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Pretty much. I went to private schools and we were taught spelling all the way through 8th grade. Spelling counted all through high school.
Well, really, the OP is complaining about spelling not being taught in first grade! We have no idea what the standards are for other grades at this school. My kids weren't taught spelling in first either, but they were in grades 2-8 in a public school system.
Well, really, the OP is complaining about spelling not being taught in first grade! We have no idea what the standards are for other grades at this school. My kids weren't taught spelling in first either, but they were in grades 2-8 in a public school system.
The school district claims they are teaching spelling in the lower grades using the word wall method, a method that is not shown by independent research to be effective. The school district claims they are not teaching spelling at all in the upper grades. The reason given for this is that spelling is not important enough to be on the standardized tests and has been taken off the report cards in the upper grades.
It is a state standard that irregular spelling of conventional words is to be taught in first grade. The school is responsible for teaching to the state standards.
Spelling was the tip of the iceberg. It was the canary in the coalmine. When I questioned spelling, I discovered the very low performance standards that the children were being held to, the defense of those low standards, the fact that I as a parent could not be allowed to know what my child was learning in school each week, that our district is using "Everyday Mathematics" (which is one of the worst possible choices for prepping students for higher math - but some say it's great for the new standardized test prep, which is why it was chosen), and one of the worst first grade language arts books that I have ever seen........these choices reflect a willingness to adopt curricula that are unsupported by independent research, and because they insisted that "studies show" that they are effective (but could not name one study, or name one method within "word wall time" that they personally thought would effectively teach spelling of irregular words), this also reflects their inability to critically evaluate evidence. The defense of low standards indicates many things, none of which are positive. The secrecy over what is being taught in the classroom is unacceptable.
Not all of the teachers are going along with this whole thing, but unfortunately this year we got one who is.
Spelling was the tip of the iceberg. It was the canary in the coalmine. When I questioned spelling, I discovered the very low performance standards that the children were being held to, the defense of those low standards, the fact that I as a parent could not be allowed to know what my child was learning in school each week, that our district is using "Everyday Mathematics" (which is one of the worst possible choices for prepping students for higher math - but some say it's great for the new standardized test prep, which is why it was chosen), and one of the worst first grade language arts books that I have ever seen........these choices reflect a willingness to adopt curricula that are unsupported by independent research, and because they insisted that "studies show" that they are effective (but could not name one study, or name one method within "word wall time" that they personally thought would effectively teach spelling of irregular words), this also reflects their inability to critically evaluate evidence. The defense of low standards indicates many things, none of which are positive. The secrecy over what is being taught in the classroom is unacceptable.
Studies of the effectiveness of Everyday Mathematics actually abound despite the naysayers
Everyday Mathematics was the focus of a five-year longitudinal study of the curriculum
designed and conducted by researchers at Northwestern University.
This longitudinal study used a variety of instruments and observational methods. Items on written tests
were drawn from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), from international studies of mathematics achievement, and from the research literature; some items were also specially designed for the longitudinal study. Student and teacher interviews, classroom observations, written tests and surveys, and collected artifacts were used in the longitudinal study.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 09-12-2013 at 09:35 AM..
Reason: shortened quote SNIPPETS please!
I would say that Everyday Math is probably the polar opposite of direct instruction and the largest educational study ever done--a huge multi-million dollar study done by the US govt--showed that direct instruction blew the rest of the curricula out of the water. Link: Direct Instruction: The Most Successful Teaching Model
Quote:
Project Follow Through:
The Biggest Educational Study Ever
One large study that parents really should know about is Project Follow Through, completed in the 1970s. This was the largest educational study ever done, costing over $600 million, and covering 79,000 children in 180 communities. This project examined a variety of programs and educational philosophies to learn how to improve education of disadvantaged children in grades K-3. (It was launched in response to the observation that Head Start children were losing the advantages from Head Start by third grade.) Desired positive outcomes included basic skills, cognitive skills ("higher order thinking") and affective gains (self-esteem). Multiple programs were implemented over a 5-year period and the results were analyzed by the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and Abt Associates (Cambridge, MA). The various programs studied could be grouped into the three classes described above (Basic Skills, Cognitive-Conceptual, Affective-Cognitive).
