Wednesday, March 12, 2008

yet another project

This is the second time that my son comes home with the same project that he has to do three times. What is up with that?

First it was the Solar System, fine, but he had to do 3 projects on it. When I was in school, I just got a box and hung alluminum foil by string and that, my dear friends, is what I called the Solar System.

But not my sons class...he needed to do 3 projects.

So guess who comes home last week with a new assignment, my son. Now he has pick a hero and do three projects about him or her. What is up with these 3 projects?

He could pick anyone, we talked about doing his cousin since he fought in Iraq and has 2 purple hearts, but he wanted to do Martin Luther King. Which actually, would be much easier....lol...alot more info on him..

So here we go again, three projects on Martin Luther King. When doing three projects, it really takes fun and learning out of it, because then it becomes a goal to get it done instead of actually really investing the time on one project and giving it you all.

Oh, but if that wasnt bad enough.

When I talked to his teacher, he told me that it wasn't him assigning it, but the teacher that he has for social studies since he is matinstreamed in there. He told me that he has tried telling this teacher that 'his kids' cant do three, and some cant even do one, but it is what it is and there is nothing that he can do about it, since it's the required assignment.

The biggest issue i have, you ready for this, is that the ones that dont do it, have to lose recess to do the project.

What is up with that? OK, so you get the special needs kids mainstreamed in a regular social studies class, but they cant or wont do the projects (not sure what it is) and you take them and have them miss recess. Annnnnd thiiiiiiis helps them, how?..I must of missed of that one.

Why don't we really aleinate them even more already. Not only do they stand out because they didnt do three projects, but they have to miss recess because of it. Lets see how we can crush their self esteems even more, oh good, its actually working, they even less then now.

well, my son only did two of the projects, three was just too much. I am so pist because the last things these kids need is to lose recess, the only time where they can run and burn off the energy. These boys (they are all boys, go figure) need to get out and run for them to function.

These are suppose to be educators, why dont they educate themselves in how physical activity actual helps kids to learn better.

So now we have to deal with reprocrussions, my son doesnt ever want to go to school again. Every morning he tantrums and it is just getting worse.

yesterday he said he hurt his ankle, oh the pain and drama. But when he gets home, it amazingly seems better.

this morning, he says "well, I guess I did to much walking on it when I got home, because it really hurts now and I cant walk, which means I cant go to school"...

WHAAAAAALLLLLLLL. He missed the bus yesterday due to his tantruming, and he almost had a near miss today.

The bottom line is, he feels so 'stupid' and as he is getting older, he is realizing how far he is behind and it really is bothering him.

I wish I can help him, but he doesnt want us to know how he isn't as smart as the other kids. God knows he isnt comparing himself to his class.

The reality behind all this, is that he is a really smart kid. We have gotten alot of feedback on how impressed they are with his building skills and his ideas. HE thinks everything out, and his structures are solid. He is able to think very abstractly, and has done this since he was a little kid. He is known to look things up in the encylopedia when he wants to find out things and can put togther anything by looking at the 'picture directions'. He has taken things out of the garbage and fixed them. He really is amazing when it comes to this stuff, that I actually stopped saying "let me do it before you break it" because the reality is, at 10 yrs old and even way before that, he doesnt break anything.

But he knows he is good at that, so he has no fear on learning and doing it, its the stuff that he feels he isnt good at, that caused these meltdowns.

1 comment:

Torina said...

You can call an IEP meeting at any time and have his plan changed. :) I made sure that they included MODIFIED assignments for Tara's few mainstream classes becasue even if she could handle them, she didn't have to attention span to do it for long.

Regular teachers frustrate the heck out of me. They simply do not understand that the kid is not capable and think it is purely a behavioral thing. BUT, it isn't usually their fault because they are not educated in the least on special needs and adapations for kids with special needs.

Good luck on the project! Sounds more like a parent project than a student one LOL