Too Much, Too Fast

This article could not describe my feelings about public education and the associated pressures any better. Kids just aren't allowed to be kids any more, and it's sad...really sad.

My support of public education and my involvement in the schools notwithstanding (my main reason for being involved to begin with has nothing to do with education really and more to do with my need to be "in the know"), it's the pressure and "inability" for kids to just be kids that has often lead me to thinking that homeschooling may in fact be a better option.

Katherine

In such a typical "middle child" thing to do (suffer quietly while the attention is bestowed upon older and younger siblings), Katherine informed me just last week that she has been missing recess consistently for months, due to unfinished class work. Needless to say this was all horrifying to me (missing recess to complete work, her keeping it to her self for so long, and the fact that the teacher had not been in contact with me to let me know what was going on).

Rather than share the whole letter I will quote a portion of it here, in which I directly address my distaste for missing recess to complete work.

"While I agree that the work needs to be completed, I would like to try, with your assistance and guidance, to find out why that is, and take steps to correct the problem, rather than just have her miss recess to get it done."

Of course, that was a lot tamer than what was going through my head. Something that the teacher brought up at Katherine's Parent-Teacher Conference back in November was that Katherine's social behaviors sometimes get in the way of her academics (read: talking too much). I wonder exactly how taking recess away will help in that regard? As it is, the kids only have that 15 minutes in a six and a half hour day of unstructured free play. Taking that time away for any reason (most especially not completing class work) is certainly not going to help her pay attention and talk less. I wonder why teachers, who seriously should know this stuff and should make the connection, don't?

I also wonder why the first step wouldn't be to figure out why she isn't finishing her work. Is she being allowed that recess time and still not paying attention/talking too much? Is it too much or too hard for her? Is there some other distraction?

I understand the idea behind taking recess away, besides the obvious part of the work needing to be done. I am guessing the hope is that the child will make the connection that if they don't finish their work they will miss recess. In some cases, maybe that is true, and maybe the problem would be solved. After months of though? I think it's time to explore other options.

Letter Says It All

Below is the letter I wrote to Emily's teachers, her principal and guidance counselor. It's a little more personal than I tend to get normally but, I am anxious to hear your opinions and thoughts on it, so I left it all in there!

I wanted to touch base with you regarding my daughter, Emily. Emily continues to have difficulty with organization, and as you are aware, this is affecting her grades in a negative way. You may not be aware, that it is also affecting her self esteem in the same way. I would like to request a meeting to discuss these concerns with you, and perhaps come up with a plan to help Emily achieve all that I know she can.

Emily is currently on a 504 Accommodation Plan, in which her diagnosis of ADHD is clearly defined as a disability. At the time of her plans writing when she began third grade, her academic progress was not being hindered by her disability. Clearly, this is no longer the case.

From all accounts, Emily’s eagerness in the classroom, participation in class, and all around positive attitude, have shown that she has a true desire to learn and achieve. To that end, it is my opinion and hers that she needs more support, on both an emotional and academic level.

After Emily met with Mrs. School Guidance Counselor in the beginning of the year, Mrs. School Guidance Counselor indicated that she had some concerns for Emily, and offered the suggestion that Emily receive counseling services. We have since started Emily’s counseling services with her counselor, of Blah Blah Counseling Services(EDITED FOR PRIVACY). I am requesting that her counselor be allowed to see Emily during school hours.

Due in large part to Emily’s feelings around her lack of organizational skills and the results of that, Emily’s self esteem is suffering greatly. She frequently makes comments like, “Why am I so stupid?”, “Why can’t I be more organized?”, and “I try but I just can’t do it.” While Emily's counselor is working on these and other concerns, our combined schedules make it difficult for Emily to see her more than once every couple of weeks. Emily’s feelings and esteem continue to decline, and this schedule is not adequate enough to really address these issues. Emily’s feelings and esteem relate directly to her organization, an intrinsic part of her life at school, and one of the main reasons both Emily and I feel she is not achieving all she is capable of. While the option to take Emily out of school weekly exists, this would require her to be out of school for two hours, as opposed to the 45 minute session she would miss if these services were taking place at school. Missing two hours of school weekly certainly would not help Emily in her conquest to get organized and achieve a higher level of self esteem.

