Teaching in Primary schools

[capers123]

b] All children are bright.[/b] Direct their abilities properly, and they will all be sitting at the 'top tables'.

Tosh. Yes, all children deserve to have their abilities brought out, but some are less able academically than others. Some, to be frank, are thick. Were this not the case, a class of 30 reception infants would all leave the school being equally as bright as each other. And let's face it, the average teacher will devote more time to the lower end of the ability range than the higher (in private schools as well as state).

Some children are not gifted - not just academically, but have no gift for sports, the arts, whatever.... Some are gifted in more than one area.

[Guest]

My son is at a catholic primary school.Over the last year the Polish population has swelled the schools numbers by 50.
There are now 7 non-speaking polish children in my sons' Y2 class.
There are 25 children in the class.
Guess who needs all the teachers attention, all the time.
My son is very able and has a reading age of 14 years(just turned 7),and is a whizz at maths.
Yet daily I have him crying that he hates school,that he is bored with the work.
I have spoken to the teacher about enrichment -to be told that it doesn't happen at this school.
The teacher says that he is able and should be getting on with his work on his own.But he needs attention too.
He gets to sit next to the Polish children to help them come on with their English work.
Every time I complain I am sure that they think I am just another neurotic,pushy parent.
This has got to be a great example of a primary school failing their students.
As long as they get Level 4 SATS for Year 6 students they feel that they have done their job.
By the way not one of the 20 Year 6 students that took the Grammar school test passed!!!

[capers123]

My son is at a catholic primary school

Sorry to hear your problems. Any other schools he could transfer to? If the church school is important to you, then maybe a C of E school, or give extra RE out of school.

My main, very strong suggestion is contact the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) - www.nagcbritain.org.uk - they have an advice line and also may have a local group to offer sympathy & help for you AND enrichment for your son - but note that local groups are parent run. They can be so helpful at times, and will not dismiss you with a "Johnny will be OK - he's bright and will come out OK with no help" - which I just hate.

[melx]

Capers

"Thick"

what a awful way to describe any child. Frankly just the fact that you can say that out loud makes me feel that I wouldn't like to have you on any appeal panel.

This forum is a very good thing but sometimes perhaps invites people to be too open with thier opinions.

Mel

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice.
I will look them up on the internet.

I am reluctant to pull him out because he has some great friends and it could be a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire.Also my husband is the Catholic who wants this type of education.
But now my husband is starting to think along the same lines as me.
I am seriously considering 7+ scholarship in March for a local independent school.

Just to add to the last post that my daughter was one of the children who did not pass.
My husband and i want my children to do they best they can and we really encouage them to work hard and to grasp oppurtunities and to look to the future.
I coached her at home for a few months before and she was doing really well in the test papers (95-100%),though it became blindingly obvious that her basic mental arithmetic (add/subtracting) was very poor.
We did work really hard on this.
She has always been top of the class for her whole school life and her school reports have stated that she is an accomplished mathmatician.
How can they say this when even i can see that there are huge gaps in her learning?
IT'S A BIT LATE TO FIND OUT IN YEAR 6!
Her CAT scores (111 NVR AND 119 VR)were not fantastic according to the Year 5 teacher and when asked about grammar suitability the teacher just said 'she will do well where ever she goes'.
I feel so FAILED by this school.
Okay maybe grammar isn't the place for her,but the kids at his school just don't stand a chance.
To be bright and able is not an acceptable word.
They just like average at this school.
So even with the best will in the world if the school won't help you,it turns into a losing battle.

[capers123]

"Thick"

OK, probably not the best term - but I was looking for something less euphemistic than 'less-abled'. Maybe it's wrong in that one can be bright as well as 'thick' at the same time. I suppose the opposite of Bright should be Dim, but that's just as bad as thick.

Don't forget that I was just replying to a post that effectively said all children are bright to start with, which I found quite bizarre as this is just so untrue. I know this not to be true, as my eldest was born with brain damage, and would never have been bright had we been forced to keep her alive at any cost. Mind you, she wouldn't even have qualified as thick - brain dead ended up as the most accurate description. Maybe the previous poster intended to say 'all children start school full of potential', which certainly is true, although some have the potential to achieve higher
than others.

So what term should we use for the opposite of Bright? Suggestions on a postcard, please.

[capers123]

To be bright and able is not an acceptable word.
They just like average at this school.

Yep, I've come across this with probably 50% of the teachers my children have had. Luckily the other half of them believe that all children should be helped to reach their maximum potential, no matter what their ability.

We find out within 2 or 3 weeks of the start of the school year what type of teacher they have - if they come home buzzing, seeking out interesting things to do and driving us crazy, they're bored at school, but if sedate, a bit tired (same as me after a hard day at work), they've been challenged & stretched. Of course this isn't every day, but over the year it proves a very good indicator!

[Bewildered]

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience, and can empathize completely, as our son was in a similar position in year 2. We did move him, but only because we moved house. At the new school in the EOY report, children were allowed to comment on their years progress. I was shocked to see that he had asked ' for more harder maths please', and then added as an afterthought 'and English too please'. Shocked because I too had been in (at both schools) to ask for something extra, as he too had complained of being bored at both. I was told 'all was well, and not to worry.'
The system, as this thread and the national results testifies is imperfect.

Whilst I applaud most teachers for the hard work, care, and diligence they put into their jobs, In my experience there are always some that do not. Teachers have a very hard job, trying to cater for all. Unfortunately in this, One size does not fit all!

It may not help now, but my understanding of the oft heard expression...

IT'S A BIT LATE TO FIND OUT IN YEAR 6!

What they mean is that in comparison to the current cohort, your child is well above, doing fine etc. As their main concern is with that class/year.

So even with the best will in the world if the school won't help you,it turns into a losing battle.

So our answer was, 'If you want a job done.....' , and supplemented at home. This wasn't perfect either, as it only sent him higher. In defence I was so afraid that his natural curiosity if not met would shrivel away.
He's now in year 6, and gets questions like 'how many pennies in £2', and guess what, still complains of being bored.

[laid back son worried mum]

I must admit that I was shocked when I read the THICK post from you, capers123. But the fact is that we don't know everything about every poster and their circumstances (it would take posts miles long to explain every nitty gritty bit to show where we are coming from) so it is very easy to read posts 'The wrong way'

I think most of us respond very quickly when we read posts and even with the best intentions might not realise that a certain phrase, said tongue in cheek or in the heat of the moment, can easily be read in a negative light.

The forum rules give a very good guidance to how to reply to posts.

I feel to avoid any misunderstanding, one should keep in mind how the post would come acro55 to the reader.

One person at least on this forum takes a good while to respond and I have never ever misunderstood what he/she wanted to say.

[Guest]

You are not alone with your sons Primary School. I moved my daughter with the promise of the new school extending her work. Primary Schools are only intrested in the League Tables. They work so hard on getting the less able up to standard. They leave th bright kids to themselves, my daughter spent most of her Y6 days helping the the less able. It was a waste of time her going to school. I have friends with kids at other Schools and it is just the same. Once the child makes the grade they are not bothered. Every child has the right to reach their full potential able or not.