science stuff too (I think science is Mr. Larson's favorite subject). We have duplicated some of the science experiments at home and Emma has a "museum" on her dresser displaying her handiwork complete with labels and "do not touch" signs. For more than one family home evening she has shared what she has learned and we tour her museum. My beautiful rose has blossomed this years in unexpected ways. I have learned so much from her. We are so different in some ways and I am grateful for the insights I have gained from being her mother.
I am grateful for the power of good teachers. These human beings who dedicate their lives to helping children. I spend nearly as much time doing homework, or nagging about it as I did as a home school mom. But it is nice to have backup, someone else to hold them accountable and someone else to explain things in a different way. Hooray for teacher power!
Who rocks the house? EMMA rocks the house and when Emma rocks the house she rocks it all the way down! Boom, boom, boom (with a little hip bump) ;-)
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