Subject specialist teachers

[Tez]

I'm still struggling to finalise A's statement despite the LEA now being out of time limit. They have promised me two meetings, one to agree the final wording of the statement and the other to arrange provision, although won't commit themselves to any dates.

 

It has been verbally agreed that A will be educated in the home by the LEA using a combination of home tutors and elearning provided by nisai. A's proposed statement calls for teaching on a 1 to 1 basis by Specialised teachers. "Specialised" is not specified, so could mean anything that the LEA choses, but I have asked them to replace this with teachers trained and appropriately qualified to teach each individual subject area and with awareness and sensitivity to asd and sensory integration difficulties. This however, could be a sticking point due to the limited availability of home tutors. I am prepared to go to tribunal over this if necessary because I know that the statement should be to fit the needs of the child and not the needs of the system, however, I want to be certain in my own mind that I am not being unreasonable in this matter.

 

At present A is being taught Science and Maths by a History teacher and quite frankly it's not working. She has a one way approach to presenting the subject (usually paraphrasing what the text book says) and can not adapt her approach to suit his needs. She insists that he uses her methods for working out problems despite him having been taught differently in the past, not because she nasty, but because not being a Specialist, she only knows the way that she's been taught. This is causing him to drift backwards. He is recognised as being gifted in these areas and should expect to get a high grade GCSE, she is telling me that because she is not a specialist teacher and because there are limitations on what can be taught at home, he can only be entered for these exams at Foundation level for which the maximum awardable grade is a C.

 

I have spoken to A about this and he wants to be entered at the higher level in these exams or not at all. The school were expecting him to be entered at higher level. He has also said, that although he likes her, he's not learning from her at all, and that he needs far more visual input and for things to be related more to everyday occurances. She is not capable of doing this.

 

I have clearly got to negotiate a change in this tutor, but do I need to insist on subject specialist teachers or is it perfectly possible for a History teacher to teach high grade GCSEs in Science and Mathematics?

 

Any advice on this would be appreciated.

[Kathryn]

Hi Tez,

 

When it looked for a while that L would be able cope with the Biology and general science GCSE's only, we ran into a similar problem. Her allocated tutor was an English specialist.

 

But unlike L who didn't go through with it, your son is on course to do his GCSE's, and at this level I would have thought it was a minimum requirement that he be taught by someone who at least has a first degree in the subject, if not something rather more, especially as he is motivated, obviously good at it and expects to get a good grade. Restricting him to the foundation level will not be good for his morale (they tried to do this with L). Yes there are problems with practical subjects studied at home , but there should be creative ways round this.

 

Regarding teachers straying out of their subject areas, I'm sure there can be some crossover. I wouldn't have thought a history teacher could successfully teach these subjects at that level though- they might get away with it in year 7 but a very talented GCSE student presents more challenges. It's not just a case of knowing the concepts, you have to stay a few steps ahead of the pupil, think on your feet, and have the confidence to be able to make the subject stimulating. All this requires a thorough knowledge of the subject. 1-1 teaching is intense and it's easy for the student to suss when the teacher doesn't know what they're doing. (I taught GCSE English briefly 18 years ago and I'd be terrified to do even THAT now, but GCSE Maths?? I wouldn't know where to start )

 

I'd share your feelings on this and I think you should negotiate as much as you can to try to find the best qualified people, but on the other hand, you may be stuck with what you can get. Hopefully someone will come up with further advice.

Edited January 26, 2006 by Kathryn

[Canopus]

Is your son entered in for higher level maths and science or not? I think parents have a right to demand higher level regardless of the situation.

[Tez]

Canopus,

 

He was originally entered for higher level modules in March of this year, he has been withdrawn because the LEA haven't been providing him with sufficient tuition to cover the syllabus. It was the teacher's decision to withdraw him not ours. She tells me that to do the Science at higher level the syllabus requires 3 pieces of course work, only two of which can be completed at home, the other requires specialist laboratory facilities. I haven't yet checked if this is true or whether there is an alternative syllabus that he could follow, or whether special considerations and concessions could be given because of his disabilities. I am still in the investigation stage, but I'm getting annoyed and frustrated, since it seems to be discriminatory.

 

Kathryn,

 

Thanks for your input.

 

I'm not sure about him being motivated, but if he's going to do something at all, he wants to do it to the best of his ability. If I was to accept entering him at a lower level, he just wouldn't do any work and in any case he needs the grades to do the A levels he wants to do.

 

You're right in keeping one step ahead. A asked her the other day why a negative times a negative equals a positive and when would he ever use this in life anyway? She just said it was horribly complicated and he just had to accept that it

did. He persisted, saying that he had to understand in order to remember. She told him that just as she has to accept and remember that the North Pole exists, he has to accept that a negative times a negative equals a positive. After she'd gone A went onto DR Maths and got his answer, now he understands and is happy.

Edited January 26, 2006 by Tez

[Canopus]

1. There is no excuse to enter your son in for foundation level maths. Insist the school enters him in for higher level and buy a maths textbook.

 

2. I am not quite sure about the science coursework. I suggest you discuss the matter with the head of science about whether your son can use the school science labs for coursework experiments. Some teachers do give personal favours from time to time.

[Tez]

Canopus,

 

The Deputy Head has offered the use of the Science labs and has undertaken to make the area as quiet and safe as possible whilst A is there. However, he would need to be supervised and guided and that seems to be the sticking point. There is also a worry about how he would cope from a sensory view point in the school environment, certainly 8 months ago he couldn't cope at all, even for very limited periods, but we are willing to try.The LEA will, if necessary, have to come up with something.

 

We have also bought a Maths text book and A is teaching himself, but the tutor is confusing him with her input, so he either has no tutor at all, but he needs this because again he has to do some course work that can only be completed in the presence of an LEA tutor, or he needs a tutor who understands what they are doing and can adapt to his asd oddities and who is capable of adapting their approach. Again I'm looking into an alternative, more appropriate syllabus but if I find it I will still have to negotiate with the LEA.

Edited January 26, 2006 by Tez

[Canopus]

The Deputy Head has offered the use of the Science labs and has undertaken to make the area as quiet and safe as possible whilst A is there. However, he would need to be supervised and guided and that seems to be the sticking point. There is also a worry about how he would cope from a sensory view point in the school environment, certainly 8 months ago he couldn't cope at all, even for very limited periods, but we are willing to try.The LEA will, if necessary, have to come up with something.

 

I thought that science labs had to be supervised at all times by a suitably qualified teacher. If your son is unable to participate in coursework experiments in the presence of other kids because of sensory issues then it might be possible for him to use the lab when it is free and given 1:1 supervision. This is probably best discussed with the school before the LEA. Most schools don't use every science lab for every timetabled period and science teachers have free periods as well.

 

We have also bought a Maths text book and A is teaching himself, but the tutor is confusing him with her input, so he either has no tutor at all, but he needs this because again he has to do some course work that can only be completed in the presence of an LEA tutor, or he needs a tutor who understands what they are doing and can adapt to his asd oddities and who is capable of adapting their approach. Again I'm looking into an alternative, more appropriate syllabus but if I find it I will still have to negotiate with the LEA.

 

I suggest you have a word with the LEA about this. I am sure that a suitably knowledgeable and qualified tutor could be brought in on a short contract to supervise with the maths coursework.

[OPooh]

I can't get into teaching because my first degree is psychology and so I'm not specialist enough (at secondary this is) so I don't see why you should have someone teaching that does not have their first degree in the subject area - it's ridicuolous. Good luck with it.