Grades
Bug’s experience with the virtual school this year has had its ups and downs. I really liked that it was free, that we got all the curriculum, books, etc.
But her teacher has been absolutely worthless. She’s been WAY behind on the grading (like months behind) most of the year, been really patronizing when she talks to me, and has not tried to understand Bug’s individual needs at all.
The longer she was in the program, the less concerned I really was about her grades. If Bug understood the material, I felt we could move on. She didn’t need to do 500 math problems when she understood how to do them. It just made her frustrated and made her lose motivation.
Bug’s school year is over and her teacher just called me. She says she doesn’t have some of Bug’s assignments that we had to mail in. I said that we mailed them in, she says she doesn’t have them. And then she said that she gave Bug all zeroes for those assignments and now Bug is “almost failing” three core classes so she is going to hold her back in fifth grade.
And I said, “No, I’m not doing that. If you recommend that she is held back, can we still have her do sixth grade through the program?”
And she said, “Most likely no.”
And so I told her that we would just find a different program for her to do if that was the case. Because some random lady is not going to determine Bug’s educational status, when I am the one who is teaching her.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Does she have a supervisor or something- that sound crazy!
June 5th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
We have done the virtual charter schools, and I hate the paperwork involved. Now what I do is homeschool my kid using their curriculum… the accountability to the state is much less, but the curriculum, which I like, is still there and organized (I have 6 kids too). I think it cost me $375 for next year (I don’t buy the student pages or the teacher guides… she can print what she needs, and the teacher guides sat unopened the year I had them.) It works for us…
June 5th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Notification of missing assignments should have come long ago — especially when there is snail mail involved.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Definitely talk to a supervisor/principal sort of person. This is VERY unprofessional behavior, starting with being months behind in grading. Imagine if that happened in a regular classroom. How in the world could a teacher keep teaching if she gives no feedback to her students? And not telling students for months that they hadn’t turned something in? And not giving an option for mailing again–since mail can be lost. (I’m surprised they even do mail. Could you scan assignments in if you go this route in the future?)
But yeah, nothing’s wrong with real homeschooling!
June 5th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Hit post too fast. Want to add: And who cares about grade levels then? She can move up and down in the material to be where she’s at whether that’s official 6th grade in one subject, 7th in another or 5th in another.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Some people are nuttier then most. Sorry you’ve had to deal with this one all year, and I’d have done the same thing you did. What about a charter school. There is a small one in my town that has like 200 kids and it seems rather affordable. I’ve been considering it just for more one-on-one attention and individualized learning, and the kids still get the “out of my hair/social interaction” that is always recommended. Good luck with school searching. How’s the house news?
June 5th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Baggage,
This is something that the woman’s supervisor needs called about. There is no exuse not to let you know about the assignments before the end of the grading period.
IE you should have known they were missing a week after she was supposed to have gotten them.
As to holding Bug back- in most states parents must consent to retention or the state can’t retain them.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Do you know of the K-12 schools? Free public virtual charter schools in many places; my daughter teaches for the one in our state and most work is “turned in” via the internet; teacher does need a written sample of work from each subject 4 times a year for state documentation purposes. Lots of flexibility on grade level assignment it seems; if there’s one in your state you might see if it would work for you. They supply everything, of course; it’s a public school, including a computer and money for the internet connection. In places where there isn’t a public school using the system it can be purchased I believe. I would imagine that quality/nuisance factors/etc. vary from state to state and teacher to teacher. Curriculum seems good from what I’ve seen; it’s more rigorous than many public schools here.
Just an idea . . . I sure don’t think you’ve gotten a good deal with the set up you had this year. Of course the teacher should have called long ago re missing assignments! Sheesh.
http://www.k12.com/getk12/
June 5th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I think you should just pull her and homeschool period. I personally don’t care for the curriculum that we used this year, which is the same as Bug’s.
We actually have decided to put Cody is a charter school this year. They only have 60 students total for 7th-12th grade!!
June 5th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Sounds like it defeats the purpose of homeschooling if the kid can fail the course, even if you (the person doing the actual teaching) think she’s ready to move on! I hope you are able to find something better! What about “unschooling?”
June 5th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Good for you. Is this the one with the initials C.A. by any chance? I don’t know if you want it posted. But the Oregon version of that program has had a lot of problems with the teachers lagging behind and not customizing the curriculum for the kids. And isn’t that like, the whole point of homeschooling?
I think you should talk to the supervisor, but I’d pull her out anyway. You know what you are doing. You know enough to homeschool her on your own. Your only expense would be books pretty much, right? You could go used.
If you really would like to have a teacher to consult (not that you need one, but if you ever have questions or need help finding curriculum or anything) I’d be happy to put on my teacher hat and help you. Though my kids are a lot younger than Bug, I’ve done a lot of research on homeschool curriculum myself. So I’m just an email away if you’d like to commiserate.
June 5th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I worked as a teacher at a private school and it was NEVER just up to the teacher if the child was held back. That was a decision that the principal (supervisor/headmaster/whatever), parent, AND teacher had to make together.
I’ve just finished homeschooling my son this year and it was nice to know that we could pick our own curriculum and go at our own pace. But we live in NC, which is a very lenient state, I’m not sure about where you live.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:39 am
GOOD FOR YOU! Plus, I’m quite sure, as other commenters have mentioned, that promoting a child to the next grade is up to the parent’s discretion through eighth grade in most states.
It sounds like Bug might enjoy a more outcome-based approach to learning, rather than the standard rote practice. (Projects rather than traditional worksheets).