Me: I would prefer that he start in the 1st grade. What is your opinion?
Kindergarten teacher: My gut says he should start in K. We get a lot of fluent readers in K.* Because, really, if you miss out on that social component, it can never be made up. But the other kids always catch up academically.
*Exactly the opposite of what I was told in February.
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Imaginary diatribe directed toward the aforementioned teacher.
Okay, first of all, you are suggesting that Sebastian is somehow socially inept. As if he is incapable of relating to other people and especially children his age and younger. And second of all, have you even met anyone in this world? There are a hell of a lot of people out there that are decades older than my almost 6 year old who are unable to read as well as he can. They obviously "caught up academically". And there are also a lot of socially retarded people that have attended Kindergarten and it apparently didn't do them any favors. And you cannot tell me that the entire 1st grade class is full of impeccably well-behaved, well-mannered children and that Sebastian will be the only one bumbling around because he didn't spend a year sitting in a room full of 5 year olds being taught letters and colors and shapes that he has known since he was 15 months old. It is not his fault that you have a completely arbitrary age requirement. The boy next door just moved here from CT and is 11 days younger than Sebastian, but he gets to be in 1st grade because the cut-off date in CT is different so he could go to K last year. And I'll tell you what... he is not any more socially capable than my child. He just happened to be in the right state at the right time.
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And the worst part of all this, besides the fact that I am trying to completely remodel a house in 3 days at the same time I'm dealing with this bullshit, is that I don't even really want to send him. Why would I when this is what I get from these people?
Now I have to call the principal at 8am tomorrow to try to convince him to accept Sebastian into 1st grade. School starts a week from tomorrow. Will they have time to test him? Will they even bother offering that option? Who knows, since they have been too lazy to call me back or try to set anything up. The principals of the three elementary schools apparently get together tomorrow for their little draft process where they discuss who will take which children. "I'll take the dyslexic and the stutterer if you'll take the kid with the obnoxious mom." I can't wait to find out if we get picked!
3 comments:
"I'll take the dyslexic and the stutterer if you'll take the kid with the obnoxious mom."
It hurts me to say because I can hear the simmering, justified rage, but that is one of the funniest lines I've ever read.
allow me to play devil's advocate here:
"Why would I when this is what I get from these people?"
Well, the point isn't what you're getting, but what he's getting. True he probably doesn't need an abject lesson in bureaucracy, but if school is the right choice for him, then that's the overriding concern. I completely understand to desire to avoid the headaches and pitfalls that come with school, but if you're waiting for it to match your exact specifications, you're going to be teaching him at home until/if he goes to college.
That may be the best option (I don't intend to restart that debate), and it may just take some groping around to determine whether that is the case. Also keep in mind that I spent a little over a month in 1st grade before being moved up to 2nd grade in the middle of the school year. So just because he starts in K doesn't mean he has to finish there.
Jamie:
a) He won't get what he needs in K. The room is exactly the same as the pre-school that bored him 2 years ago.
b) I don't like the idea of him making 2 transitions. One to school and then, if skipped in the middle of the year, one to the new class. I would prefer he start at the same time as everyone else and then his age isn't an obvious issue.
I know it's not just about what I'm getting. Perhaps that was a poor choice of words. And, frankly, there are appealing aspects to sending him to school, so the thought of not sending him is disappointing in its own way. It looks like he is going, and we'll know for sure on Monday.
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