Posted on 09/12/2013 7:48:58 PM PDT by Olog-hai
I've come to the opinion that formal schooling does more harm, than good, to young children. The damage attentuates as the child gets older.
Of all schooling methods, Montessori is the best, since it nurtures each child's God-given talents, rather than forcing children to fit into a prescribed mold.
Speaking of Maria Montessori in 1970, on the occasion of the centenary of her birth, [Pope Paul VI] remarked that the secret of her success, in a certain sense the very origin of her scientific merits, should be sought in her soul or in that spiritual sensitivity and feminine outlook which enabled her to make the "vital discovery" of the child and led her to conceive of an original form of education on this basis (cf. Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, VIII [1970], 88).--Pope John Paul II
“Of all schooling methods, Montessori is the best, since it nurtures each child’s God-given talents, rather than forcing children to fit into a prescribed mold.”
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Thank you for pointing out what I failed to mention.
A man after my own heart.
People think that schools are failing. They're not. The fact that people who went to school, willingly send their children to school, is all the proof you need.
Now I spelled it right, it is how Kansans say it.
As in, you Barley have to go back before the Progressive Era 100 Years ago to find the Roots of things Like Kindergarten, a Bismarkrian Prussian Idea, to get kids in a State Run School earlier, because 7 Years Old is late to be getting them, and Most of the time you rarely went past 8th Grade, so that is only what 8 Years compared to 15 Now?
Look up the KulturKampf or John Dewey in this Country. The Man who Formed The Public Education in the US was a Troskyite!
I was fortunate enough to attend private schools through most of my primary education. I, and the vast majority of classmates I went to school with all the way through high school started in Grade 1. Nothing before that.
We all, to a person, were at a college level before exiting high school. The biggest jerks among us who could not care less about school were still literate and could read Shakespear in front of a class. They still, with help, made it through algebra II and somehow passed chemistry and biology.
As I understand it, that would have made our D students better than 90% of the public school crowd.
You don’t need to start kids before age 6. You NEED to keep them DISCIPLINED in class. No talking. No screwing around. Otherwise you REMOVE them from the class. Which my teachers did, regularly. It is amazing what kind of peer pressure will bring troublesome students back to an orderly learning environment when all their peers somehow manage it and look at them disapprovingly when they get far enough out of line to get sent to the office.
What happened to what used to pass for civilization in the western world?
You don’t need 14+ years to teach what we call a high school education. For what the public schools are currently teaching? Seven would be more than enough. And leave the kids more working years to do something useful for society.
My son started Kindergarten this fall, and he has homework??? Wtf? I’m not too happy about that.
I'm for closing down Pre-K and Kindergarten. If parents want daycare/kindergarten it should be at a private pay service in the private sector. School years should start Tuesday after Labor Day and end by June 1st. Let a child start at six or seven years old which ever the parents decide is best. First through third grade should be no more than six hour school days. Focus on the basics early on. Fourth through eighth grade should be seven hour school days. By fourth grade all kids should be able when being called upon to give any multiplication table up through 12 X 12 by memory.
High school should have distinctive splits for the college bound kids and Voc/Tech courses. Stop the insanity and waste of taxpayer's money in trying to make all kids college entry qualified. By the eleventh grade the Voc/Tech student's courses should be all Voc/Tech. Seniors need to be in apprenticeship programs. My senior year I was working a 40 hour week during school hours in my chosen field.
One last thing. Put Physical Education back in schools. Have recess for grade school kids and P.E. at least three times a week for the rest up till their senior year. I'm not saying drill the kids but let them get some exercise even if it's playing Dodge Ball.
That sentence makes absolutely no sense.
I never knew the Catholic church had state run schools, I must have missed something along the way during my 12 years attending them.
Look up the KulturKampf or John Dewey in this Country. The Man who Formed The Public Education in the US was a Troskyite!
You might wish to look up a few things because there has been a public eduction system in this country that long pre-dates the birth of any of those men.
Totally agree.
It is what happens when you FReep from a Phone.
You might wish to look up a few things because there has been a public eduction system in this country that long pre-dates the birth of any of those men.
Yes, But Dewey made it into what it is today. Sort of how The Progressives in the 1910's Didn't invent the Income Tax, but they made it into what it is today.
This meant my first daughter was ready for school at an early 5, but 5.
My second daughter wasn't ready until six.
But I've known good parents that started kids at 4 or 5 that just weren't ready. They were physically small, immature for their age, and dominated by older, bigger kids. It created shyness and an environment where real learning just wasn't possible for that child at that age. This followed them into the higher grades, and even if they reached the maturity level of their peers, they needed to catch up academically or stay behind and become uneducated Obama voters.
Every kid is different, but I really think to many parents push to start early because they think starting early will actually help the child to "catch up" if they see a delay in, say, speech. Others just want a babysitter. Neither is a good reason to start early. For instance, our youngest did have a speech delay and learning disability that we needed to address before she started school so that she could get the most out of it once she did start.
Which brings us to preschool. My first daughter begged, even at age 3, to go to a local private preschool. It was only 3 hours a day ages 3 and 4. Parental participation was encouraged and kept it affordable to all. Daughter loved it. Kids weren't graded but had fun and learned because letters, numbers, shapes, were introduced through play, outdoor science activities, etc They got dirty!
Younger daughter would have got nothing out of this preschool and it may even have set her back. She needed more of my one on one time and other ways of learning that can't happen in a classroom of 15-20 kids when you're 4 years old. That's one main reason I'm against universal, public preschool. Extremely impressionable 3 and 4 year olds should not be in the public school system, and most are not ready. When I graduated HS, the Valedictorian and Salutatorian were 15 months apart in age, but they were exactly where they needed to be. The parent of one of the top two in the class knew his son needed more time to mature in order to start school. It didn't mean the student wasn't smart or couldn't learn outside of school. To many parents also think starting earlier = smarter. Not true.
[the whole point of the education is to produce barley functioning students so they are more easily swayed to a certain point of view.]
There is certainly a grain of truth in what you say.
Barred bare barley barely begins before breakfast.
amber waves of truth grain
There’s a HUGE difference between a boy of four and a girl of six. My little girl is eleven months older than her brother and it might as well be three years in emotional intelligence. I feel bad for the four year old boys in her kindergarten class now. It’s not fair to them to be compared to her. She’s probably not smarter (lol, of course she is:) but it will look that way to the teachers comparing them.
I don’t believe that public education is a good idea at all. Therefore, I think that if kids are sent into institutional settings, the later the better.
We didn’t even have kindergarten when I went to school. My mom owned a small women’s clothing store and I went to work with her every day. Learned to count to 10 by the time I was three as I had to count and stack 10 wire hangers in a pile. I could read all the brand labels by the age of five and learned my colors by sorting garments in piles. Then at night while she was cooking dinner my dad drilled me in spelling and multiplication tables or I helped my mom in the kitchen and assembled ingredients which is a great way for kids to learn fractions. Seems like I have always known that one-sixth of a pie was 16.7%. On weekends we sat down with the crossword puzzle from the newspaper and worked it together.
It doesn’t have anything to do with whether mother’s work or not - it has to do with parents caring about their children, carving out time with them and turning everyday tasks into part of the learning process.
Kids also need time to play, dream and pretend. I don’t remember the last time I saw boys playing Kick the Can, build a road in the dirt for their trucks or little girls having a tea party or playing with a doll house. Parents rush out to buy the latest and greatest video or other game. Just sad.
And the winner is:!!!!!
[Barred bare barley barely begins before breakfast.]
Keep it up. I look forward to your posts and of course the erudite humorous wisdom.
Thanks. I’ll try hard to keep being me.
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