I have got to vent. Sorry...while I try to stay positive, this is THAT sort of blog.

For the past two years, Tate has succeeded in Union County schools. She has been at or above grade level in all areas of study.

It turns out that Caldwell County schools are surprisingly more difficult. It's funny, my Dad was worried that Tate would become a little country bumpkin! I think that there are some adjustment issues and those, coupled with the much tougher curriculum is really taking it's toll on Tate. She is no longer succeeding, in fact it's very much the opposite.

I've had multiple meetings with her teacher and I know that Tate has problems listening and focusing. She struggles with those things at home. But the teacher keeps explaining that the state provides their lesson plans, hence the super-fast pace and that even she is having a hard time adjusting to it.

Tate has not had the benefit of participating in things the kids at Sawmills Elementary have been. From kindergarten, the kids participate in the Advanced Reading program and the Letterland spelling program. This work is very fast-paced. Tate is finally starting to pick it up. But we were set up for failure last week with her spelling. Every week we get a sheet of paper with 4 lists of words: tricky words, list A, list B and list C. Every week the tricky words and list A words are highlighted and those are the words that are focused on for the week. Up until now, 70 was Tate's highest grade on her spelling test. Last week, we really busted our butts and practiced over and over. Her hardest word was "thought". I just knew that she had nailed it and done wonderfully on her test! Much to my dismay, the test came back a 70. Tate missed 6 words! BUT 5 of those words were from List B...which is not highlighted and not focused on at all! Had I known that these words were going to start to be integrated into the test, we would've gone over them!!! Had Tate NOT missed those 5 words, she would've had a 90 or 95! I think a taste of success would only motivate her more, yet she just seems set up for failure.

The teacher has explained that the words in List B (that do not overlap with the words in list A) are in similar word families as the ones in List A and Tate should be able to figure it out. That's all well and good, and I am NOT making excuses, but I know that the most effective way for me to learn things is to write it down and have it tangibly in front of me, rather than only relying on an intangible concept in my mind. I am certain Tate is the same way. So now, we have to add 8 more words to her spelling list just so she will be ready for the extra words that may or may not show up on the next test.

We've just been working so hard. It's not uncommon to devote a couple of hours to this 2nd grade homework to ensure that she "gets" it.

When it comes to the Advanced Reading testing, the kids choose their own books and the first ones Tate chose were way out of her depth...one was even a chapter book. Where is the teacher to help make sure this doesn't happen? Even some of the easy books have content that is too complicated for a 2nd grader. For example, in the book about a dolphin's life cycle, it is stated that a dolphin searches for food by echolocation. Their tail fins are made up of two flukes. The process of echolocation isn't even explained. The kids are just supposed to remember the word. Doesn't make sense to me.

Tate's teacher and I are keeping in close contact. We speak on a daily basis...but it's getting to the point where there is no point in talking. Yesterday she told me not to worry about the spelling test, Tate is improving every day. Today she told me that if Tate keeps up the way she is, then she will have to repeat 2nd grade. SO which is it? And she keeps going on and on about how hard it is for her to keep up with the state's lesson plans. I can only surmise that the kids who fall behind will be left behind.

For the past few mornings, I've been going into school with Tate to monitor her morning activities and make sure that she completes all of the things she needs to get done before school starts. Her teacher said that it was taking Tate 30-45 minutes to finish the morning tasks she must do. With my presence, we have halved those numbers.

But today, I ended up getting stuck in class because the teacher immediately went from the morning recap into a lesson. It was an eye-opening experience. The class is in a constant state of chaos. There's a kid who takes all the paperwork sent back to school to the teacher's desk. There's a kid who goes and checks the sign-in attendance sheet. There are other things I cannot recall at the moment...but it's not like back in the day when nothing is done before attendance is called. All of this is going on while the teacher is talking too. And after attendance was assessed, the teacher stops what she is saying and goes to enter it into a computer. Of course, this takes a couple of minutes to do, since the mornings are busy and the teacher explains that all teachers have to do this. (I don't know if she usually makes asides to the class or if it was strictly for my benefit.) Then she gets back to addressing the class, only to have her 5th grade son come in and interrupt. The bell had rung...why wasn't he in class?

Ultimately, the teacher complains about the pace and apparently cannot stay focused herself. Every time we talk, she says those same things over and over. So my question is: How on Earth does my child stand a chance in this setting...is she totally set up for failure?