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Ok, I truly thought we could toss the crayons, etc, when the kids reached high school, guess not.
My DS is in 10th grade. Today, in his English class, the in-class assignment was to----draw a picture of a setting from the book they were reading---to be completed at home. Parents were sent emails to review their kid's work
Look, at first I thought this was some mistake. In 10th grade English, students don't draw pictures. Apparently it was correct! When do we knock off this crap and get down to business? My ds couldn't even write what I'm writing now, thanks to the marvelous school system we bought into. Guess teacher sent it home for me to pretty up---like I did when the kids were in 2nd, 3rd grade. I can just see some students right now laboring over their picture with crayons, glue sticks, markers, yadda, yadda, with mama assisting. Look, I've had enough of this crap!
First, it was just assigned today----of that I confirmed, I called the teacher! Second, they never listed art supplies on the supply list for English, so, my ds, like everyone else in the class, just had pencils to draw with. So, take what you get, don't send it home for ME to pretty up. Oh, and third, we don't have artsy fartsy stuff at home, I tossed that crap when we moved 3 years ago and the kids were entering HS, so I figured that was history.
I know, many teachers will get on here and jump my case, we "learn by doing" etc, etc....what are we trying to learn? To draw pictures, or to write intelligently? At this rate, we're going back to the cave man who drew pictures on the walls to communicate
That's education!
Oh, BTW, I have 2 bachelor's and a Master's, I've taken advanced level literature classes in English, Spanish, and French, and never once was I assigned to draw a picture
Go to dollar tree and buy some colored pencils for $1- problem solved.
maybe they are trying another route of reading comprehension? Did you ask the teacher why?
We homeschool so i cant say for public education but if i thought my child needed better understanding of a book they were reading, id ask them to create some sort of project to show they understood it instead of just writing a book report.
Go to dollar tree and buy some colored pencils for $1- problem solved.
maybe they are trying another route of reading comprehension? Did you ask the teacher why?
We homeschool so i cant say for public education but if i thought my child needed better understanding of a book they were reading, id ask them to create some sort of project to show they understood it instead of just writing a book report.
How old are your kids? I really think we should get past the crayon stage in 10th grade! They can show "understanding" of what they read by writing an intelligent report, like they might be asked to do in a professional job. My DH is an IT manager, and he writes reports all the time for meetings, status updates, etc. I could just see him sending everyone a poorly drawn picture of the current status of his department!
I can understand why we hire "foreigners". They learn English, we play with it
How old are your kids? I really think we should get past the crayon stage in 10th grade! They can show "understanding" of what they read by writing an intelligent report, like they might be asked to do in a professional job. My DH is an IT manager, and he writes reports all the time for meetings, status updates, etc. I could just see him sending everyone a poorly drawn picture of the current status of his department!
I can understand why we hire "foreigners". They learn English, we play with it
Again did you ask the teacher why? Surely they have a syllabus and a lesson plan outlining the lesson.
The purpose of an assignment like this is so the teacher can hang the drawings on the walls around the classroom and prove that he/she is using differentiated instruction methods. My daughter would spend hours on these projects while my son would draw a stick figure. I doubt that his assignments ever got hung on the wall.
I find it interesting that teachers will give an assignment to draw a picture but never give a reading assignment for homework. OTOH, it is impossible to give an assignment from their textbook when there is only one copy per seat in the classroom, which means students can't take the books home. I guess this is why they assign drawing pictures instead.
Again did you ask the teacher why? Surely they have a syllabus and a lesson plan outlining the lesson.
Nope, no such thing. I have everything the teacher sent home. My ds doesn't even know what a syllabus is. I'm afraid that's an archaic term from earlier times. Perhaps she has a lesson plan, but we aren't privy to it.
Again, I would like to see some actual writing done in English classes, as opposed to fiddle faddle. What's wrong with writing as a form of communication? Sadly, it is a dying art. Nowadays, we text, using abbreviations. No one knows how to write a complete sentence, let alone a cohesive paragraph. Many don't even know WTH a paragraph is! I remember diagraming sentences in 8th grade. Now that's learning by doing. Knowing how the parts of a sentence work and fit together helped me tremendously in learning foreign languages who's syntax is different. But now, we just use translation software---which doesn't translate beyond a basic level. We will soon revert to a "Tower of Babel" drawing pictures. Those who can't draw can grunt
At least let kids know what's expected for supplies. Don't just throw out one day, ok, everybody, lets all draw a picture, when all they have are pencils. Oh, you can take it home and finish it---yeah, right!
