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teacher punishing my son for something she taught him to do

taggiecbtaggiecb member
in School-Aged Children
My oldest is in gr. 1, and they are learning proper sentance structure.  She taught the kids to use a finger width space between words.  Well he actually puts his finger on the page every time he writes a new word, and it ends up             looking              like            this.  Now he is losing marks on his weekly tests because of it, and I have to re teach him to eyeball it, which works much better for him.  He also told me that she gives them a popsicle stick to put between words, But not for their tests of course.  He's doing better now that he isn't using anything.  Hopefully the teacher will not encourage him to do it anymore.
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Re: teacher punishing my son for something she taught him to do

  • mrsskizmrsskiz member
    My son used to do the same thing and called a "finger space" which was really good for him since hesmasheseverythingtogether like that. Thats irritating that she taught them to do that, but wont allow them to use it during tests. Maybe later in the year after they are used to the space they need, but so early in the year isnt fair and confusing for a 1st grader.
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  • MrsSRMrsSR member
    You need to speak to her about this...  That would tick me off.
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  • taggiecbtaggiecb member
    that is not the only thing she does that ticks me off.  He is a level D reading, he brings home the books she assigns him, and reads them, without skipping a beat.  Then I find out she is sending him to extra reading help without telling me there is a problem.  I can't see where there is a problem at all let alone needing extra help.  He has not shown any signs of struggle with his reading or sight words, so why isn't he advancing, and if he is having a problem, why hasn't she contacted me about it?  Parent teacher meeting are next week, I have more than a few questions. 
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  • KaraJ26KaraJ26

    I am a 1st grade teacher.  

     First, I can't think of any K or 1 teacher that doesn't teach kids to do finger spaces.  1st graders' fingers are TINY and I can't imagine that his spaces would be THAT huge.  Maybe you could show him to use his pinky or the width of his pencil to get a more appropriate space between words.

     Second, if he is a level D (6), he probably is a teeny bit below grade level for where he needs to be at this point in the year if he needs to make it to a 16 or 18 by the end of the year.  He probably is not that far below, but is perhaps at the lower side of the class so that group of kids is getting some extra support to bring them to/above level.

     The books he's bringing home SHOULD be easy.  I only send home books that are at an independent level that the child should read easily and fluently.  It is critical for kids to have repetition and practice with books at this level.  When she teaches reading groups with the kids, then it is at a higher level, because she is right there to support them.  Anything a child does on their own should be at an independent level so they can truly do it- independently without frustration. 

     I think you need to write down your concerns, and calmly address them at the conference.  If you have had concerns for a while about your child's progress or how he is receiving extra help, you should have contacted her a long time ago.  I can't think of any teacher who wouldn't happily conference with a parent over the phone, before or after school, or during his/her lunch or planning period any time that a concern comes up between regularly scheduled conference weeks.  You need to treat the teacher as an ally in your child's success, not the enemy.  She is not out to get him... she is trying to support him.

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