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With the way public education has been dumb downed, I can't knock parents for saying the heck with the system & taking things into their own hands.
Either that or make sure you got enough dough for a good private school.
Who forced the system to dumb down?
Parents whose little darlings were not in the "A" division became upset.
It was every one else's fault, their kid was stigmatized, they were discriminating, etc., etc., etc.
Was it right, no.
Did it happen that way, pretty much.
Who forced the system to dumb down?
Parents whose little darlings were not in the "A" division became upset.
It was every one else's fault, their kid was stigmatized, they were discriminating, etc., etc., etc.
Was it right, no.
Did it happen that way, pretty much.
Can't argue with most of the above.
A quality education in the States is mighty expensive.
In my opinion, the education of the child is a partnership between educator and parent. Both are accountable in my book. The teacher can try, but it will be in vain if the parent is not reinforcing what the child is taught, or worse yet completely undermining what h/she is taught.
I was blessed "back in the day" with diligent teachers and an involved parent. So, of course, I would give the same opportunities to my own children. We do homework together (more like, we supervise while she does it. We let her figure things out on her own). If there are any behavioural "blips", we address them. Teachers feel confident that we are taking things to heart. Too often, the teacher is blamed, when the parent isn't keeping up their end of the bargain. At the same time, if the teacher isn't a good communicator, doesn't inform the parent of issues, etc., then that is on them.
If you send your child to 1st grade without basic reading skills, you've failed your child.
If you send your child to school hungry, you've failed your child.
If you send your child to school without the basic tools, (pencils, copy book, erasers, etc.), you've failed your child.
If you send your child to school without having checked their homework, you've failed your child.
If you send your child to school dirty, you've failed your child.
If you send your child to school without a proper nights sleep, you've failed your child.
NO child should ever receive a report card until the 6th grade.....up to that point, the report card should be on the parents. And not based on test grades....it should be based on the things which I mentioned above.
Teachers are under extreme pressure and when they have to take time from other students in order to take care of your irresponsibility, they become less effective.
I educated my 4 sons before they went to kindergarden, one is in college and has a good job, another has has a good job, and my two youngest are doing well in school, one is a junoir and the other a 5th grader andI still educate them to this day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minethatbird
No point in sending my child to school then. I thought schools were supposed to teach reading.
They are but so are parents.
Quote:
Originally Posted by waterboy7375
He said Basic. If your kids enters 1st grade without any reading ability he is already behind.
Exactly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minethatbird
What were they doing in kindergarden?
Supposedly pollishing their skills.
Quote:
Originally Posted by waterboy7375
Couldn't agree more. Most kindergardens are taxpayer financed daycare.
Exactly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chava61
Isn't reading taught in the 1st grade?
Yes but that doesn't replace the parents responcibility.
Quote:
Originally Posted by waterboy7375
Yes it is. Successful kids already have a basic understanding when they get there. Then they sit there bored waiting for the rest of the class to catch up.
This is why kids should be tested and place according to test scores.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roaddog
I couldn't agree more Parents are responsible for their children's failure to get an education, i see it all the time blaming the school while they let the kids stay up all night and never check to see if they do their home work.
Much of the problem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Savoir Faire
No they are not
You really need to educate yourself on the facts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kovert
With the way public education has been dumb downed, I can't knock parents for saying the heck with the system & taking things into their own hands.
Either that or make sure you got enough dough for a good private school.
Amen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chielgirl
Who forced the system to dumb down?
Parents whose little darlings were not in the "A" division became upset.
It was every one else's fault, their kid was stigmatized, they were discriminating, etc., etc., etc.
Was it right, no.
Did it happen that way, pretty much.
I agree with the OP and if those conditions are met and there are no unusual circumstances your child will do well in school.
People asking "then why bother with school" obviously don't get it. Why bother if reading to and feeding your kids is something you do regularly? REALLY? Because school can add plenty to that but the parents who are dropping the ball on even the basics are as prepared to homeschool as I am to preform open heart surgery. I do know how to treat a fever and clean a wound however.
Who forced the system to dumb down?
Parents whose little darlings were not in the "A" division became upset.
It was every one else's fault, their kid was stigmatized, they were discriminating, etc., etc., etc.
Was it right, no.
Did it happen that way, pretty much.
Not exactly...
The anti-intellectual, anti- academic talent development mindset educators have had for decades now has its roots in the anti-establishment 1960s.
More, here, in the section titled The Incubus Of The Sixties:
Quote:
In every conceivable fashion the reigning ethos of those times was hostile to excellence in education. Individual achievement fell under intense suspicion, as did attempts to maintain standards. Discriminating among students on the basis of ability or performance was branded "elitist." Educational gurus of the day called for essentially nonacademic schools, whose main purpose would be to build habits of social cooperation and equality rather than to train the mind. A good education, it was said, maximized the child's innate spontaneity, creativity, and affection for others. To the extent that logic and acquired knowledge interfered with that process, they were devalued.
And The Shock Of College-Level Demands:
Quote:
Accompanying this pervasive dumbing-down of the curriculum has been a wholesale change in school philosophy. ...
Perhaps most crucial, the sixties mentality, with its strong animus against what it defines as "elitism," has shifted the locus of concern in American education from high to low achievers. All over the country educators today typically judge themselves by how well they can reach the least-able student in the system, the slowest one in the class. Programs to help the culturally disadvantaged and the learning-disabled have proliferated, while those for the gifted receive no more than token interest.
The prevailing ideology holds that it is much better to give up the prospect of excellence than to take the chance of injuring any student's self-esteem. Instead of trying to spur children on to set high standards for themselves, teachers invest their energies in making sure that slow learners do not come to think of themselves as failures. These attitudes have become so ingrained that in conversations with teachers and administrators one often senses a virtual prejudice against bright students. There is at times an underlying feeling, never articulated, that such children start off with too many advantages, and that it would be just as well to hold them back until their less fortunate contemporaries catch up with them.
It explains why our country's top students rank at the bottom compared to the top students in the rest of the world.
At least if the US is not good at producing Einsteins, we have done and should continue doing a great job of attracting other peoples' Einsteins.
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Parents are responsible for their children's failure to get an education, i see it all the time blaming the school while they let the kids stay up all night and never check to see if they do their home work.