Emily recently explained the “check mark” program to me. It is my understanding that if a student is missing work, forgetting needed classroom materials, or having behavioral concerns, they receive check marks. If the student receives four checks from one teacher, or ten overall, they are not allowed to participate in the reward at the end of the check mark period. Emily should not participate in the check mark program based on her organizational abilities. Her disorganization is an inherent part of her ADHD, which is defined as a disability. Emily should not be punished for something that is a symptom of her disability. While I certainly believe that there is much room for improvement, and that it is in fact possible that Emily will improve, until she is on a level comparable with her typical peers in regard to organization, participation in this program is not appropriate for Emily.

I would like to request that the following accommodations be added to Emily’s existing 504 Plan:

--Allow for expedient make up of missing homework. If deduction for lateness works, keep doing it. If it does not, recognize the problem as an uncorrectable disability.


--If Emily forgets her homework or any other needed item in her locker, allow her until the end of the day to bring it to you, or if possible get it at the time it is discovered missing.

--Emily should not participate in the “check mark” program based on her organization skills.

I sincerely look forward to meeting with you and discussing this further. I am open to hearing any suggestions and thoughts you may have.

Parent-Teacher Conferences:Emily

They went the same as they do every year. Something like this, just for reference:

"Emily is a very bright young lady. She participates well, is eager to learn, is very helpful, asks a lot of questions and is a pleasure to have in class. The only concern I have for her is her lack of organization."

Her World Geography teacher added the following statement (which made me want to...well...hug him, if such a thing were appropriate):

"The only concern I have for Emily is her organization. She'll come to class sometimes and not have what she needs, but, she has a "B" so obviously it can't be affecting her that much."

Finally someone who gets it. Maybe she could e getting an "A" if she were more organized but a "B"? Is not bad. More importantly, if she is content with it than it should matter that she could be doing this or that.

Accommodations

This wasn't the post I had been thinking of writing over the past couple of days, but I guess I have to go with what is current, right?

Emily forgot her math homework in her locker...again. This makes five homework assignments that she has actually done, and somehow misplaced or otherwise didn't turn in, in math alone. I have a whole post on why I think homework should be outlawed, but for now, it is what it is, and she needs to be not only doing it, but turning it in as well.

Here's my issue. I think it absolutely stinks that she did her homework, and because she did something a little absentminded by leaving it in her locker, she is not going to get full credit for it. Apparently, if she turns it in today she will get what she referred to as an "effort grade" but it will not be held in as high esteem as if she had turned it in today.

I am torn about this. Part of me thinks that this might teach her something, and help on the road to better organization, but, the other part of me recognizes that this type of thing is a true disability for her and that she should not be excluded from getting the grade she deserves for doing the work. I am quite sure she could have an accommodation added to her 504 Plan that allowed her to have her homework in by the end of the day and still get full credit. I just don't know, in the long run, if that would be a good thing or not.

Here's the other piece that bothers me. Emily got her first progress report the other day. She has all B's and one C in math. A c? Is not a bad grade. It's average. The point is, and I will be elaborating on this further in a future post, if a C is a grade that not only can she get at her current level of organization/disorganization, but one that she is satisfied with, than that should be all that matters. There seems to be this underlying pressure in the world to do better, be more, get more, and it's wrong. If she's happy with a C, then that should be good enough.

Suffering the Consequences

This growing up thing? It's hard. Hard on the control-freak parent who is trying to let go a little and give her daughter a bit more choice in life, but has a hard time when said daughter makes a choice that in the long run might not be the best one. It's hard on the parent who hates to sit by and watch the child suffer the consequences of a choice they made. It's hard on the parent who has this unexplained urge just to fix everything so that her daughter won't have to suffer at all, even though the parent knows deep down that by fixing everything the child will never learn and from her own mistakes/triumphs in life.

Undoubtedly, it's hard on the child who has to make these choices, be they good or bad, in order to learn from whatever may come as a result of these choices.

Today, I knowingly let Emily suffer whatever consequences may come as a result of her not turning in her reading log. She knew all week that it was supposed to be home, here for us fill out together, and, despite my constant reminders to her to bring it home, she still forgot it. I felt bad about it, so suggested that we do our own reading log, since we knew what the questions on it were, and, even though it would not be on the "official reading log paper", I am sure it will still count. The thing is, while I think it is important that she remember her "stuff," she actually has a problem with this kind of thing, more so than the usual kid. Sometimes, I need to cut her a little slack. Anyway, she refused to make up our own, and said outright, "I'll just get a zero." Me? I let it go at that. The hope is that when she gets a zero, or gets her report card she will see that her grade is a direct reflection of what she does or doesn't do all year,and that if her grade is lower than it may have otherwise been, she will make the connection. If I am being honest though? I don't have high hopes for this happening. Consequences have little effect on Emily, generally speaking any way. While the event is actually occurring (using this example when she gets her report card) she will be upset by it for that moment in time, but it will more than likely do little to deter the forgetting of the reading log in the future.

