Parents Beware.

sweetbrownsugar

Well-Known Member
REGISTERED MEMBER
Jul 28, 2004
158
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When my 8yr old was an early 4, I devoted a lot of time & patience towards having him know how to read BEFORE he reached Kindergarten. What provoked me to do this? I saw that he could read or name Every CARTOON that came on CARTOON NETWORK, DISNEY and NICKOLODEON! -Even tell you what time they all came on just about. So I was thinking under my breath, "Shoot Boy, If you can do all that, you can do....! This was only EASY for me to do as far as time because I work at nights to leave my days open. But anyway, I was buying workbooks from K-Mart/Walmart etc. Finding discarded Library books at local THRIFT SHOPS, even shopping where the teachers themselves shopped for teaching materials. I set right to it. Little lessons each day. Rewarding him here and there. Most times he was fustrated at being pushed (challenged) but when he actually saw himself READING. He was eager to learn. So that was Successful Because he was Way On Time By the Time He Started Kindergarten. When he got to first grade, the school that he went to focused on Reading and Writing which I thought was odd. I notice that they were asking 6-7 year olds who hadn't mastered spelling to write Journals and Book Reports, like they were in 3rd grade! It was backwards to me! He'd come home having wrote these little papers with Mis-spellings throughout but the teacher PRAISED him, put smiley faces and stickers...and GOOD JOB on them! So I had to go out to the school with my "hair-rollers in my head like mama and 'nem did back in the day! -Not really. But I confronted this teacher. Her excuse to me at Parent Teacher conference was...."We're not concerned right now with spelling....we merely want them to express their thoughts..see their thought pattern...they will focus on that in 2nd grade" So I said, Bet. He gets to second grade, same school, but not only do they NOT TEACH HIM, THEY DON'T HAVE SPELLING TEXT BOOKS! NO SPELLING PLAN. So I am Hot!! Because (and I told the teacher/principal this) Even I had a Spelling Book in 2nd grade! Their excuse for not teaching him was that the school had students in each class all on different learning levels due to Language Barriers and so forth. ( Mexicans, Somalians, etc) This was supposed to be one of the better School Systems. What angered me was having got my son ready and not have the SCHOOL or TEACHER meet him half-way! So I ended up further teaching him at home until we moved out of that School District and City completely. Leaving me to RESEARCH the schools in the new area. Which we are straight now. But STILL at this new school which once again is supposed to be one of the better schools in the District, I am still seeing TEACHERS WHO WILL LET OUR BLACK CHILDREN SLIDE RIGHT UNDER THE RADAR(GIVE THEM SMILEY FACES FOR SPELLING THE WORD CAT WITH AN "E")....ESPECIALLY IF WE AS BLACK PARENTS DON'T REPRESENT. STAY INVOLVED AND SHOW THEM THAT WE ARE CONCERNED.
 
Because I have two small kids in the EARLY grades...I still feel fairly "new" to "parenting" and all this getting involved stuff. I find that I am doing a lot of things that wasn't done for me at that age. Now both my husband and I are "on it" together when it comes to being Involved and Concerned Parents. A lot of I hate to say it but White teachers DO NOT EXPECT Black Parents to SHOW UP at a Parent-Teacher Conference. Most think we don't care. It makes a big difference to your child, too. I always tell them, "Boy, there are plenty of little kids that have Parents who ain't never looked inside or asked for the homework papers out of their book bag!" So now they are grateful. To those Parents who haven't "been there and done that", hopefully this is good advice? There are a lot of teachers out there that are looking for these raises but are not doing a whole lot to deserve them.
 
Sister SweetBrownSugar, Your experience sounds just like mines. I too rushed out to prepare my daughter for kindergarten at an early age. She didn't attend preschool so I had to step it up. In her school also, they do not put alot of emphasis on reading. But I do at home. I buy those workbooks, I pull out that homework from her bag as if I'm going to school again.

I remember her feeling insecure about going to first grade. Thinking that she was not going to be able to keep up. Yes, this was a concern of a 6 year old.
However with alot of patience and making learning seem exciting and new, she is a honor role student. They are doing double digit math, fractions, fact family, sentences and spelling tests every week. She is also learning spanish as a secondary language which they also started in kindergarten. I asked her do they read books in class and she says no, but they do have reading lessons on the computers, where they have to read to the teacher before going on to another level.

I don't go to all the meetings but I do make those parent conferences. We can't depend on no one to teach our children but ourselves. The school system is more concerned about the money they can receive off of each child. As along as they know what is required to past those state test, they could care less about any other areas. And those are the lessons which they base their teachings on. Keep up the Great work Mom!!! It is you who teach your child and all they do is reinforce what you have taught them. Stay ahead of the game Sis!
 
This is why my daughter has been and is home schooled by me and my husband. He never was into the system in terms of education and the erroneous value systems that children pick up from other children. plus with school being the war ground it is up here, we decided long ago that up until a certain age, home schooling was best.
 

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