My 5 yr old started kindergarten this year and it was far more stressful than we had anticipated.
...For special need kids who take a bit longer to thing things through, or just think in a different manner, the notion of conformity to a wrongly paced curriculum is bound to be defiance. And then, when they are punished for not being compliant, they only behave worse, because their need for emotional support is greater than usual.
Can you tell I'm feeling a tad frustrated with "the system" at the moment? :-(
I don't think blaming the teachers is the answer either. They are certainly not well supported either.
Homeschooling is becoming more appealling all the time....
We were fortunate in that we had several kindergarten classes in each of our local schools; the difference each teacher made as well as the assortment of students enrolled made each classroom unique and sometimes not so wonderful.
My son had a great experience in his mainstream classroom in part because his outstanding teacher welcomed parent volunteers, and in part because she structured their hours there so that it would have been an inclusive classroom even if he had not been enrolled.
These days it seems as though more 'mainstream' kindergartners have extra needs that must challenge the most experienced, well-trained and centered teachers, while they find less support and more distractions from administrators.
I had to laugh when I read your concerns and perceived drawbacks to homeschooling - those are some that are covered in most introductory homeschool information meetings, web pages and email discussion groups. Many homeschooling moms would have expected to be voted 'least likely to homeschool' right up to the time they made that decision.
Wishing you all the best,
Pam W
SE of Seattle
Kindergarten Transition
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