desertmum Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 (edited) Hello All, I am new to the afterschooling board. This past year we have been homeschooling full-time. However my husband is quite adamant he wants ds to go to ps. Also our financial situation has changed so I may be looking for work very soon. My questions is: does the school mind if you teach your child a different or even better way to do something? Does the school insist you use the same approach, or they don't care so long as the child turns in the assignments in time and done correctly? All advice gratefully received.:001_smile: :bigear: p.s. Sorry if I'm asking something obvious. Edited May 31, 2012 by desertmum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellecv Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 You'll find every teacher is different. My daughter's teacher this year tells me about upcoming topics so we can do extra research / field trips at home. She lets DD bring in books she writes at home and read them to the class. She's been so supportive! There are, of course, my-way-or-the-highway teachers out there. (You'll encounter more as your child grows up. Those types don't usually subject themselves to classrooms full of wiggly 7 year olds!) When you get one of those types, find out how concepts are taught in school. Use whatever method you need to make sure your kid understands the concept, but then teach them to use the school way. Treat control-freak teachers as a lesson in life: sometimes we have to put up with people we disagree with and sometimes we have to do something someone else's way for a while. Then we move on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmum Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 You'll find every teacher is different. My daughter's teacher this year tells me about upcoming topics so we can do extra research / field trips at home. She lets DD bring in books she writes at home and read them to the class. She's been so supportive! There are, of course, my-way-or-the-highway teachers out there. (You'll encounter more as your child grows up. Those types don't usually subject themselves to classrooms full of wiggly 7 year olds!) When you get one of those types, find out how concepts are taught in school. Use whatever method you need to make sure your kid understands the concept, but then teach them to use the school way. Treat control-freak teachers as a lesson in life: sometimes we have to put up with people we disagree with and sometimes we have to do something someone else's way for a while. Then we move on! Thank you for your reply. As I've said maybe mine was an obvious question with an obvious answer but I've never had to deal with ps teachers teaching my son before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I wouldn't tell teachers anything unless I was asked specifically. Personally I think most teachers will frown upon afterschooling in our school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 (edited) desertmum, I used to get VERY frustrated trying to help my children with math. I am "mathy," and but my way of doing or explaining was inevitably met with "But that is not how my teacher showed us!" The best thing that I ever did for our afterschooling was to just let the teacher do his or her thing...and I do mine. For my 5th grader, we are oh-so-happily using Math Mammoth. We just move through as we please and I never try to sync up with the classwork/homework. I tend toward being hands-off with homework. For the most part, I consider homework to be an entity best left between the student and the teacher. Years ago, I read John Rosemond's "Ending the Homework Hassle" and adopted much (but not all) of his philosophy. That being said, it is not all-or-nothing. My son had to take a standardized test earlier this year and I tutored him through some problem solving methodologies that were important for that particular test. The other day I showed him a way to work with percents that is different from the way the teacher is doing percents. And then I showed him how some problems are easier to do one way and others are easier to do the other way. Wow, that was a long answer...and that is just for math, LOL. I think that it is easier for older children to understand that afterschooling adds to their toolbox. The issue is bigger with younger children. Hopefully your little guy will get a teacher who communicates clear expectations. If not - ask. Where should his name go? Upper right hand corner or left? What style of handwriting do you teach? Etc. ETA: I agree with Roadrunner. I have rarely had the need or occasion to discuss afterschooling with anyone at school. On those occasions, I describe what we do as tutoring. And I do think of myself as a tutor. Edited May 31, 2012 by Penguin clarity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinchick Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 desertmum, On those occasions, I describe what we do as tutoring. And I do think of myself as a tutor. Love this approach! I think that the advice about every teacher being different is quite sound. I know that this year DD's first grade teacher has taught the kids a bunch of different ways to solve problems, and she has expressly told them to "do whatever works for you." However, I have no idea what next year's teacher will have for a philosophy, and DD will have to work within that framework to succeed with that teacher. That's a lifeskill as much as anything else we can teach our kids. One of the nice things about afterschooling, I think, is that you can add to the information/methods being taught in the classroom. I think a pp described it as a toolbox, and I wholeheartedly agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschool7 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 In our case our teachers are fine with it but then we are covering other areas and a little extra math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I would say that it depends on the school, and that math especially can