How's basis going so far?

[Anonymous]

whats FUD?

[Anonymous]

"Who knows what the story is"?

Lots of people. BASIS has a model and a system, they are using the same model and system for every school they open, and so far it has worked for every school they have opened, regardless of the demographic or SES situation (which varies widely from school to school that BASIS runs in Arizona).

There's far less left to speculation and guesswork than the doubters here would want you to believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

+2. The more I read these threads, the more it's sinking in that we will be moving to Fairfax county by 5th grade at the latest and renting out our walk to everywhere including work rowhouse. Yeah, we are currently at a well regarded charter...

Okay, you're kidding right? What's giving you a sinking feeling is the sense that people are lying about how good Basis is? Okay, renting your rowhouse will be a snap now that Basis and Latin are available. Buh-bye!

Sadly, the FUD campaign is effective at times.

It's a new charter. Doesn't need any campaign, there's no track record, nothing except endless boosterism by parents who decided to try it out and talk about how great it is judging by 6 wks of school. Yay!!! Just on the sidelines watching... Will see if it rises to the level of TJ and it's feeder middle schools that have G&T. Otherwise, yeah, Buh-bye DC and your second rate schools.

[Anonymous]

New poster here. I'm watching to see howit goes this year. I guess the thing that keeps bothering me is the culture of fear for our children's futures and the hype about keeping up with other countries' successes in teaching math and science. Seems to me that those arguments are lacking some perspective. Yes, the u.s. public education system should be consistently better. But are we really educating our children "for the workforce" or do we want to raise a generation of kids with character, creativity, and curiosity? I'm putting my money on the latter. Perhaps basis values these things too. I'm just not hearing a lot about them in these discussions.

[Anonymous]

Good point. By middle school the organizational habits should have already been established and be second nature so the love of exploring thoughts and concepts can take over.

But my kid didn't get those habits from any previous school (been to three) until now with what Basis requires. Seems counterintuitive but the teachers who insist on a neat accordion folder with just the week's papers, with the headings just so, and the rest of the handouts and notes in precise chronological order in the binder, and regular binder checks, happen to be the favorite teachers, the ones who have time for fun and exploration. Hopefully the other teachers will get there at some point but it's spotty. My kid seems to have only two teachers who have really put the time in at the beginning to get those habits right. Not surprisingly it's math and science.

But something really great happened in another class: my kid was in after-care with no homework and no book to read so phoned me to ask if could go home. I said no we paid for Late Bird so go find a teacher and chat. It's not something my kid would ever think of doing but I was told at Basis, the teachers tend to hang around and are happy to have the kids stop by. Lo and behold, my kid did exactly that (I was almost being ironic when I suggested it). My kid was all delighted to relate their conversation, not about classwork but about books they both like. How cool is that? I never ever chatted up a teacher until college.

[Anonymous]

In our last school, teachers constantly complained that everyone in the classroom would finish work on time except for my child-- even though he was allotted extra time as one of his accommodations.

Here at Basis, I have not heard one single complaint thus far. When classwork or bell work is not finished, students can go see the teacher after school to finish their work.

This might mean arriving home late, but it does not cause any problems for us since he's a metro rider.

[Anonymous]

Third hand, but have heard from a work friend who is pulling kid out of basis. dont have full details but soemthing about math and skipping ahead, child not doing well, teachers unwilling to help ....?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Third hand, but have heard from a work friend who is pulling kid out of basis. dont have full details but soemthing about math and skipping ahead, child not doing well, teachers unwilling to help ....?

This doesn't make any sense--the child wants to skip ahead? The teachers are skipping ahead? Something else entirely?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Third hand, but have heard from a work friend who is pulling kid out of basis. dont have full details but soemthing about math and skipping ahead, child not doing well, teachers unwilling to help ....?

This doesn't make any sense--the child wants to skip ahead? The teachers are skipping ahead? Something else entirely?

Yup, gotta love details you've gleaned third hand.

[Anonymous]

It's hard work there, but I can't imagine the teachers are unwilling to help, maybe they don't know how (not trained as teachers.) This is not a slam: I just see the teachers scrambling to deal, everything so new, and kids each have their own issues. Need a few more seasoned teachers as mentors to the newbies.

[Anonymous]

Our experience with BASIS is that the teachers have been extremely willing to help. DC has gone to several of them for clarification on assignments, to complete things that were missed, deal with lost homework, et cetera. They have been great and helped him get through it. If someone says they didn't get help, then to me that says they likely didn't make the effort - didn't actually try getting help or didn't follow directions and go about it appropriately. If a child isn't doing well at BASIS then they are probably functioning at a grade level lower than the level of proficiency that they should have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: If a child isn't doing well at BASIS then they are probably functioning at a grade level lower than the level of proficiency that they should have.

Not necessarily. Some other reasons why not doing well at Basis: never got used to being organized, never learned the process of studying for a test, or even, got stuck in one of the classes that are disruptive, parents not knowing the best way to help. These are biggies for us, but I am certainly not about to give up before the first accordion folder falls apart.

[Anonymous]

What's FUD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's FUD?

FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. It's a marketing strategy often used in the tech industry to keep customers of an established company from switching to a young competitor's product. When the young competitor's products are technically superior and cannot be attacked on the merits, the established company will mount a FUD campaign to hold on to its customers. For example, "Do you really want to switch that small company's software? What will happen to your business if that small company goes under in three years?" The classic example is "Nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM equipment."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: If a child isn't doing well at BASIS then they are probably functioning at a grade level lower than the level of proficiency that they should have.

Not necessarily. Some other reasons why not doing well at Basis: never got used to being organized, never learned the process of studying for a test, or even, got stuck in one of the classes that are disruptive, parents not knowing the best way to help. These are biggies for us, but I am certainly not about to give up before the first accordion folder falls apart.

Good for you. But, as a parent, at some point you need to help instill organizational skills, focus, self-discipline, time management, study habits and the rest. If not by middle school, then when? Bad habits only get more ingrained and harder to overcome, the older kids get. Those are life skills that will help throughout one's entire life - in the short term reducing frustration and lack of free time, and in the long term boosting income, productivity and offering a whole new realm of opportunity in life.