The purpose of an assignment like this is so the teacher can hang the drawings on the walls around the classroom and prove that he/she is using differentiated instruction methods. My daughter would spend hours on these projects while my son would draw a stick figure. I doubt that his assignments ever got hung on the wall.
I find it interesting that teachers will give an assignment to draw a picture but never give a reading assignment for homework. OTOH, it is impossible to give an assignment from their textbook when there is only one copy per seat in the classroom, which means students can't take the books home. I guess this is why they assign drawing pictures instead.
Again, please remember, this is HIGH SCHOOL. 10TH GRADE, with students 16, 17 years old!
Yep, I understand, this for stuff teachers can hang on the wall! My dd did a very nice project in 5th grade, to this day its in the display case off the main hallway of the ELEMENTARY school. Her name isn't on it, its just there, gathering dust. I doubt we will ever get it back, its too nice
Nope, no such thing. I have everything the teacher sent home. My ds doesn't even know what a syllabus is. I'm afraid that's an archaic term from earlier times. Perhaps she has a lesson plan, but we aren't privy to it.
Again, I would like to see some actual writing done in English classes, as opposed to fiddle faddle. What's wrong with writing as a form of communication? Sadly, it is a dying art. Nowadays, we text, using abbreviations. No one knows how to write a complete sentence, let alone a cohesive paragraph. Many don't even know WTH a paragraph is! I remember diagraming sentences in 8th grade. Now that's learning by doing. Knowing how the parts of a sentence work and fit together helped me tremendously in learning foreign languages who's syntax is different. But now, we just use translation software---which doesn't translate beyond a basic level. We will soon revert to a "Tower of Babel" drawing pictures. Those who can't draw can grunt
At least let kids know what's expected for supplies. Don't just throw out one day, ok, everybody, lets all draw a picture, when all they have are pencils. Oh, you can take it home and finish it---yeah, right!
I dont really know what to say then. Are you on PTO? Can you see if they can help you better understand or can you call the principal and have a meeting?
Nope, no such thing. I have everything the teacher sent home. My ds doesn't even know what a syllabus is. I'm afraid that's an archaic term from earlier times. Perhaps she has a lesson plan, but we aren't privy to it.
Again, I would like to see some actual writing done in English classes, as opposed to fiddle faddle. What's wrong with writing as a form of communication? Sadly, it is a dying art. Nowadays, we text, using abbreviations. No one knows how to write a complete sentence, let alone a cohesive paragraph. Many don't even know WTH a paragraph is! I remember diagraming sentences in 8th grade. Now that's learning by doing. Knowing how the parts of a sentence work and fit together helped me tremendously in learning foreign languages who's syntax is different. But now, we just use translation software---which doesn't translate beyond a basic level. We will soon revert to a "Tower of Babel" drawing pictures. Those who can't draw can grunt
At least let kids know what's expected for supplies. Don't just throw out one day, ok, everybody, lets all draw a picture, when all they have are pencils. Oh, you can take it home and finish it---yeah, right!
A syllabus has become much more common, and in many school districts, it is required.
I agree with you about writing. Students can't get enough practice with writing and projects like this just take valuable class time away from real learning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaryleeII
Again, please remember, this is HIGH SCHOOL. 10TH GRADE, with students 16, 17 years old!
Yep, I understand, this for stuff teachers can hang on the wall! My dd did a very nice project in 5th grade, to this day its in the display case off the main hallway of the ELEMENTARY school. Her name isn't on it, its just there, gathering dust. I doubt we will ever get it back, its too nice
I was referring to high school in my earlier post.
If my high school sophomore didn't know what a paragraph was and couldn't write a competent essay by the 10th grade I'd already have been at the school several times to meet with the English teachers. If I didn't get any satisfaction there, I'd go to the principal. I would want to know when they planned to teach this crucial subject.
Even in this era of texting, students begin thinking about college in their junior year. In a short time they will have to compose essays for their college applications. Not to mention when they get to college, freshman composition is still a requirement at most universities. Your problem isn't the assignment of an art project. It's all the other things that aren't being assigned. Ask to know exactly what upcoming lesson plans are and how you can help at home to make your child an effective writer.
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