So, I guess we will just wait and see what happens, and hope for the best.

Organizing Ideas

Acronyms. Emily seems to respond quite well to them and said as much while doing a recent math assignment on order of operations. She said, "PEMDAS...Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally" but really it means, "Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction, just so you know, Mom."

So...I need to think of a good acronym or two for things such as, "Don't forget your homework" and "Remember to bring everything home that you need" and "English class starts at 8:03 not 8:10."

I am being a little silly here, but really? I think this type of thing might work. I bet this is something I could find on line...like an acronym creator or something.

I am having a hard time coming up with other ideas. I already have the typical ones in place...a set time and place for homework, reminders before she leaves to turn her homework in that she has done at home, chatting with her about her day, and being involved with the school (as much as possible in middle school at least). Does anyone else have any thoughts?

Middle School:Expectations

This will be the first in a short series of posts. If I were to include all my thoughts on this subject in one entry, you could potentially be reading for days!

I thought I would start by listing quite literally what was expected of Emily as far as what she needs for each class, and what she is expected to remember to bring with her to each class.

Chorus (yes she actually needs stuff to go sing): black 3 ring binder, 2 pencils, composition notebook, agenda. Students will write journal entries in the comp book at the end of every chorus class. Concerts are mandatory. There are two each year.

World Geography: 2 inch 3 ring binder, notebook dividers, colored pencils, textbook,agenda.

Math: 2 inch 3 ring binder, notebook paper, pen, pencil, textbook, agenda. 3-4 nights homework will be given. Late homework=no credit.

ELA (you ready for this?) agenda, homework folder, SSR book, pencil, reading notebook, writing journal, reading log, 2 textbooks.

Science: white notebook, text book, agenda, pencil.

The school uses the "rotation" scheduling approach, so they have classes on an A B C schedule. They also have specified locker breaks, in which they are allowed to go back to their lockers to trade books etc. for the next class.

Let's use an "A" day as an example. On an "A" day she needs to have the following with her in the morning before her next locker break: 2 inch 3 ring binder, notebook dividers, homework folder, colored pencils, textbook,agenda,white notebook, text book.

At her next locker break she needs to have/remember all of this: 2 inch 3 ring binder, notebook, pen, pencil, textbook, agenda, homework folder, SSR book, reading notebook, writing journal, reading log, 2 textbooks.

At her final break of the day she needs to remember to bring home her agenda, homework folder, and any textbooks or binders/notebooks she may need to complete her homework.

Oh, and did I mention that they are not allowed to carry their backpacks around the building? Taken directly from the handbook: In order to avoid congestion in the corridors, and to assist students in the organization and care of books and materials, backpacks and book bags may not be carried during the school day. Upon entering the building, backpacks, book bags, and gym bags will be placed in the student lockers.Locker breaks will be held periodically throughout the day. I have yet to be in there when the hallway was bustling with kids going to a fro, but let me tell you, on the few occasions in which I have been there (including tonight for Open House) the hallways seem plenty wide, as do the cluster areas where the lockers are located. This seems like a silly rule to me, and if I were in charge,I would be more concerned with books being dropped, or pencils being slipped on, or any other number of things that could occur when kids are carrying armloads of books around.

Anyway, is it me, or does this seem like a lot for even a "regular" kid who doesn't have issues with organization or attention, above and beyond what would be considered normal for the age?

Elementary school, for all it did do, certainly did not do an adequate job preparing Emily for the "big leagues", at least on an organizational level. I am appalled by most of what is expected of her.

Public Education

You what it is sometimes that drives me crazy regarding people who knock public education? It's the people who automatically decide it's a bad thing, just based on their own experiences as a child. When you really think about that, it doesn't make sense.

