«I know what a great job teachers do»
"Our daughter Malena was looking forward to school. She is a very lively child who has kept up well at kindergarten. We parents are excited to see how she will cope, as we have experienced very different careers with her brothers and unfortunately also tales of woe.
Joris, the eldest, is popular in the class, the teacher says he is a workhorse and co-operates well. He also does his homework without help. The younger brother is on the autism spectrum and has ADHD. Levin is a cheerful and sporty boy. Unfortunately, he has major problems at school and needs a lot of support. Nevertheless, he is well accepted by the class.
Working with the school is a challenge because we parents don't always know ourselves what support Levin needs. We endeavour to stay in close contact with the teachers and explain Levin's needs to them. Fortunately, his teachers are very open to suggestions and willing to try new approaches.
Levin has a weekly schedule and also needs pictures for his morning routine so that he can orientate himself.
Recently, for example, we realised that we have been working with pictures with Levin at home for a long time. He has a weekly plan and also needs pictures for his morning routine so that he can orientate himself. So it was actually clear that this could also help him at school. When we told the special needs teacher about this, she immediately made pictures for many individual activities in the school day and stuck a magnetic strip on Levin's desk. Every morning, the teacher responsible now attaches the entire routine to it for him. He can remove a picture for each completed task and store it in a box. This allows him to keep an overview. It gives him stability. It was a great sense of achievement for him and for us.
However, there were also situations at school that we parents did not agree with. We sought dialogue and explained our concerns. We were usually able to find a solution that worked for everyone.
Nevertheless, even the dedicated teachers report that they are unable to support Levin as much as he needs. As far as his intelligence is concerned, he should actually be able to cope with the primary school material, but he would need one-to-one support in certain situations in order to follow the material. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the resources for this.
The teachers really appreciate our good feedback, as they often only hear negative things from many parents.
As a primary school teacher myself, I naturally have certain ideas about what is possible. I know what a great job teachers do and that many things cannot be taken for granted. I am very grateful to my children's teachers for all the kind gestures, the friendly manner and the respect with which they treat our children. I make sure that I also give them feedback. The teachers really appreciate this good feedback, as they often only hear negative things from many parents."
