rilly wanna smack some parents

[wordinista]

Dude.  There is no excuse.  No. Excuse.  For a 10 year old child being completely unable to read.  I'm talking "has a hard time identifying which sounds go with which letters" unable-to-read.

And you know what?  It wouldn't be so bad if the kid actually cared and actually wanted to work, but oh my sweet monkey jebus, getting this kid to do work is like pulling teeth.  From a rock.

Actual dialogue from work tonight:

Me:  "So here we've got the letter combination 'sm.'"
Kid:  "Yeah."
Me:  "Can you tell me any words that begin with 'sm'?"
Kid:  *long, long pause, during which time he looks all around the class, then periodically back to me to see if I'm still paying attention; I AM*  ...I dunno.  Whatever.
Me:  *counts to ten, stays positive*  What do you do when someone takes a picture of you?
Kid:  Oh.  Uh.  Smile.

NO JOKE.  This went on for the first whole hour of the session.  Mind you, I'm meant to be dividing my time up equally among 3 kids.  This one was SUCH a time-sucker.  I'd ask him to do something while I worked with the other kids, and when I got back to him, he'd done nothing.  And when I say, "do something" it's like, "Please write down three words that begin with the letters 'st.'"

Me:  "...You haven't done any of your work yet?"
Kid:  "Yeah, I don't know how to do it."
Me:  ".............."

DUDE.  KILL ME NOW.

Comments

[inusdemoness.livejournal.com]

That's beyond sad! I mean we're talking bordering on pathetically ridiculous. Have you spoken to the parents?

[moonphased.livejournal.com]

I almost said the same, but with a kid that old, how much do you want to bet the parents don't care? Or even if they do, they have the, "It's not OUR job to motivate the kid, that's why he's in school and it's all YOUR job" attitude.

I feel really bad for the kid, except... y'know... I don't.

I can imagine how frustrating that is, though. -_- It really is pretty sad.

[w0rdinista.livejournal.com]

Oh, I totally don't feel bad for the kid. He's got a major 'tude, which kind of eradicates any feelings of sympathy I might have. There are kids in there who are struggling and who want to do better, and who care about their work. This kid seriously does not care. Maybe that'll change -- I've heard about miraculous turn-arounds before. If I'm lucky I'll get to witness one firsthand.

[w0rdinista.livejournal.com]

No -- that's not "my" job, per se. The Education Director and Center Director are kept apprised of the student's progress (or any problems), and THEY meet with the parents.

I'm kind of glad of this, because I would be too tempted to say something irreparably bitchy.

[inusdemoness.livejournal.com]

Well I guess it is a good thing because it would be my suggestion to say something bitchy.