It sort of falls in to the same category as defining what makes a good teacher. Of course there are obvious things that don't, but most of the time, if you were to define a teacher's "goodness" by the performance of their students? You'd have a tough time. Because guess what? Everyone is different. There are always going to be students who learn better by reading, others who learn better by doing, others who are very adaptable and can learn using any method, and still others who will have difficulty no matter what you do. Does this mean that because a student is failing the teacher isn't doing a good job? Maybe, but not necessarily.

Getting back to the original point, just because your experience in school may have been poor, does not automatically mean your child's will too. Personally, if I had really given a lot of thought to what my experience in school had been before sending my own children, I might not have sent them, and in the case of my children specifically? I think that would have been a big mistake.

Using Julia as an example, I do sometimes wonder if all of the extra help she is getting now and may need to continue with in the future is more of a hindrance to her than a help. It may not be a big deal now, but when she gets older, if she needs to be pulled from the classroom for whatever, will that bother her? I have no idea. But right now? By all accounts, speech therapy is not torture. It's fun. They play games, read stories and use different manipulative's (blocks, play dough etc) to initiate speech and language development. It's not like they sit there and just ask her to say specific words or ask her tons of questions to see how she responds. Same goes for PT and OT. Does this mean that all 4 year olds will love these therapies? Of course not, but it works for her.

The point? While we should take our own experiences in to consideration when making decisions, we should not allow that to be the deciding factor in whether or not we send our kids to public school. A little open mindedness can go a long way.

Middleboro School News

Of note to local readers...

The Middleboro School Committee is looking at saving energy costs. YAY! More money for the kids and green living...works for me!

And, perhaps even more exciting than that...

The School Committee has decided against pursuing the extended learning time initiative.

Julia's IEP Review

A couple of weeks back, I had Julia's IEP Review meeting, in which her concerns, vision statement and annual goals were updated.

Here's what I included for her parent concerns and vision statement:

Parent Concerns: Our immediate concerns for Julia lie in her gross motor, speech and language, and sensory processes. Specifically, our concerns relate to Julia’s overall muscle tone and balance, comprehension of materials and tasks being presented to her, her social skills and interacting with her peers, and her sensory motor and planning skills.

Vision Statement: Our immediate vision is for Julia to improve her overall muscle tone and balance, comprehension of tasks and materials being presented to her, social interactions with her peers, and overall sensory and motor planning. Looking to the future, we are hoping that this school year will adequately prepare Julia academically, physically, and emotionally for kindergarten.


Julia has four parts to her IEP; general curriculum, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech and Language. Within each area, specific accommodations are listed as they apply to Julia's needs.

General Curriculum/Speech and Language:
Extra wait time, short, simple directions after obtaining eye contact, cues and prompts to complete tasks, and cues before transitioning or changes in routine.

Occupational and Physical Therapy:

Encourage prone positions, encourage weight bearing prone positions suich as kneeling, encourage stair climbing, work on vertical service like black board or easel, encourage movement activities and position change.

Each area also has a measurable goal which are as follows:

OT: Julia will improve sensory processing, sensory motor development, and fine motor development.

PT: Julia will demonstrate improved postural strength, proximal stability and strength, endurance and balance.

Communication (Speech and Language): Julia will follow two step directions in small group therapy sessions with 80 % accuracy, and will answer "Why" questions when reading a book or playing a game with 80 % accuracy.

General Curriculum: Given decreasing prompts, Julia will increase her time spent on non-preferred activities through out the school day.

There are of course, all kinds of benchmarks that are listed to achieve these goals.

She will be particpating in the sensory-motor OT/PT group that she has been next year, 2 times a week for 45 minutes each. She will be in a small group speech session for 30 minutes per week and in a co-treat speech group for 30 minutes per week.

Overall, i am pleased with how this will play out next year. Silly me is already getting nervous about kindergarten because it's hard for me to imagine her being in a structured setting for an entire day. I never really had this concern with Emily and Katherine but this is Julia. And Julia? She's just not like Emily and Katherine were at the same age. It's hard to put it into words though. Anyway, worrying about kindergarten now? It's just a little premature!

Does anyone know anything about...

...Hippotherapy (aka Therapeutic Horse Riding Therapy)? At Julia's IEP meeting the other day, her team recommended that she do "something" over the summer to keep up a consistent schedule (which was really my main concern for her over the summer and why I was hoping she might get in to the summer program). For some reason the idea of horseback riding popped in to my head today while I was pondering ideas. The basic idea I left with at the meeting was that she would benefit from keeping up with some sort of a once or twice a week activity that would keep her on a "getting out of the house and being social activity." One of the main concerns her team has was her lack of independence as compared to others her age, and her constant need for prompting. She is not the kind of kid to just "jump right in" but it goes beyond that with her. She needs much more direction socially and otherwise than the "average" almost 4 year old.

