School chaos

I have been feeling a little conflicted about our school lately. I know that Nathan has been getting in trouble and some of it is bullying and some of it is a kid being a kid. But because he has been in trouble, they are certainly watching him closer than any other kid.

The other day they were learning about Wilbur & Orville Wright. Apparently one of his friends said this was stupid, and why does he have to learn it. Nathan repeated it and he is the one who got caught. Of course he got in trouble and had to stand at recess.

Nathan is still having problems in school with reading and when I was venting to my friends several months ago one of them suggested getting his eyes checked to see if his (in simplest terms) eyes and brain were talking. He had a vision test at the end of March and he sees 20/20 but when I was telling Dr Fortman some if the issues we were having in school she suggested a DV (developmental visual?) test. We just had that test done on Monday and out of the 12 criteria they score, Nathan flunked eight of them. The other four sections he passed at or above his age/grade level. The results still have to be shown to Dr Fortman but I was told that Nathan will have to have vision therapy. I felt some relief knowing there is a reason he is struggling as I know he is smart. I was disappointed to hear that our insurance will not pay for it and the therapy costs are out of our pocket but it is worth it if it helps.

From day one in preschool Nathan has consistently confused his b’s and d’s. He also flips his 3’s and 9’s and makes mistakes similar to that. At every parent teach conference I have expressed concern over this. Both of his teachers have told me that it does not become a concern until second or third grade. Knowing the troubles that my brother had in school and the fact that my maternal cousin also struggled, I have been on the lookout for problems. My Mom was told that these issues are predominant in boys and often runs in families. She recalls her brother having the same problems when he was younger but he was never “diagnosed” with anything. I should have pushed the issue, but I figured that they see kids every day and they know what is normal.

On Tuesday I sent an e-mail to Nathan’s teacher and the principal re-telling them everything I learned the previous day. I was not trying to be a vindictive Mom, but I felt that some of their practices and standards should be questioned. Would this have ever been caught or would he always be labeled a troubled child? My management training tells me not to accept status quo or you will never grow or develop. Constructive criticism is a good thing. If anything, I just wanted them to look at their system to see if there are areas that could be strengthened.

Then I find out that my Mom took my Grandma to the eye doctor yesterday. While there Mom was asking Dr Ahrns which doctor is running the therapy department. Mom then told him what I found out with Nathan this week and he said that a first grader still confusing his b’s and d’s and flipping numbers is not acceptable. Especially not in this age when most kids attend preschool before kindergarten and they are expected to read by Christmas. I guess the moral of the story is to always trust your instincts.