And states got punished if these kids didn't pass. The Fed threatened to hold back money if the kids didn't pass. So the bar got lowered so that "No Child is Left Behind".
The quality of public education has been declining for years, long before NCLB was in place. Many, many factors have contributed to this (which is probably not a topic for this thread).
Well, really, the OP is complaining about spelling not being taught in first grade! We have no idea what the standards are for other grades at this school. My kids weren't taught spelling in first either, but they were in grades 2-8 in a public school system.
We were taught spelling in first grade. We focused on it more intensely in 4th grade through 6th grade, but it was always in the curriculum.
The school district claims they are teaching spelling in the lower grades using the word wall method, a method that is not shown by independent research to be effective. The school district claims they are not teaching spelling at all in the upper grades. The reason given for this is that spelling is not important enough to be on the standardized tests and has been taken off the report cards in the upper grades.
It is a state standard that irregular spelling of conventional words is to be taught in first grade. The school is responsible for teaching to the state standards.
Spelling was the tip of the iceberg. It was the canary in the coalmine. When I questioned spelling, I discovered the very low performance standards that the children were being held to, the defense of those low standards, the fact that I as a parent could not be allowed to know what my child was learning in school each week, that our district is using "Everyday Mathematics" (which is one of the worst possible choices for prepping students for higher math - but some say it's great for the new standardized test prep, which is why it was chosen), and one of the worst first grade language arts books that I have ever seen........these choices reflect a willingness to adopt curricula that are unsupported by independent research, and because they insisted that "studies show" that they are effective (but could not name one study, or name one method within "word wall time" that they personally thought would effectively teach spelling of irregular words), this also reflects their inability to critically evaluate evidence. The defense of low standards indicates many things, none of which are positive. The secrecy over what is being taught in the classroom is unacceptable.
Not all of the teachers are going along with this whole thing, but unfortunately this year we got one who is.
I am very confused. While all math builds on itself, 1st grade math is not exactly "prep" for high school math. I have never heard of specific language arts books for 1st grade either. I think you're getting way ahead of yourself.
I am very confused. While all math builds on itself, 1st grade math is not exactly "prep" for high school math. I have never heard of specific language arts books for 1st grade either. I think you're getting way ahead of yourself.
First grade math is prep for high math in the sense that you can't really learn 2nd grade math if you don't master 1st grade math, you can't learn 3rd grade math if you haven't mastered 2nd grade math, you can't learn 4th grade math.... You get the picture. Once a kid gets behind in math it is a real struggle to catch them up. What ends up happening is that they just keep getting further and further behind. At some point, they just start getting handed calculators, then it's all over and they can't make change for you at McDonald's if it isn't showing on the cash register.
I have seen a couple of 1st grade language arts books, but usually they are workbooks or worksheets.
First grade math is prep for high math in the sense that you can't really learn 2nd grade math if you don't master 1st grade math, you can't learn 3rd grade math if you haven't mastered 2nd grade math, you can't learn 4th grade math.... You get the picture. Once a kid gets behind in math it is a real struggle to catch them up. What ends up happening is that they just keep getting further and further behind. At some point, they just start getting handed calculators, then it's all over and they can't make change for you at McDonald's if it isn't showing on the cash register.
I have seen a couple of 1st grade language arts books, but usually they are workbooks or worksheets.
Well, that is what I meant about all math builds upon itself. I think the OP is a little too concerned about high school at this point in her child's education.
As I am much older than many of the posters here, I've seen people unable to make change without calculators, too, and I've been given the wrong change before. At least with a calculator, if you put the right info in, you'll get the right answer.
I had a calculator in first grade and I am capable of making change and I'm even part of the stupid generation from public schools. We used calculators to check our work. Seemed reasonable but what do I know.
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