My understanding of Hippotherapy is that it is an individualized program that is tailored to the child's specific needs, using speech, physical, and occupational therapists, as well as the horse to address concerns. It seems like it could be a wonderful thing for Julia who has concerns in all three of these areas.

Does anyone have any experience with this, or have you heard anything good, bad or otherwise about it?

NCLB Etc.

When, I ask you, are the higher ups going to get off their high horse and do away with the stupid law?

This article caught my attention this morning.

There are a couple of things that really set me off, first and foremost of course, is the money. It's wrong to expect the state and town to come up with the money for something the feds hand down. Take some responsibility for your actions (what am I thinking...responsibility and government don't even belong in the same paragraph). If you can't fund it, kill it.


Something else? If the federal government is the one handing down these silly laws, then why is it up to the state to set the standards which need to be met? I have said before that I don't think the feds should be involved in any form, but, if they have to be, they could at least support and stand behind their initiatives.

Speaking on behalf of my own town, as it stands now, we are only level funded from last year. Last year we were functioning (barely) on a budget that was drastically reduced (as in more than 30 positions cut). So all of the "bad stuff" going on last year will continue this year. Great. It's certainly better than being cut again but still? When are the kids going to get the support they deserve and need? And how the heck are we supposed to come up with the money to fund programs that will help us make AYP and other goals when we can't even hire a librarian to staff the media center in the elementary schools? An override? Maybe but even I don't think that's a good idea. I'd support one again because when faced with no other options what else can you do? The kids shouldn't suffer.

I'm telling you, I'd support and extended school day before I'd support NCLB and federal involvement in education.

Ugh.

Emily's 504 Plan: The Details

Emily is currently on a 504 Accommodation Plan based on her diagnosis of ADHD. Her plan is reviewed every March, and added to or changed if needed. Her current accommodations are as follows:

-Preferential seating
-Parent/teacher communication as needed
-Reminders to bring home important papers at the end of the day
-Frequent verbal cues prior to giving directions and transitioning
-Rules and expectations should be clear, explicit, and consistently reviewed for understanding
-Small group and alternate site for testing
-Checklists and graphic organizers
-Time lines for longer assignments
-Check agenda and material daily
-Study guides and outlines as needed

I can tell you right now, only some of these are being adhered to. I really don't see it as much of a concern now (although I often wonder how much better she would be doing if she was more organized and together, which would be helped by following the above accommodations) but I am so concerned about next year (middle school) that I am practically having anxiety attacks about it. As it stands right now academically, she is doing well enough to succeed (mostly 3's which is Middleboro means at grade level standard). Could she be doing even better if she was more organized both mentally and physically? I think so. I haven't really worried to much about it because at grade level standard? That's not something to be concerned about really, is it? Unless of course (which my counselor pointed out and I have often thought), she is gifted. Then, at grade level standard might be a concern. What really worries me about next year though, is how much more organized she will need to be (compared to elementary school) just to get by, let alone get to grade level standards or beyond. While I hope some of the needed organization skills will come with maturity, I also know that some of this? It's just the "way she is." Did I mention she has a known abnormality (diagnosed via MRI during the whole Epilepsy diagnosis saga) in the frontal lobe of her brain (the very area which "controls" the so called executive functions of the brain, as well as planning and memory)? So yes, maturity may help, but I question how much it will help.

I feel like I have failed her in a way, not really taking the necessary steps to make sure her 504 plan accommodations are being met. I don't want to be known as "one of those parents" who constantly calls the school, demands services for their child, and in general is just a pain in the ass. Because really? I'm not. Also, authority figures that by the very nature of their job title and/or degree are supposed to know about these things and have a tendency to make you feel inferior, they scare me. Scare the hell out of me if I am being honest. For some reason I live in this world which I think , "If there's a plan in place, they must be following it because well, they're supposed to." After I bang my head on the desk though and come back to reality, I know that while the plan is there, it may not be being enforced and the only way it will be is if I make sure that it is. To that end, not only am I going to take some initiative and meet with the necessary people prior to next year even starting, I am going to request that the following accommodations be added to her existing plan:

-tap on desk or use some other code to bring child back in to focus.
-notify family immediately of any missing or late assignments by phone or email.
-provide Emily with a simple outline and/or notes for lectures.
-allow for expedient make up of late or incorrectly done homework. If deduction for lateness works to the curb problem, keep doing it. If not, recognize the problem as an uncorrectable disability.
-provide an extra set of books for home.

