Can you ask PS to not teach DC reading?

[Sahmqui]

DS wants to go to 1st grade PS but I do not want the PS teach him reading. Can I demand that they do not teach him reading this year since they do not do state testing in 1st grade?

 

I have been teaching DS reading and I do not want him learning the 220 Dolch sight word and learning to read by picture clues, memorizing, and guessing (this is the way the schools here teach reading). I see the kids here have the most diffcult time spelling and sounding out word. Therefore, I do not want my son to be taught reading and he ends up not properly advancing in his reading. KWIM.

 

So, I figure since my tax dollars pay for this education, then I should be able to request that the public school/charter school not teach DS reading. That why, I can finish up inputting my foundation of phonics and spelling. Is that to much to ask?

 

This kid really wants to try PS(w/ mom filling in the holes) and I hate to deny him but I do not want him caught in the middle with this reading issue.

[LibrarianMom]

It doesn't hurt to ask. It sounds like your son will have a good foundation already and that the sight words and others things will fly right over his head because he is beyond those activities. You may find however that your request will be difficult for the teachers to comprehend because learning to read is such a huge part of the 1st grade curriculum. It would be somewhat like taking your kids to the pool, but telling them they couldn't get in the water at all.

[SonshineLearner]

Here, you can go half day. It's not as easy as it sounds, and I'd go in with a calm attitude. They get a little ticked if you talk about what you are "paying" for...they don't see it like that. BUT, if you go in with a humble attitude and just say that the first year....it's better for your family if you go half time and then you plan on him going full time the next year...they may help you out. Part of it, and how willing they are...is how your school system pays out money.

 

I have to say, that if it were me, I would join something like Classical Conversations(Christian Based) or a co-op instead...and wait till the next year. I can already see you...and how you are gonna be ticked with "their ways" :-)

Just a thought:-)

[Terabith]

You might could do half days. But I'm pretty sure you couldn't demand that they not teach your child reading.

[Sahmqui]

He wants to go because he thinks the uniform is cool and more than 1/2 the co-op kids go here now because the economy here force their parent to work (reduced income, spouse loss job, etc.).

 

I can deal with them teaching him other subjects, but I am anal about reading and I don't want them interfering with our progress. He loves phonics,and teaches others how to sound out words :) I am at bat with this and just do not know what to do? I do not want him overwhelmed.

 

BTW, they have 1/2 day first grade? I know kindergarten was 1/2 day or whole day but 1st grade?

[iluvmy4blessings]

DS wants to go to 1st grade PS but I do not want the PS teach him reading. Can I demand that they do not teach him reading this year since they do not do state testing in 1st grade?

 

I have been teaching DS reading and I do not want him learning the 220 Dolch sight word and learning to read by picture clues, memorizing, and guessing (this is the way the schools here teach reading). I see the kids here have the most diffcult time spelling and sounding out word. Therefore, I do not want my son to be taught reading and he ends up not properly advancing in his reading. KWIM.

 

So, I figure since my tax dollars pay for this education, then I should be able to request that the public school/charter school not teach DS reading. That why, I can finish up inputting my foundation of phonics and spelling. Is that to much to ask?

 

This kid really wants to try PS(w/ mom filling in the holes) and I hate to deny him but I do not want him caught in the middle with this reading issue.

 

Good luck with that . If you are talking about enrolling your child in a public school and then telling them what curriculum to use/not use, you are going to be in for dissappointment . You must remember that public schools have standards that THEY have to fulfill by law. The teachers are required to use the state standards/curriculum. Plus you are asking for them to essentially modify the curriculum for your son. Countless parents whose children have special needs and have IEP's written for them have a difficult time getting the schools to adhere to the modifications and end up fighting in meetings for their children's rights. People who have written plans for modifications still have to fight at times to make sure they are in place. They definitely will not modify the curriculum b/c you tell them that your tax dollars pay their salary. The school just isn't a pick and choose cafateria. It is what it is. To me, this is a very unrealistic expectation.

 

Having said all that...I believe you are 100% right about your issue with the sight reading. This is one of my biggest issues with the schools. Whole language vs. phonics debate makes zero sense to me. Of course there are words that don't fit spelling rules and will be mostly memorized. However, children who learn to read by memorizing sight words are at a major disadvantage to those who were given a solid phonics approach.

