Am I wrong about this?

[pepe mint]

My dd is in 1st grade. She has had a little trouble with her math assignments...and I honestly believe a lot of it has to do with her teacher. The reason I say this, is because when she has math homework, she doesn't have any trouble doing it at home. She seems to understand it and rarely needs my help with it.

Well, the teacher wrote on her report card 2 weeks ago that she is not completing her math work. So I sent the teacher an email asking her to explain this to me a little better. She said that Trinity often doesn't finish her math work at school..and that she thinks she is having difficulty understanding it.

Let me also add that Trinity has never had problems in school...she has always done well academically. Well, anyway...my problem today is that when I looked in her backpack today, there was a math workbook in there with a note that said "Trinity is not completing her math work at school. I looked in her book today and she should be on page xxx. Please have her catch up at home and send this back when she is completed."

well....my problem is that there are roughly 20 pages of work that is not completed. We are in the final 6 weeks of school and the teacher is JUST NOW looking to see if she is finishing her work in her book???? I think that is a bit lax, if you ask me. sending a 6 year old home with over 20 pages of make up work...work that should have been completed in the classroom...I just don't understand it. I am not a teacher and maybe the teachers are just too busy during the days to see if the kids are finishing their work, but I think that she has let this go on too far. IMO she should have noticed this a long time ago and tried to correct it earlier in the year...instead of now...with only 6 weeks of school left.

am I wrong??? I mean...if she had noticed this earlier in the year...I could have been aware and been working with Trinity to correct this.

I'm just irritated. I have not liked her teacher since the day I met her before school started this year...and this just adds to my frustrations with her. Maybe I just got spoiled with her teacher last year because she was really on top of things!

anyway...just needed to vent...and wondering if I am out of line here....

[kl1977]

Im sorry, I know we all get tore up over of children. Let me say I work in education and these kids all get VERY tired at the end of the year. Honestly, the teacher should have been sending it home on the day that it was not completed, not letting it build up to 20 pgs WTH. I really dont have any suggestions for you, but I did at least want to let you know that we all become very burnt out at the end of the year. We are just now having our srping break this week and it was soooooo needed for children and teachers. Even though the teacher is probly tired also, it so excuse to send that many pgs home to a first grader, I would be very upset about that part.

[mickey3696]

I am with you on this one. They have our kids for 8 hours and cant seem to get it done. My kids are 18 and 15 and I have been going through this for years. Just wait till she comes home with home work that takes her 4 hours a night to get done. My DD gets home at 4 and has homework in almost every class. Tonight it is 6 pages of math, Some science thing, a history report, an english paper, and she has a spanish test tomorrow. To me this is just crazy. Her dad has to reteach her math to her every night, apparently the teacher doesnt know how to teach very well. I would like to know what in the world they do with them all day. I understand they are all ready for summer but I have been doing this for years.

[saphire]

I would be upset too Mandee. If it was her homework that was not done, then I would understand, but IMO classwork is the teachers problem, at that age anyway.


Sheilagh

[BabyFidgette]

I'm a teacher, and when I give homework I go over it the next class first thing. If I scrap my plans and we play a game (or something else fun), then we do it the next class; but it always gets checked. I don't know how she could be behind so many pages and the teacher not catch this. That's crazy.

[BabyFidgette]

Originally Posted by mickey3696

I am with you on this one. They have our kids for 8 hours and cant seem to get it done. My kids are 18 and 15 and I have been going through this for years. Just wait till she comes home with home work that takes her 4 hours a night to get done. My DD gets home at 4 and has homework in almost every class. Tonight it is 6 pages of math, Some science thing, a history report, an english paper, and she has a spanish test tomorrow. To me this is just crazy. Her dad has to reteach her math to her every night, apparently the teacher doesnt know how to teach very well. I would like to know what in the world they do with them all day. I understand they are all ready for summer but I have been doing this for years.

What do we "do" with them all day? You go teach a classroom for 10 years and see how you can handle discipline and bad attitudes that parents don't take care of at home. It's a two way street honey, so don't blame it on the teachers.

[LoveMyJake]

I agree that the teacher should have noticed this before she got behind by 20 pages! The same thing happened with my son, so I bought a daily planner from the school. My son wrote down the assignments and checked them off as he finished them. Then, the teacher would look at it everyday and sign that the work was completed. This way, the work was getting done on time and, if not, we knew about it right away.

Good luck!

[chachi]

My Daughter is in the 1st grade too and that seem like alot of make up work to me. Is it her time management? I know my daughter has time management problems and we are trying to work wth her on that

[mickey3696]

I wasnt blaming anyone. I just dont get how we have to do so much homework when they have them in class and they dont learn a dang thing. I do understand that there are kids with bad attitudes but I dont understand why they give them 6 pages of homework. To me that is just crazy. All we do M-F from 4:00 till 10:00 is homework. We even had a teacher get mad for the food on her homework. We have to eat and do homework at the same time or we dont get it done. Why do they have to give them homework in every class everyday?? I had a teacher tell me one time in my daughters 3 grade class that she will only learn when she wants to learn. My DD had never had any problems and ony had them in her class. I was like she is only 8 she has no choice but to learn. We moved her from her class and she went back to making All A's. Some times it is the teacher.