I think the addition of these accommodations, combined with maturity and medication, will really get Emily off on the right foot for the beginning of next year.

Going Green At School

Emily and Katherine came home today with three of the exact same notices. One was a reminder about Mardi Gras, one was a notice about a fundraiser sponsored by the high school Key Club, and another was about football registration. I have often thought that this was a waste. I don't need more than one copy of any single notice and, with the supply shortage in full effect, it would make sense that the notices come home to one student in the elementary school system, as opposed to all. The above mentioned notices may have been printed and copied by the involving parties, but, there have been plenty of notices from the school directly that have come home with both kids.

It might be involved, but it would seem to me that there would be a way of distributing notices to only one student in the system. Perhaps it would be the older student. It just seems like such a waste of paper and time and if a system was put in place, it could save both.

Extended Learning Time: My Take

I have been researching the expanded school year initiative that seems to be taking form across the country, perhaps with more intensity then a person with just a mild interest would. While all areas of public education are of great interest to me, this particular piece has recently become the cornerstone of my research, due in part to the fact that my town has been awarded a grant to study the possibility of implementing an expanded learning time plan in one of the elementary schools, as well as the middle school.

The reason behind the initiative is simple. It would seem that more time in school would result in more learning and better student performance. What I have learned through my reading is that it is not quite that easy. Other factors, like improving the quality of the instructional time have been shown to be equally beneficial, in particular to certain groups of students (such as low income and others who may have limited time for learning outside of school). Other considerations of course, are the money and politics behind expanding learning time, as well as others (aside from the obvious students, teachers and parents) who may be affected by a change in school time. These people would include employers, and many other industries who are dependent on the traditional school day and year.

As anyone who has paid any attention to the current situation in public education knows, educators face never before seen pressures to raise student achievement. Federal and local mandates are handed down and schools are in effect, "threatened" if the requirements aren't meant. The concern behind the increased pressure is that in today's high tech world, students who are not adequately prepared, will not not succeed in this environment. While there may be some truth behind that in specific cases, it seems to me that one thing is being overlooked. The very people who had a hand in inventing, or at least bringing to the forefront some of the technological advances we see today, were educated on a 6 1/2 hour, 180 day school year. This of course is not true of those in other countries, some of which are in school year round, or for longer periods of time on a day to day basis. Still? We (we being anyone who has been educated in the United States public education sector for the past 100 years or so) are doing ok, aren't we? I mean, I'm getting down to the bare basics here, but isn't part of life, learning as you go? We didn't know how to, for example use the Internet when we were in school because, for most of us, it may have been "invented" but it wasn't as mainstream as it is today. There certainly weren't any classes we could take to learn the ins and outs of the Internet, email, or even computers in general. We just learned as we went. And, some of us, on perhaps a broader level, had a hand in pioneering some of these things, even though we were only educated for 6 1/2 hours per day. So why, I ask, is this extended day necessary? Is the current generation incapable of doing just what we did as the world continues to advance?

That being said, if such things are a concern on a national level, more focus should be on those who actually need the extended time. While this could open all kinds of doors for lawsuits and discrimination claims (speaking of current trends), it seems unfair for a student who is successful in this age of high stakes testing to be forced in to an extended day or year. It stands to reason that these tests are a reflection of what students are expected to know in order to succeed in the world. Moreover, while it seems true that a more affluent student may have more access to educational resources outside of school than a poor or minority student, it would be inappropriate to include all poor, minority or even special needs students in the group of students deemed in need of an extended learning day, based on that fact alone (i.e., it should not be assumed that all poor, minority or special needs students will not succeed without the extended time because, some, in fact will, and some more affluent students will not). Each decision should be on a case by case basis, and, in the best possible scenario, it should be a student's (with the help of a parent in the case of younger students) choice to participate in such a program.