 

Your children will always give you reasons they might want to try public school. They have friends going, the uniforms, certain activities, just the experience of it all. The bottom line is that YOU have to be the one to make the decision especially at this age. How sold are you on the idea of homeschooling? Are you still on the fence? If you are planning to put him in public school but only if they modify the curriculum to your preferences, then what about next year? What happens when they implement other methods you don't like? Do you really think the public school teachers are going to modify their curriculum to fit your preference year after year? I hope I'm not sounding blunt, but I just know how schools work. To be honest, private schools are the same situation and you pay your personal dollars for them. The truth is that the teacher is rarely if ever going to modify the entire classroom curriculum due to each individual parent's preference. That is the advantage of homeschooling. You do what you want.

 

I would say if you are on the fence regarding homeschooling and want to try out the public school then you should do it earlier rather than later. I found that up until about 5th grade it was an ok situation, but once they hit 6th grade it was downhill from there. So much happens socially by that time that it feels like a warzone trying to keep your kids rising above the influence. At least for me!

 

*** I just realized that I replied to a post from the afterschooling board. I apologize! I am a full time homeschooler this year but I hope I did not come across rude in my post! I have had my kids in public, private and homeschooling. This is my first year back into full time homeschooling so I totally get that it's not for everyone. I feel really lucky that I can even do it this year, and I do have to take it on a year by year basis. I have explored every option, with homeschooling being my last resort just b/c it's a bit harder for me to manage. I know some people do fine in public/private. I wish I was one of them. Unfortunately it wasn't for me :)

Edited September 2, 2009 by iluvmy4blessings

[Sahmqui]

I am not asking for any special modification or curriculum change. I am asking for them to just not TEACH him reading at all. Maybe when they get to a reading lesson DS can read a book that I send with him or do another activity.

 

At this school, the kids work independently and are not doing the same thing at the same time to allow the teacher time to work with kids individually. Therefore, when he is suppose to be working on his reading, I am asking that they not teach him their reading program this year. That is all, eliminate this subject for this year, nothing special.

[ElizabethB]

You can ask, it can't hurt to ask, you're more likely to get your way if you ask politely.

 

I'd teach all the sight words phonetically just to be sure. While I normally believe in waiting to teach them until they come along in a normal phonics order, I would teach them all early on if they are going to by flying around and hanging up on word walls.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html

 

The UPP markings might (or might not?) make it easier:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/Resources/sightwordsinUPP.pdf

 

Some children find the markings helpful, for others it is a distraction.

[Danestress]

Unless they remove him from the room, I imagine he will see and hear that instruction, and most kids would be curious and would listen to it and then learn it. I'm not sure that there is a practical way for them NOT to teach him even if they don't purposely direct any of that teaching to him.

 

But my experience with schools is that the fact that as a tax payer you are indirectly paying for his education doesn't really mean you get to have a lot of say in what and how he is taught. I mean, technically your neighbors are also paying, as tax payers, for his education, and they don't get much say in what he is taught. So if you go in, you probably need to go in as a 'mother' more than a 'taxpayer.' He has one mother overseeing his education, but thousands of taxpayers paying for it.

[Garga]

Why are you asking us? Just ask the school! They'll know whether or not they can accommodate you. Hope it works out for you!

[Snickerdoodle]

I am interested in knowing how it turns out when you talk to the school.

 

Good luck.

[talexand]

I think that would be a bad way to start the year at school. The teacher might label you as trouble and get defensive right off the bat. You could tell the teacher your concerns and see what she says but she will undoubtably tell you why their method is good and why not to worry, not realizing or respecting that you have done your research and have set your dc down a path already.

 

I teach my kids part time. I made special arrangements with the principal to do this but I know that many schools won't. When my kids were not in school part time the best luck I had was getting ds excused from his math homework in order to do our Singapore math at home. The teacher didn't mind this but she didn't want to single him out every day at school and do something different. He brought in his workbook periodically to show her his work and she could see that he was making good progress at home. But in his case it was obvious that he needed adjustment to the daily routine because he was very far ahead of the class. I don't think I would have had luck with special arrangement due to differences in opinion on the curiculum, even though I had that too. It was Everyday Math. I kept my opinions to myself though. I wanted the teacher to like me so that she would willingly accomodate my child. I figured that in the end he would have a richer understanding by learning more than one approach and I knew he had mastery from my teaching.

