Nice people thread part 7 - a thread in its prime

LydiaJ

SingleSue wrote: »

It was a little eek at the beginning though when they found out he is atheist but they were assured from their meetings with him that he had come from a Christian background and had the same moral values and he promised he wouldn't push his belief system or ridicule a child's belief system because it didn't meet with his...oh and that he (at the time) was doing A level philosophy!

SingleSue wrote: »

Thanks Lydia, I am very proud of him too. Unfortunately, my sister believes he should not be a leader at Beavers because he is an atheist, she was quite forthright in her views yesterday which has left me quite upset, I thought she would be equally proud, not angry.

chewmylegoff wrote: »

Isn't beavers more about learning to tie knots and playing games than praying? I seem to remember having to say a silly oath to the queen and god at the start of each meeting but otherwise it was nothing to do with religion from what I can remember of it (which to be fair is almost nothing!). Can't see how it matters what his individual beliefs are really. It's not like he's going to start trying to convert them all is it?!

I'm with chewy on this one. It's not as if James is teaching a Sunday school class or something. Moral values and an understanding not to mess with kids' own belief systems would be quite enough to keep me happy as a Christian parent of a child attending any age group of scout/guide thing. It's never occurred to me to enquire as to the faith or otherwise of DD's Brownie leaders.

SingleSue wrote: »

Nope, no further forward with youngest and his provision. When I challenged the head teacher a week or so ago, he stated things were changing anyway so that there was less support in the classroom under new government instructions. If that is the case, I can see trouble ahead for lots of parents.....and teachers.

That makes no sense. If I understand correctly, his statement doesn't specify that he suffers from AB&C, but that he's entitled to XY&Z. So he should continue to get XY&Z. If they want to change the rules so that children with AB&C are only entitled to X but not Y&Z any more, then that would need a new assessment and a new statement.

But I'm no expert, having spent my career in the independent sector where things are different. What does the LEA say about it?

SingleSue wrote: »

However, his maths teacher HAS been more sensitive and is taking the time to make sure youngest is understanding what is going on and that he is ok but really, that is not fair on the other students in the class, he should not be having to take time out of teaching others to take on the role a teaching assistant should be doing if his statement was being met.

Good for the teacher. But I agree it's not fair.

SingleSue wrote: »

I've had a few problems with middle son as well this week. It seems the school is hell bent on upsetting all the students, especially those who have differing needs either by removing support or just by simply confusing the lives out of them. Middle son has been brought up to be helpful to others, the teachers know he is helpful and call on his help...and then he gets into trouble with other teachers for being helpful! Very very confusing for him and of course upsetting as he is only doing what he has been asked to and in his book, if a teacher asks you to do something, then you do it, promptly and without discussion.

Of course, this then makes him antsy, the teacher gets annoyed, I get a phone call and everyone gets just a little more stressed.

Poor middle son!

From the teachers' POV, inconsistencies like this are difficult to avoid - each teacher has so many students over the course of the week that they can't communicate with all the other teachers of all their students to make sure everything's consistent all the time. But NT kids usually cope with that. So the teachers really should be able to make the time to communicate about the few ASD kids that they teach. However, they won't realise that unless they have experience of ASDs or there's somebody making a point of telling them about it - a TA or senco or whatever.

If I was teaching either middle son or youngest, I would be horrified to read the kind of things you're posting, and upset that I hadn't been properly prepared and supported for teaching them. I would hope that the school would organise a couple of meetings - one for all the teachers of each boy - to discuss how the boys' needs could best be met, and if necessary how any decrease in TA provision could be managed, and generally to make sure that all the staff teaching each boy were on the same page.

GDB2222

GDB2222

GDB2222

Nobody would guess that a friend sent me an email simply full of these. I'll spare you the rest.

SingleSue

Thanks Lydia and Chewy

lostinrates

Lydia, I am sorry to read about the landmark.

Again, the suggestion that has helped dh more but I think you felt would not help the kids, was to celebrate birthdays, not anniversaries of demise. Not easy straight after, but if a switch can be made its a time to be positive and while it will always be bitter sweet, the sweet the happy and the positively funny is easier not on the anniversary of a passing.


Coincidentally and not knowing the date,yesterday I found myself wondering How your Dad is doing now.

Generali

lostinrates wrote: »

Again, the suggestion that has helped dh more but I know you felt would not help the kids, was to celebrate birthdays, not anniversaries of demise. Not easy straight after, but if a switch can be made its a time to be positive and while it will always be bitter sweet, the sweet the happy and the positively funny is easier not on the anniversary of a passing.

My Dad took almost 10 years to die from Alzheimer's which was bloody horrible. I celebrate his birthday each year but couldn't tell you the date that he died.

I don't want to celebrate his death. I buy a bottle of London beer (bitter) on his birthday and drink warm-ish it to remember him.

Wheezy_2

lostinrates wrote: »

Again, the suggestion that has helped dh more but I think you felt would not help the kids, was to celebrate birthdays, not anniversaries of demise.

Generali wrote: »

I celebrate his birthday each year but couldn't tell you the date that he died.

Same here. Dad died 3 years ago, late August, but couldn't tell you the exact date. On his birthday, the 12th of October however, I pull out an extra Jupiler for him

Don't know how it is in CoE, but don't you celebrate/remember the deceased on All Saints Day, 1 November?

lostinrates

I now think silver car is right. I don't like the green fabric, I like the idea of it doing what I wanted it too, and I don't. Think it will.

We have some other samples, but they are all quite dark and I don't want to pull the walls in from both sides. I did suggest that one I don't love but dh does might make a trim on a plain linen curtain, and I think that's what we will do if I cannot find what I really want, which I think might not exist.

But I do think we might go for one of the dark ones in the dark hall way. I think it's just going to be dark. In the summer I can take down whatever I hang in winter as a door curtain, and we will have to sort out the lighting big time to get some light in. I still like the idea of dark tree wall paper in the hall way, like a sort of narnia door where instead of walking into a house you walk into a dark and sparkly and slightly scary forest.

silvercar

But I do think we might go for one of the dark ones in the dark hall way. I think it's just going to be dark. In the summer I can take down whatever I hang in winter as a door curtain, and we will have to sort out the lighting big time to get some light in. I still like the idea of dark tree wall paper in the hall way, like a sort of narnia door where instead of walking into a house you walk into a dark and sparkly and slightly scary forest.

Great fun on halloween !

Our stairs do a half turn, at the turn there is a window that has a wrought iron curtain rail and loops either side. After 6 years it still has no curtains, drapes or anything else, because I can't think what would look right. The bare rail looks wrong but I haven't removed it because a bare window would also look wrong.