NONE of our kids have mastered phonics. Some do not know even the basic letter sounds. Many do not know the sounds for common phonic combinations such as “ing”, “str”, “th” etc. There parents can not help them with this because Spanish is far more straight forward in its spelling an pronunciation that Spanish. If the Anglo kids in the county are learning phonics it because their parents are knowingly or unknowingly teaching phonics in the home, or paying for expensive tutoring.
Arithmetic is a DISGRACE! None of the kids know their math facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. None know any algorithm for addition and subtraction. None are able to carry the value of 10 from the ten's column to the one’s column.
A few weeks ago, I tutored a twelve year old with her fraction homework. She had been assigned about 40 problems of adding and subtraction mixed fractions.
**She did not know what the numerator and denominator represented.
** She added and subtracted with her fingers.
** To multiply and divide she drew little dots on the page to group.
** She did not know any algorithm for either multiplication or division.
** She did not know any of the addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division math facts.
In other words, her so-called “professional” teacher sent her home with homework that was IMPOSSIBLE for her to do. This is EDUCATIONAL MALPRACTICE AND CHILD ABUSE! It is no different than taking a beginner skier to the top of the mountain and pushing them off a double black diamond trail!
Why would a “professional” teacher mistreat a child in this way????
The tension on the faces of these children is plain to see. Every day is a day of failure in school. Every evening is a exercise in frustration. And...They get pressure from their parents who wrongly believe that American schools use similar methods that they ( the parents) enjoyed in their Third World primitive ( but effective) schools! The parents are utterly befuddled that their children are doing so poorly.
I am CONVINCED that the government schools in my county are nothing but education abuse factories. If any Anglo child is learning it is because his parents are AFTERSCHOOLING!!! Any learning a child picks up it entirely due to his parents efforts in teaching the basics and his own hard work IN THE HOME!!!
In the past, when a child who did not speak English entered school, he repeated the year. This gave the child a chance to learn English and then the following year he was able to proceed and move forward again with his education. Now, those who can not speak English are put in the grade that corresponds to their age. This **guarantees** that the child will NOT be able to keep up with the class, and it is very likely that he will NEVER catch up! Is this dumb or what?
Finally...This girl that I tutored was given 40 problems as homework. That would have been my homeschooling children's assignment for the ENTIRE DAY! Essentially what our schooled children are doing is going to school all day, and then being asked to do HOMESCHOOLING again in the evening! If a child has to do as much homework as my homeschoolers did all day, then what point is there in sending a kid to school???
( not proof read)
“Finally...This girl that I tutored was given 40 problems as homework. That would have been my homeschooling children’s assignment for the ENTIRE DAY! Essentially what our schooled children are doing is going to school all day, and then being asked to do HOMESCHOOLING again in the evening! If a child has to do as much homework as my homeschoolers did all day, then what point is there in sending a kid to school???”
Yup. The teachers keep the fun stuff for themselves and send long division home for the parents to teach.
Perhaps those 40 problems were supposed to be easy? If it was all arithmetic perhaps it was just for developing speed? If the child is comfortable with it would not take that long.
I think language is a major problem but also culture, you do not see Asian kids having same problems that kids from South/Central America do, why I have no idea to be honest, but it does seems to be the case.
We found that our sons were learning absolutely nothing in math and English class. So I began showing them how simple math really is. Our kids' school told us it wasn't fair for us to teach our kids after school. The other kids didn't have that advantage.
That was before we homeschooled.