Last night was Nathan’s parent/teacher conference, and Chris and I were worried. Last year was such a bad year for him, with a teacher who only saw his negative qualities and blamed us for everything he struggled with. He matured a lot over the summer, but once school started, we began to see some of the same behavior as last year. Like, not bringing home his assignment book, even though there’s a specific routine for getting the assignment book filled out and into backpacks. We were getting so frustrated at him for forgetting.
I haven’t told you about Nathan’s teacher. Our 5th and 6th grades are an Intermediate school, moving the kids from the single-classroom setting of elementary and preparing them for the multiple-class setting of Middle School (7th and 8th grades, where Ryan is). Teachers work in pairs, with one acting as the “home base” teacher. One teacher covers Math & Science, the other does Social Studies & Language Arts. Nathan has the same team of teachers that Ryan did (we’re not sure if that’s a coincidence or not) except Nathan has the opposite teacher for home base that Ryan had. And let me tell you about Nathan’s teacher, because we could not have asked for a better classroom.
Nathan’s teacher is Bill Cecil, the Michigan Teacher of the Year for 2003-2004. He spent that Sabbatical year developing a program and writing a book called “Best Year Ever!“. Mr. Cecil not only has devoted himself to helping new teachers learn to succeed in their classrooms, he also helps each of his students have their Best Year Ever as well. He asks his students to try their best, to respect him and each other, to bring a positive attitude to class, to learn from their mistakes. He is one of the most energizing, motivating, caring teachers I have ever met. When I got the letter over the summer that he would be Nathan’s teacher, I literally jumped off the couch and yelled YES! I just knew that with Mr. Cecil guiding him, Nathan was going to have an incredible school year.
What we heard at the conference last night was that Nathan is a great student. Mr. Cecil did not say one negative thing about Nathan. He didn’t say “Nathan can’t do this”, he said, “this is an issue for Nathan”. It was such a relief to not feel like the teacher was blaming us, like last year. And, some of the things that last year’s classroom teacher and resource teacher told us to do? Mr. Cecil and this year’s resource teacher are saying no, no, that just makes it harder for him.
Last year’s teacher told us that Nathan absolutely had to learn the multiplication tables, had to be able to calculate each fact, no memorizing. We’ve been trying to teach him the multiplication tables for three years! A math learning disability means it’s HARD FOR HIM, something last year’s teacher just didn’t seem to care about. Mr. Cecil made this awesome suggestion to use flashcards, and if Nathan gets stuck on an answer, just tell him the answer and move on. Here we’ve been so hard on him about learning the facts, and then we get told it’s okay for him to memorize them!
His resource teacher called Nathan “a very bright kid”, and Mr. Cecil said that Nathan is going to be very successful in life. Do you know how good it is to hear that? We were so worried that he wasn’t doing his homework, that he was blowing off assignments, but it turns out, Nathan is really trying his best every day. As we walked out of the school, I told Chris I was stopping at the store for ice cream, because Nathan deserved a reward for getting such a great report. And then I came home and hugged and smooched him and made sure Ryan and Kaitlyn knew that they were getting ice cream because Nathan had earned it and was sharing. It was all about Nathan. I think it’s going to be a great year for all of us.
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Twitter: retta719
says:
That is super cool! Cheers to a great school year and awesome teachers that go the extra mile.
Twitter: getalonghome
says:
No memorizing?? That is insane! You can’t have a good foundation in math if you to stop and think every time multiplication is needed. It’s like insisting children always sound out every word, every time, even if he knoews the word by sight. It’s silly.
I’m glad you’ve got a more competent teacher this time!
Twitter: getalonghome
says:
I can, in fact, spell better than that last comment suggests. Typing with one hand, holding baby with other. =)
fantastic news!
I’m really stumped by someone telling you not to memorize multiplication. In our school they start memorizing math on day 1 of K, and they introduce multiplication in 2nd grade-by memorization. I’m going to send you an email of a great method that my boys 2nd grade teacher use-it’s super easy. If they can’t recall the facts fast how on earth will they be able to move beyond simple multiplication?
Off to get your email ready. Hooray, Nathan!
Twitter: the3kidsandme
says:
We had the same issues with my son last year for 1st grade, except we had a good teacher that was willing to work with him. I didn’t see a huge change in him over the summer, but he seems to be doing really good so far this year except for the responsibility part of remember to bring things home. Which is frustrating, and making me rethink the whole taking him out and homeschooling him issue. He is a very bright kid, but doesn’t seem to show that at school. UGH!
Congrats on your good year!
Yay Nathan! (And yay for you guys too!) Sounds like this new teacher is going to be a great asset for Nathan. So happy for you guys!
I thought the only way to learn multipication was through memorization. It is so good to hear that Nathan is having such a great year. Some teachers ought not to be teaching. I am so sorry last year was so tough. Wouldn’t ya like to show that teacher how well he is doing?
Twitter: Kris
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I’m sure he has a good future soon. It’s so nice to hear that kids are enjoying there life.
Gr8!! idea and a great blog. I appreciate your work & hope for some more informative information.
Go on FB and send me your number in a message. We have a lot to talk about!!!
Amy
Twitter: kailani
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Congratulations! What a proud moment for you! It’s always so nice to hear good things about your children.
I always had trouble with teachers, especially in high school. Math teachers said I was a mess, and could never graduate, physics teachers said I was an A student. And that’s because I absolutely hated my math teachers, and liked a lot my physics one, who was kind and made every lesson really interesting. I know I should have tried better even if I didn’t like the math teacher, because you don’t always get to work with people you like best in life. I think this is also a lesson your son should learn. This year he has a great teacher, but maybe next year he won’t. And you can’t let him think that if bad teachers say he is bad, than he is, or viceversa. And you have to learn to trust him as well, regardless of what teachers say. I hope I was coherent enough…:) Anyway, good luck in the next year!
I found you on BlogCatalog. It’s wonderful to hear about teachers who do their best to inspire great kids to overcome obstacles. It sounds to me like he’s helping your son gain confidence in his abilities… and that is no small task.
Thanks for sharing this! Great blog.
- Julia at Midwest Moms
I moved to three different primary schools and found it difficult to settle into my third primary school. I look back now and realise that the turning point was learning my times tables and becoming the class champion. I think I needed to be accepted. My mother practiced my times tables with me every night and you know what – I really enjoyed it.