Should I Say or Do Anything?

I would definitely talk to the administrators of the school. If you don't get anywhere with teh Principal I would request a meeting with the Superintendent. Coming from a family full of educators this is not something that should be taking place. Remember not all rumors are true but the only way to find out is to start asking the right people questions. I hope that helps.

A.

Even though I believe your school district should have informed the parents that this is thier policy, I don't believe it is 'tracking'. That is an older term. I am a teacher, so I am going to speak from that point of view...The state of IL has mandated that children who are struggling and gifted get services within the classroom that will help them succeed. A good school district uses testing data and the teachers should be putting students in groups that match their ability. A lower reader, even though in 3rd grade, could be reading at a 1st grade level. Its important for that student to be reading at the 1st grade level for part of the day (small groups, different class, one on one help, etc) to try and move that student up to grade level. The older a student is when they recieve these services, the harder it is. We are having a hard time in the middle school achieving success with the different schedules. For example, I have 6th graders reading at 3rd grade levels. I have an additional hour built into my day to work in small groups with them and review reading strageties. They are making progress! From the other end, if I have a 'gifted' student, I would want them to be in a classroom part of the day doing more challenging assignments and watching them grow as they learn and explore working with others or doing special research projects. This is all called diferentiated learning or instruction. You may not have experienced this with students so young because this is something that has been going on in education or at least talked about for years. If this kind of thing is started early, when they reach the upper grades, we'd like to see less students struggling, going to college, and not dropping out of high school. It is equiping them with the reading and math strategies they need to be successful learners. However, with the new mandated law, Response to Intervention (RtI) there are new things mandated by the state and this type of structure allows ALL students to be successful and be at grade level or maybe even above and continue on that path. So in high school, perhaps accelerated classes or college prep classes are an option. I can go on and on as I am part of my school's team on taking these mandates and making them work in the classroom.

Like I said, your school should have a parent night or some information sent out to parents. If I had a child in your school (I have 2 very little ones) I would welcome something like this because I would know that my kids would neither be struggling or bored.

If you want more info, please email me at ____@____.com. Sometimes what schools do is a mysetery to others until they have the information and help from someone who works in the schools.

You're a teacher. So am I. The question that always comes to mind is this: Who could answer the question(s) that you need answering. Well-meaning as we are as parents, we often make observations and assumptions that are not based in fact so much as they are rooted in rumor and hearsay. Please, go to a building administrator and ask specific, directed questions that address your concerns. Without saying first what your concerns are because some admin people (as you well know) are skilled at allaying your fears without really answering your questions. Don't assume that because some parents interpret certain activities in a certain way that this is in fact what's happening. Good luck.

Well from my experience most children will do what you expect of them....if you set high expectations, they will try to meet them.

But I also don't think all children should be mixed together. The ones that are struggling not only get frustrated being around those that do well without trying which results into a child that is embarrassed and won't try, but it also holds the other children back and slows their progress.

Grouping or tracking to some degree is beneficial and the politically correct mixed reading groups and classrooms has done nothing but frustrate those that struggle and create a very boring slow environment for those that excell.

(The worse possible example I experienced was main-streaming. Children with fairly severe learning disabilities were main-streamed into the regular classroom for subjects such as Health, Career Choices and so on. Most of these kids couldn't read on a first or second grade level, but they were put into a classroom with at level sixth graders and at level text books. The idea was to raise their self-esteem by putting them with the rest of the kids. The theory was nice, but it did exactly the opposite. They soon figured out that they couldn't do what the other kids were doing. They would get frustrated and bored. The other kids would get frustrated and bored when I took time to work with the LD kids or explain something in more detail so they could understand. It was a nightmare and a complete failure. They felt normal and safe grouped together with kids just like them. They may have suffered some stigma at times, but most of the day, they were safe and happy. Main-streaming was horrible.)

Not all children learn at the same pace or the same way. I know that some like to believe that the children who excell will be the example for those that struggle...they will some how rub off on those that struggle. But from my experience what you end up with is a class system that is created by the kids themselves. You get a whole group that struggles, gets frustrated, quits, and starts acting out. Then you get a whole group that feels superior, gets bored and starts acting out.

There are many subjects in which kids can be grouped together like art, music, p.e. and so on. But as far as reading, writing and math go I think grouping works well because the kids feel comfortable and the teacher can work with the group in a way that's best for them.

Now if what you are discussing is not at all what I've addressed, I apologize. I worked with middle school age children from all over the country that brought to the table all sorts of educational trends. I wasn't impressed with most of them. For some reason educators want to fix what isn't broken. They want to improve on models that work. And thus we end up with psycho-babble, politically correct, feel good, positive attitude geared programs instead of schools in which children are taught and learn.

I am not from this area either and though I'm not completely happy with the curriculm my six year old has been subjected to I don't think it's wrong to group children or track their progress and abilities?

Like I said though, I'm not trained to work with little people. I don't know all the lingo. I come from a long line of educators that work in various states and I have discussed with them various trends and techniques.

I'm not sure how a teacher can address a child's individual needs if they don't know at what level they are working.

I feel my child has wasted an entire year of school working on curriculum that she already knew and thus has really grown to dislike school. Though her school did access her to a small degree, they didn't do a thorough assessment and they refused to address her needs for advancement because they just don't do that. I was told she was an average student and I knew better. They did the same thing with my neighbor's son. I tested both of them with tools given to me by an aunt and against curriculum guidelines I got of the net for the state of Illinois.

At any rate, after all that rambling, I'm not sure that the school would even give creedance to your concerns. From my experience they will patronize you, but continue in the way they do things. Maybe I should have been insistant that my child be fully assessed at the beginning of the year, but I didn't and now I regret it.