[BabyFidgette]

Originally Posted by mickey3696

I wasnt blaming anyone. I just dont get how we have to do so much homework when they have them in class and they dont learn a dang thing. I do understand that there are kids with bad attitudes but I dont understand why they give them 6 pages of homework. To me that is just crazy. All we do M-F from 4:00 till 10:00 is homework. We even had a teacher get mad for the food on her homework. We have to eat and do homework at the same time or we dont get it done. Why do they have to give them homework in every class everyday?? I had a teacher tell me one time in my daughters 3 grade class that she will only learn when she wants to learn. My DD had never had any problems and ony had them in her class. I was like she is only 8 she has no choice but to learn. We moved her from her class and she went back to making All A's. Some times it is the teacher.

Well I'm not one to give a lot of homework; but I do know that if I have something assigned in class, and the students are too busy messing around, they will have to finish for homework what they couldn't finish in class. Oh, and if you think the teachers at your child's school are terrible, why not switch schools or teachers?

Also, if you think there is a lot of homework in high school, wait until they get to college!

[pepe mint]

Originally Posted by BabyFidgette

Well I'm not one to give a lot of homework; but I do know that if I have something assigned in class, and the students are too busy messing around, they will have to finish for homework what they couldn't finish in class. Oh, and if you think the teachers at your child's school are terrible, why not switch schools or teachers?

Also, if you think there is a lot of homework in high school, wait until they get to college!

I hear what you are saying. And like I said in my OP, I am not a teacher so I do not know how things go in the classroom...but just as you said...if they are messing around and do not finish something in class, they bring it home to work on. MY problem here is that her teacher has not EVER sent her work home with her that she doesn't finish. instead...she waits until the last 6 weeks of school and sends home 20+ pages of work for her to do. like I said, if she had been sending this stuff home daily, I would have known there was a problem and could have been working on correcting the problem with my daughter. That is where my personal frustrations lie....it is rather irritating.

I have wondered if I should change her teacher...but then I realized that in the 12+ years she will be in school, she will have teachers that we do not like....it's just all part of it. So I didn't want to yank her from this teacher, but I have no problem letting the teacher know when I am not happy about something.

[vainchick5]

I definitely think that you should have a discussion with the teacher because I do agree that's a lot to send home with a 6 year old. I hope you don't mind me saying so but you should also definitely talk to your daughter. It's good for her to understand her responsibilities. Getting good grades and doing well at school was a requirement for me growing up. Even if I had the teacher from hell my parents always made me take the responsibility of doing well in school. I think maybe you should ask your dd why she's not doing her work in class and what it is she is doing during that class work time. Sometimes I used to do better at home than in the classroom because I had anxiety at school with the teacher breathing down our necks. But somehow I got through it. The teacher should have at least called or emailed or something at like assignment 2 to say "hey Trinity is behind on the last two days work can you please work with her on this". Sorry you have to deal with this, probably the last thing you need

[pepe mint]

Originally Posted by vainchick5

I definitely think that you should have a discussion with the teacher because I do agree that's a lot to send home with a 6 year old. I hope you don't mind me saying so but you should also definitely talk to your daughter. It's good for her to understand her responsibilities. Getting good grades and doing well at school was a requirement for me growing up. Even if I had the teacher from hell my parents always made me take the responsibility of doing well in school. I think maybe you should ask your dd why she's not doing her work in class and what it is she is doing during that class work time. Sometimes I used to do better at home than in the classroom because I had anxiety at school with the teacher breathing down our necks. But somehow I got through it. The teacher should have at least called or emailed or something at like assignment 2 to say "hey Trinity is behind on the last two days work can you please work with her on this". Sorry you have to deal with this, probably the last thing you need

you are absolutely right...and trust me, I have talked to my daughter numerous times about this since we got her report card a couple of weeks ago. I have been on her like stink on $#!^ about how important it is to pay attention, focus, and not goof off. and about how important it is to do good in school, and that means finishing her work before she does ANYTHING else. I have to say, I was a bit upset that the teacher didn't mention this to me BEFORE her report card was sent home so I could work with her on it...but as soon as it was brought to my attention via the report card, I was sure to put something in place to help my daughter to "know better". And I think that her having to sit for a very long time tonight and do nothing but catch up work made it hit home for her as well.

I just hate that it got to this point...I really think something should have been said to me a long time ago. I am a very pro-active parent...or I try to be...and if something is brought to my attention, I have always been very good about working on it and trying to correct the things with my daughter.

[vainchick5]

Originally Posted by pepe mint

you are absolutely right...and trust me, I have talked to my daughter numerous times about this since we got her report card a couple of weeks ago. I have been on her like stink on $#!^ about how important it is to pay attention, focus, and not goof off. and about how important it is to do good in school, and that means finishing her work before she does ANYTHING else. I have to say, I was a bit upset that the teacher didn't mention this to me BEFORE her report card was sent home so I could work with her on it...but as soon as it was brought to my attention via the report card, I was sure to put something in place to help my daughter to "know better". And I think that her having to sit for a very long time tonight and do nothing but catch up work made it hit home for her as well.

I just hate that it got to this point...I really think something should have been said to me a long time ago. I am a very pro-active parent...or I try to be...and if something is brought to my attention, I have always been very good about working on it and trying to correct the things with my daughter.

I absolutely agree with you

[chloeandj]

That seems like an impossible task for a 6 year old.
My son is in first grade and I'm pretty sure they finish things together in class. If my 3rd grader doesn't finish his class room work he has to stay in for recess to complete it.