[Pookeysgirl]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Bad teachers are a factor. Inattention can have other causes, too, so getting him tested is a good idea. Dyslexia is one thing to look for. ADHD is another.

Reading was never a problem for me, and I always read above my grade level. I don't remember not knowing how to read. Of course, I had an example set: my mom read to me every night before I went to sleep, so I picked up the idea early. She told me in later years that I grasped the concept well before I could do it myself: she would try to fast forward through something to get on to other chores, and I'd say "No, Mommy! You skipped this part!", and unerringly point at the section she skipped over.

I've always read anything that didn't read me first and some that did, and I know where I got the habit.

Same here (I don't remember my mother reading to me though). I started reading at 3 and I have always had a love for books.

You might try spending some time reading to and with your kids. See what stuff you can come up with they might like, and play switch off: read some to them, then give them turns. Pick stuff a little beyond their level if possible, so you can help them with the hard parts.

I try to read with them every night. They do get frustrated, but we get through it together.

Your school has bought into the whole "social promotion" myth. You might ask them what happens when the kids finally graduate as semi-literates with no prospects because they haven't learned basic skills and can't do anything, and what their self esteem will be like then.

Absolutely agree, as soon as they're done testing him and I find out what's really going on I'm going to have a chat with the principal. I already found out last year that my youngest son has ADHD.

Assuming they know what grades the other kids got. (No doubt the kids who get the top grades trumpet it...)

They do...every single time

And maybe he won't. All you can do is make it clear to him that all you care about is that he does the best he can, and care far less about whether he gets an A than whether he is trying hard.

I told him last night that all I expect is for him to try his best. I certainly didn't get A's. Mind you, I was rarely there

In part. We also need to accept the fact that different kids learn different things at different rates, and make allowance for the differences. Not all kids can be taught in the same manner.

I agree 100%