My son is failing kindergarden?

Question

Well here is my story. I have three children and my son who is youngest is in Kindergarden. He has always caught on quicker than my older children and is pretty smart in my opinion. When he was 1.5 years old he would tell you all about his day in full sentences. He has been skateboarding since he was about 2 years old. I NEVER EVER thought he was a slow learner. Like I said he learns quicker than my older children and they both get A & B's. Well his kindergarden teacher wants to fail him and she is trying to say he had a LD. She sends home a checklist of homework for every two weeks of nightly assisgnments like write "eat" five times. I think she is just being lazy. She said the other kids are reading 3-4 word sentences and writing in their journals? THEY ARE 5 YEARS OLD. I have a meeting with the school tomorrow, where they are going to tell me either I consent to LD testing or they are going to hold him back. Help!! Any advice out there?

Well I live in illinois and Kindergarten is required. I cannot believe they are writing in journals either. I don't want him to be labeled as something he is not.

No kids pick on him. He is a little social butterfly. He seems to like the other kids and they seem to like him too.

Answer 1

comprehension/retaining info. could be a problem. have him checked for LD by your doctor, not the school. could be he's just not mature enough (i don't mean to sound cruel)yet,or he is easily distracted. you know kid best, don't let a teacher push you into a decision that you don't feel comfortable with. also know your students rights and seek a child advocate (through school).in my own experience i felt "ganged up on" at meeting.take someone along if possible and take notes!

Answer 2

First of all, feel free to stand your ground if you feel he DOESN'T have an LD.

Just a few other items to consider: is it possible he's a quick learner who's bored at school? My brother is brilliant (and has the career advancement to prove it!) and yet he was a middle-of-the-road student. Why? He was bored. He didn't WANT to do his homework, he'd rather sketch a helicopter or whatever.

Another item to consider -- children learn different skills at different times. I couldn't read in kindergarten and yet walked into 1st grade on a 6th+ grade reading level. One day it just clicked and I read everything I could get my hands on! I have a niece who just turned 6 and she can read small, simple words, but that's about all.

If all else fails and you consent to testing him for an LD.... what do you have to lose? Yes, it's an extra step (and one that is unnecessary by your own admission), but it would appease the school. Plus... what if they're seeing something you're not? What if there is an LD playing a part in this (like dyslexia)? Wouldn't you rather find out NOW instead of waiting and seeing him struggle in class later?

My advice is this... plead your case to the school. Make them convince you that there is a problem. After all, they seem to think they're seeing something that hints of an LD. Make them explain it to you! You have every right as a parent to question the school.

Good luck to you!!

Answer 3

Kindergarten is getting crazy with the requirements...my kid was also writing in journals and reading in Kindergarten. We also had homework! The stuff she did in Kindergarten was stuff we did not learn until 1st grade!! So Kindergarten is very different than it use to be...leaning more toward academics than socail skill like it use to in the past. My little girl is now in first grade and her math home work is just unbelievable to me...fractions!! I know I not even begin to learn those until I was much older...our world is moving so fast and some of these kids are suffering because of it. As for being LD, I was, suffered in elementary school, got labeled and it took me many years to get over that. I do not think that I would have benefited by being held back...I had a different learning style than most kids...I am very visual and need to see things to really understand...so this may be the case with your little kid...the right style of learning may not be available to him...some teachers only know how to teach one way and can't seem to accomandate all students. In the end I came out fine, A student in college...I am now a teacher and I certainly try to accommodate all kids and I truly understand that they are all capable and smart...some kids may need to see things in a different way.

P.S we live in Virginia near DC...very competitive here...good schools, but they do move fast.

Answer 4

My son is in Kindergarten, and yes, your teacher is right in what the class is doing. His class is reading more than 3-4 word sentences and writing 3-4 complete sentences at a time in their journals.

Intelligence and learning are two different things. A LD does not mean that a child is less capable, it means that there are functions of the brain that need help so that they can learn to their ability. Gifted kids can be LD too, so don't be afraid of it.

I have had many students with high IQ's, but that had trouble processing information. Once they were diagnosed as LD and were able to learn strategies, they performed to a level that matched their IQ. If you child were just "dumb" they wouldn't diagnose him as LD, as he WOULD be performing to his ability - so saying a child is LD is acknowledging that they have ability beyond what they are able to acheive without extra help.

