10/17/98
The Auburn Bulletin10/17/98
Letter: YRS punishes less able students
As the mother of a learning disabled or "at-risk" student, I would like to respond to the ACS proposed academic calendar change.
Summer is a time of normalcy for academically struggling students because of the opportunity to be on equal footing with "smart" students. They are free to pursue areas, other than academics, in which they might excel. Summer is "down time" from the stress of working harder than the other students for less results.
Experiences of the traditional summer have allowed my child time to rebuild his self-esteem after a frustrating year of academics. The traditional calendar meets his needs in that the lengthy summer allows time for remediation programs between periods of rest and fun. When school begins, he has experienced extensive play as well as remediation (university sponsored direct instruction with excellent results) and is refreshed and ready to focus on nine months of instruction.
The three week intersession remediation program, which is a part of the proposed Year-Round/ Alternative Calendar, suggests that students in need of remediation will spend their three-week breaks in school. Of course, Dr. Freeman has said remediation may be as short as one week of half days, but no clear decisions have been shared regarding what intercession will or will not be. One has to wonder how much remediation success can be achieved in one week of half days given that the teacher will probably not have had previous experience with the students. In addition, the cost of such remediation should be considered, though ACS has not defined the remediation process enough to even begin to identify actual costs. For this vague plan and long shot of success we are being asked to change our academic calendar and life styles?
Surely students who need remediation are in equal if not more need of an academic break than other students. While some teachers say they will be refreshed after breaks, I wonder how the students spending their brief breaks in school will feel? Please note, ACS tells us these are the very students year round school/alternative calendar is supposed to benefit.
Remediation during the brief academic break of three weeks is nothing short of punishment and singling out of students for not being as "bright" as the rest of the population. Also, these children are sure to feel responsible for their family's inability to participate in the "additional family vacation time" due to their remediation requirements.
I propose we explore remediation opportunities within the traditional calendar. These opportunities could include, but are not limited to, increasing Title One services beyond the second grade, including direct instruction as a teaching method, increasing per pupil expenditure, implementing afternoon remediation programs, tailoring teaching techniques and increasing volunteer time from parents within the system. I would certainly be willing to donate my time to ACS to work with "at-risk" students within the traditional calendar.
Our children should be thought of as students not experiments, therefore let's implement only tried and true methods of achieving academic improvement. Certainly all students will benefit from the same methods from which "at risk" students can be expected to benefit. Let's leave our calendar as is and work within our traditional calendar to provide remediation for these important students.
Name withheld at parent's request