shaffy1

Hello there !!

I want to apologise beforehand if there has been a post on this before. I couldn't find it!
We moved to Oakville from London (UK!!) in August and my two little ones started school on the first day of the term in the local state school. They are 7 and 9 and in grades 2 and 4 respectively.
For the past six months if feels as though they haven't really picked up anything new at school! They're both coasting and are immensely bored.
My son who is in grade 2 is currently doing the grade 3 syllabus but is still whizzing through. The teacher says there is little else she can do other than refer him to the gifted programme. He isn't settling in as well I would had hoped either. He has become so aggressive and mouthy ! He's like the Hulk all the time. Ready to explode ..
My daughter has decided to forget all the reading and writing she used to do and is far too busy looking good and making sure her hair is fabulous.
I realise they're both trying to adjust and will adopt whatever methods they see fit. But it's so frustrating to see them not using the greatest gift they have which is their noggin!!
What my worry is is that they are incredibly bright and intelligent kids ( this is not me it's their previous teachers saying so ) and coming from a place that pushed their mental boundaries and celebrated their excellence they're now ... Well... Meh!
Is there something I can do, other than put them in kumon or sylvan, to keep them stimulated ?
is advanced placement an option? I did consider some IB schools but the ones in our area are rather expensive.
And I haven't found work yet so i can't be spending money on tutors till I find something !

Is there anyone else who has been in the same situation? What avenues can I explore to help them?

:s

Obsessed mommy !

HGerchikov

Hi

Mine were Grade 4 and 1 when we moved here, so similar to you and it was a bit of a culture shock as we moved from a highly ranked school in the UK with a very strong emphasis on academic performance. Here they seemed to do nothing but colour in. By the time our eldest was in Grade 9 we were really worried as he only had 4 years left in school and they were no where near where we would expect them to be. I can remember my husband saying ' how on earth are they going to teach him everything he needs to know in just 4 years'. However by the time the he graduated in Grade 12 we were really happy with his level of knowledge and the rounded individual that the more balanced existence between academics, sports and just plain having fun that he had enjoyed up until Grade 8 had created. Our second son is now in Grade 12 and again very happy with the end results.
However ours were not bored at school, they enjoyed the less pressure environment, it sounds as though your son is and it is resulting in some behavioural issues. Is there anything else that you could divert him to, sports? Dance? Music? That would give him a focus in addition to school.

We are in Oakville too.

Snowy560

This is my BC experience too.

When we moved, one went into Grade 10 and the other into Grade 6. The older one finished Grade 12 last year and we were also very happy with what she had achieved and the breadth of the curriculum at the later stages.

I agree that the elementary level is not as "National Curriculum/tests every 5 minutes/literacy/maths levels etc etc" focused as the UK. But personally, I see that as a positive rather than a negative.


S

Tirytory

We moved an eight year old too, about two years ago. The school system does have a different emphasis here, but in all honesty I like it. The emphasis being on a well rounded individual rather than than just an academic focus. The high school kids around here are for the most part lovely examples of how I would like my children to turn out.

As for my son's behaviour, the first year we moved his behaviour was horrible, mostly in the house directed at us. Looking back on the second year, with the benefit of being settled, friends and regular activities he is now back to being a lovely sunny boy who has lots of friends and his behaviour is about a hundreds times better. In the throes of dealing with it, I don't think I directly attributed his behaviour to the move as he appeared to just get on with it but looking back it seems obvious now. Or of course he was just a rotten 9yr old who has developed into a lovely 10yr old

I wouldn't get too hung up about academics- they have so much time before that needs to be a concern, help him to socialise, get out to every club you can join, ice hockey, baseball etc. They all help to integrate with their peers in school. I think that childrens emotional and social needs should rank higher than academia. I'm also not convinced that "celebrating children's excellence" is actually a good thing anyway IMHO.

Snowy560

S

Stinkypup

As for my son's behaviour, the first year we moved his behaviour was horrible, mostly in the house directed at us. Looking back on the second year, with the benefit of being settled, friends and regular activities he is now back to being a lovely sunny boy who has lots of friends and his behaviour is about a hundreds times better. In the throes of dealing with it, I don't think I directly attributed his behaviour to the move as he appeared to just get on with it but looking back it seems obvious now. Or of course he was just a rotten 9yr old who has developed into a lovely 10yr old


Just wait until those teenage years!

Oink

Sounds like you're doing all you can with your resources. I have intimate knowledge of many aspects of Canadian education and I try and warn people before they come over here that if you're at all interested in your child's education don't leave the UK for Canada. Few listen but then why put your children’s education and future before your personal sense of adventure?

