For teacher vents, LOL!
Ds (8th grade) broke his finger last week and is in a cast for four weeks. Needless to say, he cannot participate in PE. Mr. PE teacher, since ds cannot participate in the volleyball unit, assigned him a 1 1/2-page report on volleyball. To my dear son, who has learning disabilities and HATES writing, this seemed like a punishment! Oh, well, I understand that since he cannot get a participation grade, he needs some kind of grade, so assign a paper. Well, with a lot of help from me, we manage a report. He handed it in today, and the teacher hands it back; it is double spaced- it has to be 1 1/2 pages SINGLE spaced! Geesh. I emailed his special ed teacher to seek her opinion...I don't even know if she is aware of the assignment. I don't know this PE teacher, and I want to know how to handle it, because I probably shouldn't handle it the way I want to!! To be fair, I'm not sure he knows that ds in on an IEP that includes writing accomodations. To be honest, I hope she just talks to the PE teacher so I don't have to. It just doesn't seem fair that he be punished for breaking his finger! Okay, I feel better. Wow, venting really works...

By Colette on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 - 06:00 pm:

For crying out loud! You can tell that Mr. PE teacher is on a power trip. I hate when teachers do things like that.

By Bellajoe on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 - 06:53 pm:

OH For crying out loud! That's so stupid, i mean how much can one really say about volleyball anyway, learning disabilites or not!
That's unbelievable, he should have enough from your ds's paper to determine a grade.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 - 07:25 pm:

That's crazy! It's not a paper assigned for punishment, but just to get some volleyball knowledge since he can't actually play. Seems a bit extreme...I can understand your frustration! I'm sure the PE teacher has no clue about the IEP, which makes it worse.

By Andyjoy on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 - 07:40 pm:

That's stupid. It would make much more sense to have him do some sit-ups or a few laps--something physical that he can do even if it isn't volleyball. I don't think his education will be materially lacking if he doesn't complete the volleyball unit!

I don't have any learning disabilities but I would certainly consider it punishment if I had to write a report when what I really wanted was to be well and participating!

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 - 10:00 pm:

Well said Andyjoy!! Why couldn't he coach volleyball for a class? That also would show an understanding of the game.

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 - 10:19 pm:

Wow. Emily had to miss 2 weeks of every-other-day gym class, after she had her appendix out. She never even had to show him the note from the doctor! She just sat out and that was it. She was in 7th grade.

By Mrsheidi on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 - 11:28 pm:

Why can't he keep score or retreive balls? Heck, even help clean something??? I can't believe he returned the essay back to him...he must have deflated right there. Did the teacher say single spaced? ggrrrr...I'm so disappointed in teachers sometimes...

By Debbie on Wednesday, October 4, 2006 - 10:07 am:

Wow!! Unbelievable. My ds missed a few weeks of gym last year because of asthma. His PE teacher was wonderful. He just made him his helper. It made him feel so good, because he always felt left out when he couldn't participate. Gosh, for dks this age, gym is usually one of the highlights of the day. I think just not participating is punishment enough in their eyes.