Goodbye TWSNBN. You will not be missed.
School is out, and Vika's year with the Teacher-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named (TWSNBN) is finally over. Thank God. The teacher's end-of-the-year activities did nothing to further endear her to me. First of all, the school had a "Field Day," in which Vika's class did not take part. Other first grade classes participated, but her class spent the day indoors, doing math worksheets. The kids were not being punished or anything, TWSNBN simply didn't want to do Field Day. Vika was kind of bummed about it.
She was further disappointed when she gave TWSNBN a card that she had labored over for an hour. She drew a picture of her and TWSNBN with extra care, and wrote a nice thank you note, making sure to spell all the words correctly. She then wrapped it up with a ribbon and brought it to school. She saw other kids give TWSNBN their gifts, and each of them received a "Thank You" card from TWSNBN in return. When Vika gave her the gift she had made, TWSNBN did not give her a thank you card. Vika asked why, and TWSNBN said that she only gives cards for gifts from the store. Vika was extremely saddened by this, and came home from school in a bit of a funk.
All year Vika has been feeling that she is a bad reader and that she's not smart in school. This is the impression TWSNBN gave me as well during our meetings. However, when Vika reads at home, she seems to do pretty well. Sure, her fluency could be better, but she didn't seem too far out of the normal range for a first grader. However, based on what she is seeing and hearing in school, Vika's been under the impression that she should be reading chapter books. In first grade. So, it seems that TWSNBN's perception of normal may be a bit skewed.
My sister-in-law, J, is a 2nd grade teacher in a high-performing school district nearby. She offered to test Vika's reading to see what kind of work we should do over the summer to get her ready for 2nd grade. On Monday she did several tests, and the results were a bit surprising. Vika is reading at a beginning 2nd grade level. She's right on track to start school in the Fall! All TWSNBN's concerns about her being behind were basically a load of crap.
Vika was giddy when she heard her test results. She was so happy to learn that she is a "smart reader," and was very excited to read during the summer. So, this week, we've been doing the "Hooked on Phonics" program which a friend gave to me, and Vikas' been reading voraciously. On Tuesday alone she read 7 mini-chapter books! All it took was for her to see herself as normal and on-track academically to get her enthused about learning again.
As J and I left her classroom, I said, "Oh, how I hate TWSNBN." She looked at me, nodded and said, "I hate her too." :)
She was further disappointed when she gave TWSNBN a card that she had labored over for an hour. She drew a picture of her and TWSNBN with extra care, and wrote a nice thank you note, making sure to spell all the words correctly. She then wrapped it up with a ribbon and brought it to school. She saw other kids give TWSNBN their gifts, and each of them received a "Thank You" card from TWSNBN in return. When Vika gave her the gift she had made, TWSNBN did not give her a thank you card. Vika asked why, and TWSNBN said that she only gives cards for gifts from the store. Vika was extremely saddened by this, and came home from school in a bit of a funk.
All year Vika has been feeling that she is a bad reader and that she's not smart in school. This is the impression TWSNBN gave me as well during our meetings. However, when Vika reads at home, she seems to do pretty well. Sure, her fluency could be better, but she didn't seem too far out of the normal range for a first grader. However, based on what she is seeing and hearing in school, Vika's been under the impression that she should be reading chapter books. In first grade. So, it seems that TWSNBN's perception of normal may be a bit skewed.
My sister-in-law, J, is a 2nd grade teacher in a high-performing school district nearby. She offered to test Vika's reading to see what kind of work we should do over the summer to get her ready for 2nd grade. On Monday she did several tests, and the results were a bit surprising. Vika is reading at a beginning 2nd grade level. She's right on track to start school in the Fall! All TWSNBN's concerns about her being behind were basically a load of crap.
Vika was giddy when she heard her test results. She was so happy to learn that she is a "smart reader," and was very excited to read during the summer. So, this week, we've been doing the "Hooked on Phonics" program which a friend gave to me, and Vikas' been reading voraciously. On Tuesday alone she read 7 mini-chapter books! All it took was for her to see herself as normal and on-track academically to get her enthused about learning again.
As J and I left her classroom, I said, "Oh, how I hate TWSNBN." She looked at me, nodded and said, "I hate her too." :)
The really sad thing is how many kids that teacher has damaged. Many parents wouldn't go the extra steps you did, or have the ability to have their child independently tested. Those kids just go through the summer and into the next grade feeling inadequate.
TWSNBM (I think that's it!) should be canned!
Your mom said it well. All the kids she's had before and those that will come after are likely dealing with the same crap. It's sad. I really hate to hear how she damaged Vika's self-esteem, but I'm happy to hear that -- with your and your friend's help -- it's being built back up.
How sad for Vika to have had to started her academic career with that downer. Good riddance. Hope she has better luck next year. And, it's nice you were able to encourage Vika with a dash of realism via J.
I totally believe that kids believe what they hear- and start to model it. My son's 3rd grade teacher has been telling him how smart he is all year and so my son told me he wanted to test for the gifted and talented program for next year. Last year he had no interest in testing for that at all- he just wanted whatever was easiest.
Thank goodness Vika has you for a mom!
I think a formal letter to the principal is in order.
Vika can come be in MY class! (Frog and Toad and similar would be great books for this summer.)
You're tagged. Give us six words.
Me too. That teacher is ridiculous. Hope Vika has a much better experience in 2nd grade.
It gets me so mad that she makes her feel like an inferior reader. She had to get that impression from her teacher. Hopefully next year she will have a more encouraging teacher
I am just blown away by this. I hope she has an awesome 2nd grade teacher!
OMG what a horrible evil person. She should be a villian in a fairy tale or something. I remember having a teacher like that - and I will never forget how my mother stuck up for me and made it very clear that it was HER who was the problem and not me. Just like what you did by telling Vika your feelings about her. I bet that cheered her right up. What a creep!