The main problem you’re coming up against is the culture, it’s one that cryptically celebrates mediocrity. And because so, there’s no intensity or vibrancy, let alone any mention of competition and that permeates their public education. That's fine if you're Canadian where you'll work for a relative in the resource extraction or cultivation industry, or you're an immigrant from Eastern Europe, Asia or Africa where you 're most likely just happy your children are eating or they aren't armed guards outside the school. But coming from the UK, where intellectual capital and thus education is highly valued, you'll more than not, be very disappointed.

You need to get them referred to a gifted or challenge program that hopefully the district employs. Go and talk to the principal first and if you can’t get any joy from them go and see the assistant superintendent for your area. Keep pushing, the one thing Canadians really dislike is noise. If you make quietly forceful and well thought-out arguments for the need for enrichment, you might get some help. If you can't then you'll have to do what other professionals or intellectuals do here and that's supplement their education at home and then hope your children have enough about them to allow university education to make up the shortfall.

One thing you have going for you is that your child is worth money. Meaning if they move to a specific program, the money goes with them. That gives you leverage, not much but some. For instance, a sort of colleague's son was having all kinds of trouble in public school. The family is Russian and the kid was bright and was used to being pushed hard at school but here he was left alone and which resulted in him creating carnage. They found within a local school district an academy of innovative learning which apart from the sorry excuse for the math curriculum which is dad is supplementing, it has suited him very well and he's a changed lad.

Parnell

What stimulus or work at home are you providing in the interim?Does your son need some physical distraction such as soccer or swimming to take out aggression in positive manner?What about wider education scouts/girl guides?

MarylandNed

How do you explain Canada outranking the UK in math, reading and science in the OECD education rankings?

Global school rankings: Interactive map shows standards of education across the world | Education News | News | The Independent

shaffy1

Thanks for the reply everyone ! I'm just glad I'm not the only one here !
I do find my husband and I are becoming the pesky parents who keep writing notes in agendas and having the teachers call us for various reasons � ����. I'm turning in to a monster !!
I've put both kids in guides/beavers; Taekwondo; swimming and also skating lessons (they're awful at it !!� ����). So there's a lot going on after school. I also do a lot of fun learning with them at home. We do wild experiments and go on mock treasure hunts around the world. On the plus side my son and daughter get along like never before ! They're generally always playing something together which was unheard of

I also want to clarify what I said earlier ... By celebrating children's excellence I don't mean giving cookies to the smartest kid! That wouldn't be great for overall morale ! But I mean applauding hard work and perseverance.
My son is constantly asking his teacher to give him 'harder' worksheets such as division which he loves doing and her reply to him is 'we dont do division and multiplication in this class'
Erm... Right then!

I also not entirely pleased with my sons teacher. She is very heavy handed in her ways. As an example : my son and his friend were told off and had to write an apology letter to a girl they called 'fat'. I was shocked to think that my kid who was known in his whole school for being kind, helpful and empathetic would say something like that. He came home and cried for a good hour saying he didn't have anything to do with it but the teacher wouldn't believe him.
Anyhow... I had the teacher call me () and it turns out she didn't even ask the boys for their side of the story. After we made some noise she sat them all down and talked it out the girl admitted that my son had nothing to do with the the incident.

If his teacher was sweetness and light I would let go of everything ... Kids respond well to positive reinforcement. Of which there is currently none !

I do realise academics is not the be-all end-all of raising kids. I want them to be well rounded individuals. More than anything I just want them to be happy- even if it means they're not doing great in school.
I just find that they spend most of their day in school and to spend that time being bored and undermined seems like an utter waste of time and having a negative impact on their confidence.

I will once again get on the phone and ask what's happening with the gifted programme application ... I'm sure an alarm goes off somewhere in their office every time I call

I'll look around in the area and see what other places of learning there are ....I'm not sure what else to do.
Let it go?

Novocastrian

You'll have to sooner or later. Get a bit of practice in.

shaffy1

*locating inner zen*

HGerchikov

The teacher not asking for both sides of the story is really unfair and I absolutely agree that you need to follow up on that. My boys would have been devastated if they were accused of something like that. Which school are they at?

Also are they learning to skate at Canlan icesports? If so my son is probably teaching them so I hope you have no complaints about the teachers there?

There are quite a few BE members in Oakville if you want to meet up for a coffee during the day or maybe something a little stronger one evening just let me know and I will see who I can rustle up. Might help to chat face to face with those of us that have been there. Also we have Schnookololy who is a product of the local education system and she turned out OK (mostly)

Novocastrian

Which was rather my point.

HGerchikov

How you doing? Are you missing us yet?