be tricky. SM should blend in well either way (Constructivist vs traditional rote algorithms). But, if your kids were doing something like Everyday Math and you tried to teach them with Horizons, then they could get pretty confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCamper Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I wouldn't mention it to the teacher unless it comes up. We had both of our kids in ps through second grade, the teachers would not have been interested or think it was silly to after school. FWIW, many of the areas you are currently teaching aren't even covered in our local public school: geography, Spanish and (I shudder as I type it) science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I am a former full-time homeschooler as well. I don't ask for permission or really discuss afterschooling with my DDs' teachers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slackermom Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 My questions is: does the school mind if you teach your child a different or even better way to do something? Does the school insist you use the same approach, or they don't care so long as the child turns in the assignments in time and done correctly? All advice gratefully received.:001_smile: We don't use the term afterschooling, but DD's current teacher knows that DD is learning a lot outside of school with our support, and this teacher has been very positive about it, and has encouraged DD to apply her outside knowledge in certain assignments. Most of the topics we cover are not covered in school at this point (languages, history, geography), or not practical for a school classroom (science experiments). Math is a little trickier to coordinate, due to frequent math assessments. Students are expected to demonstrate their mastery of the concepts taught in the classroom. You may know a better way to teach your child, but then you want to be sure your child is clear on both approaches. I had to spend a significant amount of time learning about the approach used by DD's school system so I can link our at-home math to her classroom math. I am planning to discuss this general topic with DD's teacher before the year ends. I want her advice on what to say to future teachers, and when and how to say it. But I won't be asking for anyone's permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmum Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 desertmum, I used to get VERY frustrated trying to help my children with math. I am "mathy," and but my way of doing or explaining was inevitably met with "But that is not how my teacher showed us!" The best thing that I ever did for our afterschooling was to just let the teacher do his or her thing...and I do mine. For my 5th grader, we are oh-so-happily using Math Mammoth. We just move through as we please and I never try to sync up with the classwork/homework. I tend toward being hands-off with homework. For the most part, I consider homework to be an entity best left between the student and the teacher. Years ago, I read John Rosemond's "Ending the Homework Hassle" and adopted much (but not all) of his philosophy. That being said, it is not all-or-nothing. My son had to take a standardized test earlier this year and I tutored him through some problem solving methodologies that were important for that particular test. The other day I showed him a way to work with percents that is different from the way the teacher is doing percents. And then I showed him how some problems are easier to do one way and others are easier to do the other way. Wow, that was a long answer...and that is just for math, LOL. I think that it is easier for older children to understand that afterschooling adds to their toolbox. The issue is bigger with younger children. Hopefully your little guy will get a teacher who communicates clear expectations. If not - ask. Where should his name go? Upper right hand corner or left? What style of handwriting do you teach? Etc. ETA: I agree with Roadrunner. I have rarely had the need or occasion to discuss afterschooling with anyone at school. On those occasions, I describe what we do as tutoring. And I do think of myself as a tutor. I love Math Mammoth. I was planning to use it after SM Essential Math. I like the "tutor" thing. I wouldn't mention it to the teacher unless it comes up. We had both of our kids in ps through second grade, the teachers would not have been interested or think it was silly to after school. FWIW, many of the areas you are currently teaching aren't even covered in our local public school: geography, Spanish and (I shudder as I type it) science. I teach Spanish because it is my mother language and although ds is not bilingual I believe he may pick it up later. We don't use the term afterschooling, but DD's current teacher knows that DD is learning a lot outside of school with our support, and this teacher has been very positive about it, and has encouraged DD to apply her outside knowledge in certain assignments. Most of the topics we cover are not covered in school at this point (languages, history, geography), or not practical for a school classroom (science experiments). Math is a little trickier to coordinate, due to frequent math assessments. Students are expected to demonstrate their mastery of the concepts taught in the classroom. You may know a better way to teach your child, but then you want to be sure your child is clear on both approaches. I had to spend a significant amount of time learning about the approach used by DD's school system so I can link our at-home math to her classroom math. I am planning to discuss this general topic with DD's teacher before the year ends. I want her advice on what to say to future teachers, and when and how to say it. But I won't be asking for anyone's permission. I guess I won't be asking anyone's permission either! ;) Thank you all for the replies. You certainly have made me feel better. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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