Thread: New school insight

I talked with the director of Isaiah's afterschool program last night. She just asked me how Isaiah was doing and if we were able to make sure he was able to participate in recess more. Of course, I ended up expressing some of my concerns and asking what she sees. She is a college student, and she is a practicum student in Isaiah's class. She attempted to be diplomatic. However, she did say she has never seen a teacher like Isaiah's. She said that she is a strict disciplinarian and calls kids out on their first infraction for talking and such. She said that kids really have no room for movement, talking, and such at all during the morning. She also said that she has never seen her smile when she has been in the room. She was sweet, and did say that she felt that the method may not be a great fit for Isaiah because he is so full of joy and loves life so much. What a nice way to phrase it. So, I guess that is where his anxiety is coming from. He never feels like he is doing anything right and is not getting much positive feedback. When all you hear are bad things about yourself -- real or imagined--, you tend to start believing it, right? So frustrating!

Oh, and I get that it takes two to tango in the classroom. Isaiah is not innocent by any means. Oh, and if any of you were wondering why I use dashes instead of parentheses, my work computer has 3 broken keys and the parentheses are included. Grrrr!

Interesting. Sounds like it's just not a good match. Can he get switched to another class?

That is very frustrating! Hopefully you are able to develop some sort of positive plan for Isaiah now that you have a better understanding as to the root of his anxiety.

That is interesting! I wonder if Isaiah is the only one that her negativity is affecting, or if there's other students/families in the class going through the same thing.

From talking with a few parents, it seems like they are having slight issues as well. Isaiah is a very sensitive child. He always has been, so I wonder if it isn't affecting him more than some other kids.

I'm not sure how accommodating schools are about moving children around since I suspect these issues probably arise often. I remember having certain teachers that made me more nervous than others so I can certainly see how you have come this conclusion about her not being positive enough for Isaiah. Maybe the best thing for him is to do what you can at home and hope that he can learn to cope? I'm sure that is especially hard at such a young age. I wish I had some advice!

Wow. Interesting. This has to be so hard for Isaiah. How has it been since you wrote this post? Did you have a talk with him about her again?