Trying to Decide Whether to Change Schools

I would never want my children to have the same teacher for years. I am a high school AP English teacher, and sometimes I have the same students a couple of years in a row. My students usually like me, but even then I feel like they would be better served by having a different teacher. It's beneficial to learn from different teaching styles and hear about different experiences. After a year with me, my students have heard my stories and I've taught them my tricks for writing better introductions, and how to organize a strong argument. If they have a different teacher, (s)he will be able to teach them all of his/her tricks.

I would wait until the end of the year, though. There is no need to disrupt his schedule now.

I can't imagine having the same teacher for 8 yrs AND its a bad fit!

Let him finish the year out with his friends. Change in the fall. We've all had years where it wasn't a good fit and the kids make it fine.

Frankly the idea of a child having only one teacher for eight solid years is not just unusual, I question why the school does this. I'm not very familiar with Waldorf methods so don't know if this is a Waldorf thing or just down to a lack of staff, but even the smallest private schools around us don't have kids with a single teacher for that long. I would ask how the teacher is qualified to teach at such vastly different levels; if the teacher gets new training each year between classes in order to have the curriculum AND the knowledge of how kids at that next year's age level work and think; and so on. Are you confident that this teacher would be as good a fifth grade teacher as he or she is a first grade teacher, for instance? Or that he or she could handle rambunctious sixth grade kids, or moody eighth graders? Lots of different skill sets needed here -- does this one teacher have them all? Experience counts for a lot -- how does he or she get experience with any one grade level? I guess the idea is "she has experience with the individual kids and that's better" but I have doubts - do you?

When kids change teachers regularly they get the chance to have teachers with whom they do click, though of course there are grades where they have teachers who just aren't particularly great for them. And by about fifth grade in our public (non-charter) schools they have several teachers each day for different subjects. Would he at least have different subject matter teachers in this school?

The neighbourhood school would always be my first choice. Children should be able to walk to school and live in the same neighbourhood as their friends. It give them a sense of community and belonging.

Just some thoughts:
1) why do you think this school is not good for him?
2) why did choose this school in the first place?
3) What does your son think... about his school/Teacher? You are guessing, that it is because of his friends?
4) is he happy at the current school?
5) what are "his" complaints about the school/his teacher, if any?
6) Is he on par there, socially and academically?
7) The end of the school year, is not far away.....
8) Why pull him out of the school, now? Unless there are crucial reasons why, it must, be, done, now.
Why, would waiting until the end of the year, to switch him to another school, be worse for him?
9) if you don't think having the SAME Teacher until 8th grade is good, now, then, sure, you change schools. But it is almost the end of the school year.

I work at a school.
There are many new students at this time of year.
The reasons are: that the families moved, to another district.
But also, being it is now January, the end of the school year is near... and any "new" students now, who entered this school now... the new kids are either not on par with the school's curriculum and therefore have a lot to catch up with, or, the student is on par.

Unless a student/child is having a super hard time and mega problems with the school and Teacher, a parent usually does not pull out a kid, at this time of the year. Or the other reasons a parent pulls out their child from their current school is, because the family is moving.

It's odd that he is fidgeting in a Waldorf program. I homeschool, but we are using a curriculum that is Walforf-inspired. The reason I chose it is that my ADHD daughter is hardly ever required to be in her seat (she fidgets like crazy), and that for a fidgety child, project-based and art-centered education can be a very good thing. However, if you feel like the curriculum (or this particular school, or this particular teacher) isn't exactly right for your son, you should trust your instincts.

If you're willing to homeschool, you might want to look into Oak Meadow. It's Waldorf-inspired (great for fidgety kids who need a very hands-on curriculum) but it is a bit more academic and aligns with federal and state standards. I found that the Oak Meadow math wasn't precisely what I wanted, and so we are using Life of Fred for math (both of my girls LOVE it). The great thing about homeschooling is that your child can move forward at the pace he sets. For instance, my 8 year old is doing 4th grade Language Arts, History, and Science, but she has moved on to 5th grade math. Because we homeschool, she's still able to socialize with other kids her age (rather than in the traditional public school setting, where being a grade ahead was difficult for her socially).

Anyhow, it's just a thought.

Can't give opinions if you don't share what you think the problems are.

So your son is happy there, and doing well academically I assume?
So why do you want to switch?
While I find having one teacher for many years strange, if you move him you're going to have to deal with a new teacher every year, and you may not like all of them either.
I'm not sure what it is you're looking for, but I do know when it comes to teachers there are no guarantees, and some will be better than others. My kids have managed to do get through just fine without me worrying if every teacher was a good "match" for them (two in college now, one in HS.) I think you need to adjust your expectations, you have a LONG way to go.

