my 7 year old doesn't take school seriously?

Question

my daughter is in 2nd grade.shes in ese mainstreamed into the general ed class .shes developmentall delayed also learning disabled shes struggling in school and has a hard time with homework .i believe shes not being taught well enough. whenever i speak to the teachers they tell me shes on track .she has an iep plan they say theyre following it but shes way behind other 7 year olds .my question is how do i get her the education she deserves & how can i help her want to go to school

Answer 1

On one hand you say she's "Developmentally delayed" and on the other hand you want to compare her to other kids. This is so much pressure on her that you are beating YOUR head against a wall.

LISTEN TO THE TEACHERS. Teachers are, by and large, professionals who have been taught how to teach kids of this nature. Express to them your concerns and then LISTEN TO WHAT THEY SAY. Work with them and learn to read what they read in your daughter. THAT is how you get her the education she deserves. And by the way, if your child is truley developmentally delayed, there is no way that YOU can force her to suddenly become like every other kid in the school. But it also doesn't mean you shouldn't care. But there is a fine line between CARING and OBSESSING.

Lastly, take a deep breath and relax. She's in 2nd Grade, not going for Valedictorian of her College Law Class. Enjoy each and evey day for what it is. A gift. One day you will be home alone and pine for those days of watching her color, or play with her hair while you read her stories.

Answer 2

You need an educational advocate. Every state has a parent training agency that helps you for free.
Call your state dept. of education and ask the phone number for 'the federally funded advocacy agency'
The advocate will help you for free. First of all, you need to know that special ed is run by federal law that schools do not tell parents about. IDEA 'individuals with disabilities education act'
You need first to find out if your child was 'classified' correctly and legally and put into the right 'category' in which to qualify for special ed. Then you need to find out if the things listed on the IEP plan are legal and correct to help your child.
THe advocate can help you with all this.
YOu can request an IEP meeting at any time. If the IEP plan isn't working, it needs to be changed and is suppose to be changed. Schools are not suppose to just 'say' the child is making progress. They are suppose to show you proof in black and white.
Go to www.schwablearning.org and sign up for free on their parent to parent message board. There are lots of caring people there who will help you.

Answer 3

I am also the mother of a child who is also struggling in school.
He is 11 now and from the time he began he has always been a little behind the others in his class.
His big struggles are with attention/focus and verbal/written expression.
I can relate with you when you say you feel she is not being taught well enough.
The best advice I could give you would be to keep in contact with her teachers and understand what her shortcomings are.
If you feel her iep isn't working - request a new meeting with them.

Do all you can at home as well to help keep her caught up.

If all your efforts don't help then try not to stress about it.
I can remember feeling like I was failing him because I couldn't keep him from failing.
I don't feel that way anymore.
Not all kids are gonna be scholars.

Answer 4

Are you educated in special education? I get really frustrated with parents who do not have the educational knowledge to draw from questioning the assessments of educators. These people are professionals many with advanced degrees and training who are around children 8hours per day for decades.

If you do not believe that your daughter's IEP plan is not addressing her delays and special needs, then you are entitled to a 504 conference where the full educational team will sit down with you and explain your daughters plan and goals with you. You may have unreasonable expectations of your daughters abilities. It is very difficult to accept that your daughter will not ever be able to accomplish what other children do, but try not to play the blame game at this early stage of her educational career.

If you are frustrated with your daughter's progress, then she is probably feeling frustrated also. She wants to measure up to your expectations, but she can't. Try to love her for who she is and not waste time and effort on what she will never be able to do.

Answer 5

There have been lots of studies done that say kids aren't really for school and its structure until they're 7 or older. Some kids just don't want to be that constrained. A 7-year-old should not be forced to sit at a desk and "work", but still be learning life skills. If the teachers say she's on track, she probably is.

Answer 6

Remember that school should be a supplement to the education you provide your child, and not the other way around. There are things you can do for your child that a teacher never could. Use her interests to get her motivated in the areas where she's not. For instance, if she likes dolls, use them in lesson. If her attention span is short, provide a lot of variety. You could also ask for a copy of the teacher's lesson plans so you can reinforce the lessons she learns in school.

Good for you for not accepting the school's evaluation at face value, but please remember that if she was diagnosed with a delay, you really can't compare her to her peers. Just look for continual improvements in her studies. Good luck!

Answer 7

Maybe you should find her a tutor. Or perhaps she needs to go to a better school that will more closely educate and monitor her so that she will be interested and want to learn.

Answer 8

get real!were u serious about school when u had her age?u only realize how important school is when u find yourself working hard,having a job u hate and not enough money.

Answer 9

Who really gives a damn about school at age seven...Let him be a kid...He has the whole rest of his life to be misrable and be told what to do.

Answer 10

And she won't either. Until she gets to be about35 and has her own children to fight with every evening...