I have long thought that homework was a waste of time, but, if this extended learning time plan is implemented, it should be eliminated completely from the curriculum. The idea behind homework is to torture the parent and child reinforce what was taught during the day. Extending the day really should provide more time to "reinforce" while there, with hands on learning, field trips, and other "reinforcing" type activities. Taking in to consideration also, everything else that needs to be done when school is out (extra curricular activities, dinner, showers, quality time with the family), extending the day and including homework, would not only seem like overkill, but also not in any way beneficial. The whole thing would be rushed and just done in a manner reflective of getting to the next thing on the list, which truthfully, in this house is how it gets done now, without the added pressure of a longer day.

When it comes down to it, what matters most is those moments, which seem far and few between right now, in which students are engaged in activities that are adequately challenging, and at the same time, allow them to experience success. It seems to me that this type of learning could be achieved without the consequence of adding hours or days to the existing school year. It would be behoove those "in charge" to prepare a study in which the current way time is used in schools is studied intensely, improved upon within the current structure, and further evaluated after, to see if in fact, extending the day is the way to go.

Funding Etc.

If you feel that the federal and/or state governments should back out of the education picture entirely, since that doesn't seem to likely to happen, how do you feel the current situations in education should be handled?

For example:

What should be done the many, many requirements through NCLB that must be met and the severe lack of funding to support them?

What should be done to attract quality teachers?

Should "good" teachers be rewarded?

What qualifies as a good teacher?

What about school choice?

Should MCAS be a graduation requirement?



Please remember, the questions are asked in a manner which reflects the current situation. I know that some people will feel that the way to resolve all of it is for the feds and state officials to back out. That's about as likely as a snowballs chance in hell though, so, what can be done to fix things aside from that?

Julia's Progress Report

When I dropped Julia of at school today, I picked up her mid-year progress report. It looks like she is doing quite well, and making progress in all areas. Some things (like for example writing her name) are either out of date or something she only does at home. That's just one example of a couple of things I noticed that I have seen her do myself that she hasn't done at school, at least not when anyone was looking! Here are the results:

Physical Therapy

Current Performance Level( at time IEP was developed): Julia presents with hypotonia throughout her extremities and trunk. She presents with decreased proximal stability and hypermobility throughout her joints. Julia’s reflexes are present but diminished in all planes and direction secondary to her tone and generalized muscle weakness. Gravitational insecurity is demonstrated with Julia fearful of being suspended. Overall strength and endurance is decreased throughout with Julia having difficulty in sustaining an activity to strength and attention. Compensation is noted throughout her developmental sequence with Julia demonstrating a wide base of support, decreased trunk rotation, decreased proprioception and stability with Julia using her hands to push off from the floor from a squatting position. Julia is an independent walker with the following deviations noted: waddling type of pattern with flat footed slapping progression, wide base of support, decrease dorsiflexion, ankle pronation, decreased hip flexion and instability in hips and ankle joints. Running pattern is a fast walk. Stair climbing is immature with emerging step to pattern with reverting to a crawling pattern when ascending and a step to pattern when descending with minimal assistance needed. She is beginning to jump with the emergence of a gallop pattern. Unilateral balance is momentarily on either foot.

Goal: Julia will demonstrate improved postural strength, proximal stability and strength, overall strength and endurance and sitting balance to enhance the acquisition of her gross, locomotor and balance skills.

Progress: Julia has received PT services 2x per week within a sensorimotor group. She is able to complete a 5 step obstacle course given minimal assistance and has made nice progress is all areas. Currently, Julia is able to come to a stand using a half kneel progression in 50 % of trials. She can propel a scooter up to 25 ft but this is a slow and labored process. She is jumping at least 6 times and attempting to hop. She is able to balance on one foot for up to 2 seconds. She is ascending and descending stairs using a step to pattern. Julia is generally cooperative and hard working. She is a pleasure to work with.

Occupational Therapy

Current Performance Level(at time IEP was written): Occupational therapy testing indicates that Julia presents with low postural/proximal stability and tone. She exhibits weaknesses in the areas of visual motor/fine motor/ development and sensory-motor development. Sensory weaknesses are noted in the areas of modulation related to movement and visual input, sensory processing related to tone and endurance, oral sensory processing and registration.

Goal: Julia will improve sensory processing, sensory motor development and fine motor development.