If he likes it and seems to be doing well (I don't think fidgeting is an insurmountable issue, I am surprised in a Waldorf program they are in the same seats long enough to fidget) I don't see why you would change. Finland also doesn't teach reading until second grade or so and their educational system rates better than ours. He will learn to read when he is developmentally ready. My next door neighbors did Waldorf until their girls started high school and they were ahead of their classmates in most subjects.

It is not odd that the teacher follows them through the grades (although some programs only have the same teacher for 3-4 years). It is odd that they have a single teacher, not a pair. The kids and teachers moving on together has some real advantages. They already know each other. The teachers know each kid so much better. The teachers should know the parents so much better. Those 2-3 weeks they waste at the beginning of every school year trying to assess what each kid knows and where they are socially and academically - they don't have to do that.

Why did you pick a Waldorf school in the first place? The reading/story telling is pretty standard as is having the same teacher for years. I would 100% have sent my son to Waldorf if we had one a reasonable distance away. We did Montessori for preK and kindergarten and I found that a VERY rigid program (but my son LOVED it and we stuck with it because he seemed to be thriving).

Can't he just go to normal school instead of specialty schools? Elementary school is just...normal. Not working like the programs you're talking about.

I do have one question, he went to pre-k the 2 years of kindergarten? Did you red shirt him and start him in pre-K at 5? If he started pre-K at 4 then was 5 in his first year of kindergarten then 6 turning 7 in his 2nd year of kindergarten that makes him 7 turning 8 in first grade?

So he's either 7 or will be 8 before too long. He's definitely too old to be acting like this in class. It really sounds like he needs to go to regular school so he can learn to sit down and learn and do his work.

Sounds like he has way too much freedom and free time on his hands. I bet if you just put him in local elementary school he'd be doing much better.

if you're not planning to keep homeschooling, i wouldn't start. it takes a while to get into the flow of it, and just short-terming it will be shortchanging the experience all round.
if i hadn't homeschooled i'd have gone with a waldorf or montessori school. i find the educational philosophies very pleasing. i'm sorry you're not happy with it, especially since your son likes it.
if you're definitely going to switch, i'd send him where you plan to keep him right now. no point in half-methods.
ETA yeah, i'd not be pleased with a rigid philosophy, which sounds weirdly un-waldorf to me. i'm sorry this isn't a better fit for him! i'd still go ahead and switch him now if you plan to, rather than trying to homeschool briefly (really, this never seems to work out well) or keeping him there longer.
i pulled my younger out halfway through the 5th grade. my husband was concerned about that, and thought it would be better for him to 'finish out the year', but my rationale was 'why leave him longer in something that's not working?'
whatever you switch to will require some time to re-adjust. that's the reason short-term homeschooling rarely works. it takes a good long while to allow the bumps in the road and tweaking of methods and philosophies to find the flow. better to get on with it, and not feel anxious about pushing to make it 'work', KWIM?
khairete
S.

I would NEVER want my child to have had the same teacher year after year. Even if I LOVED the teacher.

It doesn't matter if your son gets upset when you mention changing schools. He is a young child and doesn't get a vote in what is best for his future. Please do some real research and find another place for him.

If it takes you the rest of the school year to find the right fit, fine. Continue to homeschool him, teaching him to read and write his letters. That way, he won't be so behind.

Make it fun at home, mom. Make it fun, like drawing letters in homemade whipped cream - that's fun. Look at websites to find some hints about it.

Good luck with this. I truly hope you find another place.

I think if you see that he is ready for more than they offer, then you need to choose a school program (be it homeschooling or the public school) that will meet his needs. Bored kids can be smart but fail. I would visit the options and see what the other schools offer and find out if he will be behind in any way since his current school doesn't offer things on the same track as many public schools (case in point, my kindergartener is reading) and if so, what can you do to catch him up? Then with that information, make a choice by the summer and work him toward that. If you are excited about a new school, he is likely to be excited, too. And keep in touch with friends if possible.

Bottom line, it will be easier to switch at a younger age than an older one, so if you feel that this is not a good fit, then look for a better one. You might also look at the class sizes in other schools to make sure you aren't moving Mr. Fidget from 22 in the room to 30. My DD has a team of 2 teachers with 15 students per room. But I've heard astronomical numbers from other areas of the country. One of the reasons I like DD's school is that she is in a dual language program, and I get the impression that your district is larger like ours.