The teacher has provided good instruction, but all the children recieved about the same instruction on the same material and my daughter grew bored pretty fast. It wasn't until recently (about a month or two before the end of the year) that she actually started bringing home new material.

You could try talking to them, but I'm not sure that you will get very far. You might consider looking into private schools which is what I'm doing.

differentiated reading groups have been around for a long time. I was in them in first grade 27 years ago. It's not a personal thing. The purpose is to challenge those students who are reading above grade level. Whether we like it or not, there will always be a differential between the highest and the lowest in terms of ability. If the kids at the high end of the reading scale aren't challenged, they stand the risk of being disruptive or bored. On the same token, if the students at the lower end are taught with the expectation of reading above grade level, they may become disruptive, as well, out of frustration. It's not tracking, per se, but a way of best reaching the educational needs of the students. If you feel that your daughter should be in a higher reading group, then I would approach the teacher. As an educator, though, I recommend working with the teacher first. If you go to the principal first, it will take longer, because s/he will have to go back to the teacher, get the story, then get back to you.

I would certainly hope all children are NOT taught the same. Everyone has their own strengths, and I would simply meet with the principal to discuss your concerns.

Also, don't feel you have to discuss with other parents your child's standing in the "gifted or slow" classes. That is a personal family matter.

The kids don't know the difference, so as long as your child is at the right level, don't sweat it.

our schools track too! My son ( who is now in 4th grade ) has been a part of a differential learning thing part of his days since kindergarten. I liked this approach as he was given extra attention to things he was advanced in! He was identified in 3rd grade to be in gifted ed classes, and this was done by his state test scores, and teacher recommendation. I always know which teachers he will get because teachers are identified as "advanced" teachers too, although this is not widely publicezed at the schools. Kindergarten and first grade is hard to id these kids, as their ability is not yet fully known ( unless extremely gifted or special needs ). Our school district id's the top five percent in the whole district ( which is quite large ). In fifth grade, next year, my son will remain in gifted ed, and will skip fifth grade math completely, and move onto 6th grade math! I was told by one of his teachers that they still "mix" kids up, as gifted children will becaome too competitive when in the same class, and slower children will become underacheivers. I really believe there is truth in this.

If your concerned, I would most definately talk to the principle of your childs school to ask them how they "track" students. I remember my son's first grade teacher saying that my son just wasn't "getting it" at the beginning of the year as he seemed to daydream. a few months later she called to apologize and said she was wrong, he just already knew all the material, and then she tried to challenge him more!

Let us know what happens, and good luck!

I urge you to get involved - speak to the principle and the teachers. In our district there is no "tracking" in the sense that a child is labelled and then put on a "track" for several years. However, the teachers are expected to differentiate and provide appropriate challenges and support for each kid. This is hard! The only way to ensure your kid is "understood" is to monitor. Good luck!

I thought tracking was "educationally acceptable". We're in Chicago, and maybe there's less tracking in the schools because, essentially, the schools are the track (if you can work the system like most educated moms, you get in a "good" school.) One reason we chose our daughter's school because there is more diversity of educational ability. So, it's interesting to hear tracking is not used as much elsewhere.

M., Most schools have some sort of tracking program. Not all kids read or do math at the same level and as early as first grade it is not unusual for a teacher to have a few kids who need to do a little more than the rest of the kids. my kids all read earlier and by 3rd grade had been put into "advanced" math. its not a big deal to the kids. In fact they like doing more or harder stuff. That doesn't mean the other kids feel less. in fact at the first grade level most kids don't realize the difference.
S.

I would do something. I would call and schedule a meeting with the principal, directly put my concerns on the table, and see what he has to say.

Can't speak to how wide-spread the practice is, all I can tell you is that I remember being tracked like like back in the early 70s.

It's your duty as a concerned parent to find out if this is school policy and why some children are being left out. It's his duty to give you all the pertinent information. If he gives you no resolution you can make an appointment with his administrator in the district. Let them all know that the children left behind feel less of themselves and insecure. It's already a type of segregation and prejudice. If those few kids are especially gifted, they should be in a gifted program or after school reading program where all children are invited to "learn more". Happy Mothers Day.

Dear M.,

Although my 4 year old and 10 month old haven't started school yet, it is my understanding that this is the common practice here. I've toured several schools, public and private, and also have a family member who is a veteran chicago public school elementary teacher. With class size so large, it seems to make sense that children are grouped according to ability for things like math and reading. I'm an educator myself. I teach at the college level, though. I also grew up in a school district that, at the time, tracked students from junior high onward. I loved it. I was in the gifted group and felt challenged and loved school. The few classes that I had to take with the other kids in high school were really easy and I didn't feel like I got as much out of the classes. I've read research and talked to many educators who also feel strongly about the negative aspects of tracking. But since we can't afford to send our kids to private school and we live in Chicago, I'm actually hoping that our kids' classes will be working in groups based on ability so that if my kids are excelling in one area, they will be properly challenged, and if they are weak in other areas, they will get instruction at that level and not feel lost. I know there are lots of arguments to the contrary, but I'm in support of this teaching style. Maybe I'll change my tune when my kids are in school... who knows. I can also add that as a college instructor, I often have large groups of students and have to run class much the same way. Obviously some students have higher abilities than others, and it's important that every student gets some value from the class and also that they each learn something. If the smartest kids aren't challenged, then they are just repeating stuff that they already know and get bored... very quickly. If they weaker students don't get enough one-on-one, then they fall drastically behind very quickly and have a very hard time catching up.
Just something to think about...

i dont think there is anything wrong with you asking questions at all!