Progress: Julia has made nice gains in OT. She can build a three cube tower. She is not yet building a bridge or steps. She holds a preschool pencil with a right handed finger grasp to a tight tripod/quadripod grasp. She can color within the boundaries of a three inch design, but doesn’t color it in completely. She is not yet tracing her name but she is beginning to print the letter J. She copies a horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. She strings small beads. She uses a three jaw chuck to obtain small objects. Julia is a joy to have in therapy!

Communication

Current Performance Level(at time IEP was written): Julia is using three and four words sentences spontaneously. At times she is difficult to understand due to articulation errors, especially in utterances longer than two words. She is able to follow one and two step directions at times, but continues to be inconsistent in answering questions.

Goal: Julia will demonstrate improvements in articulation and listening skill development.

Progress: Julia has done very well during small group therapy lessons and has demonstrated much progress in articulation and listening skill development. She is able to produce k and g in all word positions and is able to be understood almost all of the time in conversation. She is able to point to pictures in a book, answer “wh” questions while looking at a book, and answer yes/no questions. She is much more talkative during group and is interacting very well with her peers. I anticipate continued progress in all areas of Julia’s language development.

Pre-Readiness

Current Performance Level(at time IEP was written): Julia is able to identify some body parts and state her age. She is inconsistent in being able to name objects within categories. Julia is able to identify some shapes, including a square, rectangle and triangle and 9 out of 9 colors. With prompting she can rote count to ten and recite most of the alphabet. At times, Julia is distracted by external noises and her own thoughts. She can also be impulsive at times. It appears that Julia does not always process information accurately and has difficulty understanding some task instruction despite modeling and practice.

Goal: Given decreasing prompts, Julia will increase time spent on non preferred tasks throughout the school day.

Progress: Julia has become comfortable in school. Julia continues to need a lot of prompting and encouragement to engage in no preferred tasks. She currently able to engage in interactive play with 1-2 peers for at least 3 minutes. However, at times, Julia needed to be redirected back to the appropriate activity. Julia is beginning to attend at circle with prompts and adult assistance.

Extended Learning Time

Rather than typing an entire entry, I have decided to copy and paste an excerpt from an email that I sent to Mass 2020, the governor, and the Department of Education.

I have been researching through the Mass 2020 website, as well as other resources the many benefits of expanding learning time for our school children. Overall, the idea seems like a good one to me. I can definitely see how providing more time to learn, as well as differentiated instruction and cultural enrichment opportunities would benefit our children and better prepare them for their future. One of the areas in which I have found little to no research on is how this expanded learning time has affected (in those school systems that have already initiated ELT programs) activities out side of school such as sports, Girl Scouts, or any other extra curricular activities students may be involved in. Have students still been able to participate in these activities? I was also curious regarding how this affected homework. If the students are in school for more time, do they have less homework? On a personal level, as a parent of three school age children, I am having a hard time imagining fitting it all in (an extended school day, outside activities, homework, dinner, showers etc.) and still having the kids in bed at a normal hour. Perhaps my biggest question is in regard to how this is all funded. I am assuming expanding learning time would involve spending money above and beyond what is spent in a non-ELT school to pay for additional supplies, salaries for teachers, building maintenance and other related costs. Do towns that have an ELT schedule receive more state and federal funds to help offset these costs or, is the town expected to come up with the money? As it stands in Middleboro right now, our school budget was cut drastically last year, and this year it is not looking like it will be any better.

I am not completely convinced that extending learning time is the way to go yet but, there certainly seems to be some benefit from it. I am anxious to hear back and will post here when I do.

Julia: She's In

As mentioned previously, I was expecting to receive notice of Julia's meeting regarding her eligibility for classroom instruction at the integrated preschool. I had that meeting today. As indicated by the title, she is still eligible! YAY! Mostly, I was happy with this result, but there is always that small part of me that hopes that she will have made enough progress to test out. So it's sort of a catch 22.

Anyway, here is what the report says:

Julia was evaluated on several occasions during her school day. Initially, she was very quiet and did not speak to the examiner but she soon warmed up and was able to participate in the testing tasks. Julia did not always process information accurately and sometimes answered questions based on only part of the information. She had difficulty understanding some of the directions and one subtest was not completed because of this.

It said of course, much more than that but that about sums it up. The main concern with everyone involved seems to be in the area on language processing. The gross motor skills seem also to be still at the forefront, but she really has made remarkable progress in this area.

Her IEP will remain basically the same with the added goal of increasing independence and an additional day of school (Wednesday to go along with her usual Tuesday and Thursday).