Childrens is tender ... we don't want to do anything that might bruise their little egos ... or cause teecher any extra work!
Posted on 08/23/2016 3:43:43 AM PDT by Zakeet
Childrens is tender ... we don't want to do anything that might bruise their little egos ... or cause teecher any extra work!
As a former teacher still married to a teacher, I can tell you that this teacher is more right than wrong.
The school day is long enough. Kids shouldn’t have to bring it home with them. Plus, homework ruins the entire family’s evening, and in some cases, weekend. Do away with it.
Actually, the teacher’s plan makes a lot of sense.
The school system isn’t supposed to rule a family’s life. We HIRE them to teach our kids. NOT dictate like tyrants. No homework.
As a kid growing up in the 1960s and 1970s....I lived on a farm. From the moment that I got home....I had chores to do (at least three hours per day). The teachers knew most kids in the class were in that category and set aside 45 minutes in the day for “study”....where you basically did all your homework. I don’t see a big issue with this policy.
Quality time with family (which this teacher is advocating) teaches far more than grinding away at gobs of repetitive homework. Very good call, assuming the classroom time is well spent.
While one can’t really make a terribly intelligent comment about the wisdom of the policy without knowing what grade level is involved, the “read together” is a hint—I’d guess somewhere in the K-4 range.
And eating dinner together—i.e. have an intact family, and “play together”—i.e. interact beyond the level of electronics—is good advice as well. Being a good reader from an intact family may not be enough to get you into a Japanese high school, but it will put you on the path to be in the top quarter of U.S. high school graduates.
My response:
“Thank you for your decision which has become notable simply because it is sensible - something sorely lacking in public schools.
In light of your decision, I ask that you spend your classroom time doing things that are proven to correlate with functioning in the real world. These are, as always, reading, writing, and arithmetic. School is not an ideological day camp therefore you can leave out any ‘units’ on the joys of homosexuality, the dangers of climate change, and if my child so much as mentions white privilege one time you & I will be having a very early, unscheduled parent-teacher conference. Enjoy the school year.”
With both parents working in almost every family, there should be nothing that interferes with the little time they have together at home. Of course, that means limiting the distractions within the home, too, such as TV, video games, and social media. Phones should be turned off as the family eats dinner together. (No time to cook? Let everyone pitch in to make the meal.) Sending home two hours of homework after a full day for everyone is not good for anyone. Students will work harder to finish their work during class, knowing they will have to do homework otherwise.
I’d definitely disagree with you from grade 9 on, and at least argue about a few years before that, but those probably aren’t the years involved.
Unfortunately, “playing together” in 2016 most likely involves electronics, even outdoors. (Pokemon Go came to mind.)
BTW—google turns up the information that the class involved is second grade. Good for Mrs. Young.
In fact, forget about that too. Just skip the whole school thing altogether. That learning stuff is just so old fashioned and outdated now by the new age, feelgood, "everyone is a winner" stuff anyway.
Just give them all A's... No, better yet, give them all those little grad caps with the tassels and they'll feel really super about themselves.
Ya' know? We could sure save a lot of money instead of wasting it on teachers and classrooms that don't want to teach anything but dopey reading and counting numbers and all that.
They'll figure everything out on their own eventually anyway, right?
I think reading books - of the child’s own choosing - is a better way to spend school nights.
Clearly your opinion is the minority opinion. Even in the hallowed conservative halls of the Free Republic.
The Texas teacher probably would respond to your response with an email that includes this:
“I agree with much of what you wrote and hope you will make your wishes known to the School Administration and the District Board at their open meetings. Your input would be valued.”
Sorry, you and your school system are more wrong than right and have been for many decades. It’s time to turn back to something that works and actually educates kids.
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