It is scary for parents - but managing it now is much better than later on. If you and he learns tricks to help him along at K, he may need less and less help as he grows.

Answer 5

You can make the decision whether or not you want him held back, and if he has the potential and you know he is smart then he may just not be mature enough yet. He is only 5. They did the same thing to me with my oldest son who was saying his ABCs by the time he was a year and a half and could memorize entire nursery rhymes after one or two times of having them read to him. I was in denial about it, and I went ahead and had him tested and he does have something called Aspergers Syndrome. He is alot smarter than my younger children, but has trouble concentrating, etc. He is very well behaved and his specialty is Science. He is now in the 4th grade and his work is modified. When the kids get 20 speling words, he only gets 10. That way he is sure to learn them and finish his work. It wouldnt hurt to get him tested to see what they say. Good Luck.

Answer 6

I personally think you should pull him out of that school. Not because they are trying to hold him back for unnecessary reasons, but because they obviously have no clue on where children should be academically at each age.

What 5 yr. old is capable of writing in a journal? Most at this age can't even read, let alone read full sentences. Sounds like the school is pushing the kids too hard, and then failing them for not keeping up.

If there is another school around that he could go to, I'd recommend transfering him. If not, then maybe consider homeschooling. He could learn at his own pace that way.

Answer 7

Go ahead and have him tested for learning disabilities and for intelligence (usually both are done, but make sure). If he shows to be gifted, then it will be on his teacher's head to show why she can't manage him. If he shows to have an LD and has a high IQ (very common--my husband is like that; he's dyslexic and has an IQ of 162), then he will get extra help on both sides. It's very likely that she's just pushing kids too hard in one direction, and while some of the kids may do great, the rest are probably sitting in class wondering why they have to do this stuff and are completely bored. Many teachers get it in their heads that one teaching style should suffice for all, and the kids who don't learn that way get left in the dust. She sounds lazy.

Answer 8

My son is in kindergarten also, also 5yrs old. He is very smart but for some reason was having a hell of a time at school. He wasn't catching on. He has a journal at school also, they write in everyday. They tried to tell me that he had ADD and then ADHD and then ODD....i was taking him to a psychiatrist once a week and then he started having behavior problems! He goes to a year round school and had 6 weeks off. I knew there wasnt anything wrong with him and i was determined to prove it! I took advantage of those 6 weeks-every night, no matter how tired i was we would work on learning together. He would write ABC's , we started with 5 letters at a time, reveiw each day til he knew them and then start 5 more. There are serveral words they needed to know, they call them sight words, so each week we would work on a word.I put it on a post it note and put it on his bathroom mirror.He would practice writing it and sounding it out everyday.When he got it and knew it 100% he would get to write it on a foam star and hang it in his room. Hes caught up now, we still work on things.I figure he felt lost, and with so many kids (23) and 1 teacher im sure shes overwhelmed too. Maybe he too just needs a little extra attention to get it.My son can read and write things like "I like my mom, I love my dad" but he has to work on it ALL the time.and thats okay. Concent to the testing, and start working with him....then demand he be retested when you know hes caught up.If you would like to talk about it some more my YM SN is cherokee_pimpstress.

Answer 9

Lots of kids with perfectly average intelligence have a hard time with adjusting to school structure. If he can do the homework he's assigned when he's around YOU, then odds are, he's just having difficulty with the structure/environment.

Have him tested if you really think that would set the teacher straight but keep in mind that he might just be one of those kids that doesn't test well, tho he knows the material just fine.

From personal experience? My brother's teachers in kindergarten labeled him with ADD and dyslexia, neither of which he actually has. He simply didn't function well in public school. My mother homeschooled us both for several years and we attended a church school for several grades: he never had issues with LEARNING at all, just the public school environment.

Answer 10

This is completely ridiculous!! Do not sign any paper that labels your child anything. Take him to you doctor and explain all of this. It sounds like the schools expectations are way too high for this age. Where I live and probably where you live they cannot hold your child back without your permission. In my child's school I was told that children are rarely held back in Kindergarden because it is not advantageous. If they are going to be held back it is usually first grade because they are actually being taught more skills and it is better to hold back at this age. Regardless, go to the school board and complain. Change schools if you have to. You are the advocate for your child don't give in to school or teacher pressure. Good luck.