Teachers get nervous because they don't have the time to do all that they should be doing to help a child with special needs. Are you near Freemont, CA? They have the Freemont School for the Deaf. Don't know if they have day programs but it is very successful.. You might look into the group PHP.com. Parents helping parents. An organization that was born our of the lack of communication between teachers and parents.with special needs kids. Good Luck..
Diana,
Here is a website that you can check out. It's the law! Your school district is required by law to provide you any services that you ask for! It comes out of our house taxes! Good Luck to you! You are the only person who can fight for your child! ~ Lucy B.
How Will Individual Education Programs (IEPs) Change Under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act .... Education Laws & Regulations · Special Education ...
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You sound like a real burden to teachers. It is one thing to make certain that the teacher(s) are fully aware of your child's needs and occasionally communicate with you, but think about your demands on the teacher X however many students are in the teachers class(es). Every parent would like that same consideration for their children, IEP or not. Add to that the massive preparation time to provide each child a good educational experience everyday.
One thing a teacher can do for all parents in this digital age is to provide lessons, assignments, scores of student work and updates online. They can provide PowerPoints, copies of worksheets, and other material online as well. There are a plethora of companies who have tools to provide these services that are purchased by school districts. They are for the expressed purpose of enhancing communication with all parents.
I don't blame you as a parent acting on behalf of your daughter. Truly not. You might find a private school more responsive where the impossible is not expected of teachers. They tend to have far fewer students.
I didn't follow if your complain is that the teacher is no longer giving you "green" or another color daily but if so, what if the teacher had to do that for all her 20-30 students? Maybe not a big deal but it adds up. I suggest a private school where your specific needs and desires and demands can be met given public schools just don't have the funding to support this type of individual attention. Where is the money supposed to come from?
I don't have any advice, just wanted to say I'm not surprised at all. If you don't communicate with you, they make you seem like an uninterested, bad parent. But, if you do communicate with them a little more than what they deem necessary, then you are a pain in their a##. There is no way to win with teachers. They have placed themselves up on a pedestal and feel that everyone else is less than they! I truly do not like teachers!
Very long, but wanted to respond to everyone…
As a former ESE/SDC teacher, I am fully aware and do sympathize that we are all over worked and under paid, but what field isnt these days. With that said, budgets, paperwork and such do not determine the IEP…believe me, I know.
I was not clear in my original posting, I have daily contact with my daughters teacher via a log I provide and I email support staff possibly every 3-4 weeks, I just want that to continue…that is all… The agreement it seems is that that will continue but that instead of me providing a log, I will provide a check list with a comment section for daily contact and emails will continue as they are…I am fine with that… The teacher this year, only writes the color she got (GREEN meaning great day). That is it. Not to much effort on her part at all, I think. I did request if anything other than green, she briefly describe due to my daughter not being to effectively communicate the situation to me. She has willingly done that. I would proudly report, my daughter tends to get green most of the school year, so the teacher writes the word “green” and that is it. If there is another issue, I will write her a note in the log or see her after school. I have been doing this for my daughter since preschool, and it has been such a relief to me. I am a single mom, working hard and do not always have the pleasure of seeing her teachers. In the past, I have communicated with teachers via email or logs, and this is ALWAYS determined by the person themself. I just ask they talk to me, THEY tell me how. If they could only do it 2 times a month via email, fine, I will watch for the emails. If they prefer me to remind them, I would be willing to do so. Teachers have always prefered the daily log, with the color…I have been accepting that as an option as well. The point is…just talk to me. I want to know what she is doing and how she is doing, by having this information I can HELP the team and SUPPORT them along with my daughter. The cool thing is if I know what she is doing and supporting her, she will SOAR!!! One day, my daughter will be able to effectively communicate, and this will be a mute point.
Those of you who thought I text and called teachers at home, made me laugh. First of all, I would not have their cell phone numbers if they didnt trust me to use judgement. The teacher gave me her cell number after I picked up my daughter from daycare at 5pm to find her with blood all over her shirt. I checked her backpack, NO NOTE. I called the school, CLOSED. Can you imagine picking up your child with blood on them and NOT KNOWING WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM!!???!!! She gave me her number after that so I didnt panic again. I have NEVER used it, which is a blessing. The team leader gave my her text number, and we have used it to converse about IEP issues (during normal school hours). She runs from school to school, so cell is how she communicates with parents as she doesnt have a set place to call to to leave messages. I email most of the time. The last time I texted her was to find out the location of the IEP as she didnt not indicate where on the IEP notice.
This year, second grade, has been rough for so many reasons. We started the school year with the school district NOT following the IEP and providing support services. I had to fight and contact Procedual Safeguards in the end just to get them to finally provide services which started in Nov. I think this was the begining of our issues. They feel nervous by me, and I dont trust them and it will take time to develop our trusting each other.
Those of you who did mentioned trust, and me having issues. You are RIGHT!!! I dont trust them. I found out about the services not being provided by my daughter. I guess they were hoping I would never find out. My daughter is mainstreamed but pulled out for support services…she is behind her peers.
I loved the point a person made about them maybe feeling I was checking up on them yet really I am checking on my daughter. GREAT POINT!!! I didnt think of that, and I bet that is it. I am not checking on them or policing them, I just want to know how my daughter is doing and what she is doing. I know these teachers make lessons plans, they know what they are doing. THOUGH…One of the team members said she MAY change her plans weekly so she could not give me a monthly plans. By monthly plans I mean, “This month we will work on nouns and verbs”. Brief statement, I dont want a storybook. I am glad I am not her supervisor. Can you imagine your teacher making her monthly lesson plans to them change them weekly. I know my principals MAY let that fly once…lol.
I will check on those websites, thank you so much.
On a more personal note, my daughter isnt wanting to go to school. Her deafness is something she cant really hide. My daughters issues are speech and reading and writing, mainly. She excels in all other subjects. Knowing what she is doing, I can help set her up for success. I feel her frustration when she tries to tell me something about school, and I dont understand her. But I see her so excited when i know the topic at hand, she smiles from ear to ear and tells me all about it. Since I know the topic, I can help her and guide her language so she is learning to become an effective communicator.
I am such a proud mommy and am so blessed to have such a wonderful dynamic daughter. My goal is not to control every move the school district makes. My goal is to see my daughter attain her goals, excel and SOAR!!!.