Posted on 09/03/2006 10:52:22 AM PDT by roostercogburn
The New First Grade: Too Much Too Soon? Kids as young as 6 are tested, and tested again, to ensure they're making sufficient progress. Then there's homework, more workbooks and tutoring.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Life is learning.
School has become too much reading/writing/math. We just switched my twin girls out of the public school, and put them into a private school.
One of my daughters is gifted, and she was bored to tears. My other daughter has brain damage, and even though the school worked on reading a lot, she still is not where she could be.
In the private school, they have reading/writing/math/history/science/bible every day. Twice a week, they have PE and music. Once a week, they have art and Spanish.
In addition, my daughter with brain damage is pulled from reading to go to a multi-sensory reading program with two other kids.
Both girls so far love the new school. My gifted daughter just loves the variety. I'll have to wait until the end of the year to see how the reading program is helping my daughter, but I'm sure it will.
I don't know why the public schools are not focusing on history and science, especially in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. My son is in middle school in a public school, and he is still only getting 1/2 year of science. In 8th grade, he will finally get a whole year of science.
Why should 6, 7, and 8 year olds go to school for 6 or 7 hours a day, and then come home to spend and hour or two on homework? We have an obesity problem in this country, and one reason is because kids are not outside playing around. Kids need to go outside and play more. It helps the brain and their bodies develop.
I can remember their dad, coming out of my son's room, saying he could not do 1st grade math. <> was not taught when we were in school.
I am one of those complaining about too much homework!!!
I have been an active parent in my kids school. My daughter with brain damage is extremely tired after school, and she needs time to decompress.
My gifted daughter has been bored to tears in school, and hated doing homework. She'd rather be on the computer doing research or reading an above grade level book.
Last year, my third graders had more homework than my middle school son. He could handle more homework, but they were exhausted.
I didn't until college, and I have a degree in Computer Science.
I can't imagine having only 1/2 year of science. We have a state test at grade 5. (I personally think too much emphasis is placed on the test - when it should be on teaching - but this does force some teachers to actually do the job they are hired to do.)
In high school, they are going to 4 years of required math, science, and social studies.
You learn by doing. Homework should ALWAYS be required.
And advanced genetics. Just like RAH said they should.
I grew up in Texas, and still have lots of friends in Texas. I think the schools are much better there. I wish I could get my husband to move there.
As it is, we have put my daughters in private, and my goal is to put my son in a private high school.
I have a degree in engineering from Texas A&M, so you know I value both math and science. All of my kids are extremely talented in those areas as well. Even my daughter with brain damage is in the high 90th percentiles on math.
If nothing else, homework teaches children discipline. And for that alone all grades should always have homework.
I started as a programmer 30 years ago and today am a consulting manager responsible for global ERP implementations. I took exactly one computer course in college, and I already had a part time job as a programmer by then.
You have to be selective in which schools are good. I have always preferred the smaller districts - not the urban ones.
College Station had some good public schools. That is about as big as I want to get.
(I worked on my PhD at A&M - beautiful campus, great town!)
I didn't even have homework in high school.
Guess that is why I only hit 1400 on the old SAT...
But I was still able to make it thru my advanced physics & calculus, and CLEP out of 46 credits.
Homework in elementary school is silly. My daughter has it - we have fights every night trying to get her to do it.
And why? By the finish of the third grade, she tested in reading at 12+. She'll do just fine without needing to write sentences with her spelling words.
By that time in life, I qualified in Latin and Greek, but calculus remains a mystery.
No, I am thinking of nearly 40 years ago. My one computer class had NO computers. One night we went to a bank in Amarillo to see one.
I used to think this way too. Especially since my oldest read at 4. But different children learn at different levels. My daughter had such a hard time and only started to really read this year at 8 years. I was ready to get her tested for dyslexia. Don't know why, but she started reading well all at once. A few months later and she now reads better than he older brother at her age.
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