No More Mama Einstein!

Every once in a while, you just have to make a nuisance of yourself.

I have now been working with Baby Einstein (aka Charlie) for two weeks from algebra books borrowed from the library. It crossed my feeble mind that perhaps I should try to get a copy of the algebra textbook they use at school so I know I'm covering the same stuff they do and in the same order. So in addition to the e-mail notes I have been sending his math teacher every couple of days to keep him informed of what Charlie has learned, I also sent him a note asking for the textbook and teacher's guide, explaining that I needed them to be sure I taught him the entire semester's worth of algebra so that he would be able to start the next level in the fall.

All this time, he's been passing my notes on to the vice-principal. Apparently my request for the textbook was the last straw, since I had clearly articulated in that note what our goal was at this point. Today I get a note from him stating that the VP had figured out a way to get Charlie into a pre-algebra class. He starts tomorrow. Furthermore, his current math teacher will continue to work with him after school periodically to ensure that he doesn't miss any of the mathematical principles he would be getting from the general math class.

Squeaky wheel? I think maybe it bothered them that he was in essence being home-schooled by an unskilled teacher who admitted to them that she hated math. Successfully. After all, if he's doing this well under MY tutelage, how well could he do under theirs? They're the experts, after all, in both algebra and sign!

I have (gratefully) agreed to return the library's algebra books and cease and desist from teaching him at home so that he paces with the class.

I seem to have won this one without resorting to whining, begging, or complaining loudly (which does no good at a deaf school, anyway). All I had to do was spend a couple of weeks proving to them what he was capable of. They can't stand the thought of a child not performing to his potential, especially once he's demonstrated the ability. I like this school's flexibility and willingness to work with the kids individually where necessary. They've done this concerning his English lessons, too, because in that area he is naturally behind his peers and they're doing a lot of extra work with him to try to get him up to grade level by the time he finishes high school. (He will have a 5-year high school program.) But they're not going to let that hold him back in other areas, and now they're starting to get a taste of what I've known all along--he has the potential for brilliance if given the chance.

Now go get 'em, Charlie!

Yes, the picture really is Pauline Koch, Einstein's mother. I don't see much resemblance, except that we both had really bright kids.