My Own Terms

It came in the form of an envelope from the school department.  My youngest, the ds I am homeschooling, took the NECAP test in the fall of last year while still in public school.  I just got the results yesterday in the mail.  And to say that I was happy is an understatement.

While ds was in public school, he was constantly antagonized by his teacher.  She would tell him that he was not reading (or whatever else she wanted him to do) on purpose just to make her mad.  The more mad she got, the worse he withdrew.  Needless to say, nothing got done.

I also had a meeting with the special education group from the school.  I informed them that at his previous school, two years before, he had a complet IEP evaluation, including a psychological evaluation.  In all of this, the final result was………there is nothing wrong with my son, or how he learns.

So here I was, two years later, dealing with an ineffective teacher.  I agreed to let ds do an afterschool tutoring program that would concentrate on reading and math.  This despite the fact that at home, he was reading just fine.  Math…well he does need help there, but not enough to need tutoring. The kid can do mental math better than anyone I know.

Back to the envelope…………drumroll please……………..DS was just a few points shy of being in the “Distinction” column in reading.  He got a percentage higher than the entire fourth grade average for the school.  He was “Proficient” in reading, on the higher end of the scale.

This confirms what I have said all along.  There is nothing wrong with his reading.  Yes he stumbles once in awhile on a word.  Tell me a kid who doesn’t.  Or for that matter, when was the last time you read something, and it didn’t make sense the way it was written, so you went back to reread it.  I know I have.

Math….yes the NECAP shows that he needs work in this area.  Not low enough to need special attention via tutoring.  He just needs a good math program.  The public school uses Everyday Math.  The last school did as well.  In my opinion, it is one of the worst programs the schools could use, and I have expressed that at meetings the school has held for parents.  Very sad that they have to hold tutoring sessions for parents, to help them assist their children with their homework.

We are using CIMT MEP math program, and one week in, he is LOVING it!  He actually begged to do math first today.  It is a very good program, provides much needed critical thinking, and the lessons make sense.  I do not have to scratch my head, or look up online what we are studying, so that I can teach him.  The teacher lesson plans are clear and precise.

So, while I knew all along that homeschooling him again was the right thing to do, and I knew his abilities better than the teacher he had at public school, it is nice to have that confirmation.

Be blessed