 

The bottom line is, the sooner you teach your child to read, the less this will matter at school. Of course, kids are often on their own timetable so this does not always help.

[ondreeuh]

When my son was in 2nd grade, he began tutoring for reading (he was a complete non-reader still). Since the PS did reading first thing in the morning, he went to tutoring in the AM and then arrived at school when they were done with their reading block. MIL teaches in a different district and was surprised that it was allowed, so it may just vary by school, but hopefully it could work out that way for you as well.

 

I have the exact same reservations about my youngest child. If we do decide to send him to PS, the one thing I insist on is that *I* get to teach him reading. Hopefully he will be naturally inclined and it won't be much of an issue!

[Ellie]

Yes, it is too much to ask. When you enroll your dc in any school, public or private, you are giving school authorities permission to do what they think is in the best interest of the student body. If you want to retain control of your dc's education, then you have to homeschool. That's it.

[jlovebaker]

but just chat with the teacher. I really don't even know what your talking about with what you think they teach but it might go better if you talk to her (or him); they're only human. My kids learned to read in preschool & kinder and I don't remember anything devastating the teachers did to mess them up - I just kept reading to them as I always did.

 

I do remember sight words but it was no big deal - just a helper to get some of the kids to read faster - of no consequence to my kids in the end. If the school is that bad that they are not letting kids just read the words - maybe you ought to pull them out ... you are the parent and you know what it best for your child ... it might be difficult for a teacher to do something so different with your child when they have 19 other kids and sets of demands from the parents.

 

Another great way to figure what's going on in the classroom is to volunteer - I did it for many years and made great friends with the kids' teachers as well as got to know parents (so key, isn't it?) and the other kids. If you have young kids, you can always do a kid swap with other parents in the same situation. Good luck!

[lgm]

Whether you can do this depends on the classroom teacher and where your child is at compared to the class. We've had situations where our children were well above grade level but there was no one in the class or grade to group them with. The resulting choice in K & 1 is to send the child up to a group in the next grade level or just have them read independently & discuss with the teacher.

 

If you do use the school, placement in the right classroom is critical. Some K and 1 teachers do teach phonics, some don't in my district.

[EKS]

I'm guessing that they won't like the idea. From their perspective, if he doesn't learn reading when he's supposed to this year, they will be required to remediate next year.

 

Is he ahead in reading at this point? If he is, that would help your case.

 

If the only reason you're sending him to school is that he wants to go, I would seriously consider homeschooling him until you're satisfied with his reading. My children wanted to go to school because of the bus and the playground, but they don't have a vote.

[Katrina J]

The reason I afterschool is to get around this very issue. My dd started Yr 1 at the end of January this year and a couple of weeks into term lists of 10 sight words a week started to come home to be learned long before the children had been taught how to read them. I taught phonics at home as fast as I reasonably could and helped my child to sound out her sight words. At first there were far too many new sounds to teach a six year old after school in a week and she didn't know all her sight words because I never wasted time memorising them. The effort has paid off though and by the time list 20 came home two weeks ago, she could read (decode, sound out) all her sight words.

 

Even at this young age, it is very important for my dd to feel that she fits in and can please the teacher.

Edited September 5, 2009 by Katrina J
typo

[katilac]

Language arts is a huge, huge part of the day for first grade. It's not like there's one 20 minute reading lesson he can skip each day; it's going to be incorporated into almost every subject.

 

I would either make peace with their teaching methods, or keep him home.

[Terabith]

:iagree:

 

First grade is about reading. That's their main goal. Maybe if it's a Montessori school or something like that where the curriculum is individualized, but any traditional school is going to be very very difficult to get them to not teach him reading.

 

First grades aren't usually half day, but you might could send him just in the afternoons or something. Sometimes afternoons are mostly science/ social studies, listening to books, pe, art, etc.

[MicheleinMN]

Good luck, but I don't really see it as an option.