Our Positive Parenting blog was active last week with visitors responding to reports of a teacher who snapped at a four-year-old child because he was having problems with the numeral '2' and the letter 'S'. She told him, "...you must have cock eye." Here are some of the comments.

Unfortunate

This incident is very unfortunate, yet it happens in our school system on a daily basis. There are persons who are allowed to teach while studying for their teacher's certification, and others who are really not qualified to teach, hence the lack of knowledge and appropriate response. This child is not suffering from anything - his condition is normal.

My daughter was five years old when she was still writing things backward but with gentle coaxing and encouragement, together with writing assignments, she eventually wrote correctly. I did not seek any professional help, just encourage-ment, and it worked.

Our school system expects too much from these babes - at four years old they should not be given even pencils - just jumbo crayons to form letters and numerals. No wonder they are tired by the time they reach GSAT.

The matter should be reported to the principal. The teacher should be repri-manded by her superiors, with a view of her correcting her technique (if you can call it that). Firing him/her should be a last resort and only if he/she is not willing to change. Additionally, firing him/her is really not solving the problem but giving that teacher the opportunity to practise this behaviour at another school.

Also, mom and child - dare I say the entire class - should receive an apology from the teacher. This should not be seen as a sign of weakness but of regaining respect.

Juliet

julietcon@hotmail.com

Normal child

Before I join in diagnosing his condition to be that of dyslexia, let me provide a definition of that word. The World Federation of Neurology defined dyslexia as follows:

"Specific developmental dyslexia is a disorder manifested by difficulty learning to read despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and adequate socio-cultural opportunity. It is dependent upon fundamental cognitive disabilities that are frequently of constitutional origin."

May I ask then, does this child portray a difficulty in reading? Based on studies I have done, each child develops at varied levels. I would conclude that this mistake by this child is quite normal and one made by many children at this age. My niece is the same age of that child, and she exhibited similar difficulty in writing 'S' and '5', but with patience and encouragement, she does it so well now.

As a counsellor in training, I would recommend that:

the teacher be psychologically evaluated;

that teacher needs to be re-trained on the affective domain (feeling/ emotion). The problem is that these teacher are taught in the cognitive psycho-motor domain so all they are concerned with, is that the child is learning;

I would not be quick to terminate her job, because if, and when, she gets another job, she will take her unprofessional behaviour with her. That is why I recommend evaluation for her to see why she is behaving the way she does.

To the mother:

I would suggest that you pay closer attention to your son. You mentioned that he has difficulty with some letters, then the teacher is saying he writes everything backwards. As parents we should be attentive.

Nicky

kissynickey@hotmail.com

Talk to teacher

Talk to the teacher in a very professional manner. You might find out that she has problems of her own and could use some help, and you the parent might help her to realise that.

I agree with the comments that indicate this is normal behaviour at age four, and not a problem. I was the one teaching my children numbers and letters at age four. At school they were learning how to play with other children, how to share toys and books with other children, and how to colour, not even what the colours are. I am sure we all can read the following sentence and make sense of it: "fuor yaer odl is vrey yuong to be wrrorynig abuot nmubres and wrods"... It doesn't matter how he writes his '2' or 'S' or '3' he is fine. He will get it in time.

Marie

hortensebailey@rogers.com

Give him time

No teacher, especially an early-childhood teacher, should seek to demean a child in that manner. The child is only four years old; give him time to learn and develop. While I acknow-ledge that dealing with so many students on a daily basis, who cannot write or behave properly, can be stressful, I think the teacher should have been equipped with at least the basic training to handle such situations. Teachers must remember that all students do not learn at the same pace. Sometimes they just have to be patient and try different approaches for each child.

TraciaJ

face4db_tj@yahoo.com

Disgrace

Nothing is wrong with the child, he is going through a phase; no one was born with the ability to recognise letters or numbers. He is still going through emergent literacy. With the help of a good teacher, he will be able to write properly.

As for that teacher, I would not want her around my child as she is a disgrace to the teaching profession.

Hope

Racquel_Shaw@Rocketmail.com

It's a shame

Your child seems normal to me. The teacher is the one that needs help. I am sure that she knows nothing about child development. The child is only four and is going through stages and will successfully acquire [reading skills], depending on the positive feedback, and help the child gets. Some of these teachers, themselves, struggle through tertiary institutions and have no right to pass judgement. It is also a shame that most of the teachers who teach toddlers have no formal training. These children are in their formative years and need teachers who are trained.

Val

vlsmcintyre@yahoo.com

Be careful

Sometimes we are very protective over our children. What may look like abuse may not be that at all. Your best bet is to talk to the teacher and share your concerns. If it continues, then you may have a problem.

Another way is to observe your child. Does he seem upset? What is his body language?

The situation may be upsetting to you, but it may not be to your son.

We have to be very careful to not throw the baby out with the bath water. Or, in this case, the teacher.

Wendell Jordan

WendellJordan@gmail.com

Just a baby

It really pains me to hear stories like this one. A four-year-old is just a baby, and no teacher, or other person having to do with children, should be allowed to get away with speaking that way to an innocent child who, I'm guessing, was trying his best. Too many of this type of 'teacher' are in our schools wreaking havoc on our children's self-esteem. It has to stop! Were I this parent, I'd voice my strongest objection to that manner of speaking to my child with the 'teacher' in question. I would speak with the principal of the school as well, then I'd confirm the matter and our talks, in a letter to both the principal and the 'teacher', and copy the letter to the relevant Education Officer in the Ministry of Education.

NadineN

homeoffice2009@gmail.com