Public K-2nd ...What have they become?

[Anonymous]

I think elementary schools have gotten significantly better than when I was in school (high school class of 1983). Two of my three kids have learning disabilities that would have marginalized them in my school. They aren't stupid - like the typical DCUM kid, their 'gifted'. I've seen multi-modal methods of teaching that just wasn't done in the 60s/70s. My kids are enthusiastic learners and I'm satisfied with how and what they're being taught. This is also at an elementary school that most of DCUM would consider 'undesirable'.

And, the PP who says science isn't taught in kindergarten - it is in our FCPS school and I find it difficult to believe it's not in other systems. http://www.fcps.edu/is/pos/documents/es/scik.htm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could the parents of kinder kids please refrain from commenting how bad school is in general until at least gasp 3rd grade when they've observed a little more than the first year of elementary?

K-2 is what we are talking about here.....geeeeeez. Read the title of this thread!!!

[Anonymous]

So any parents of kindergarteners are allowed to discredit kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd as a babysitting service with no other knowlege of teaching other than their own experience and we're supposed to take their opinion as fact? That's what seems to be happening here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So any parents of kindergarteners are allowed to discredit kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd as a babysitting service with no other knowlege of teaching other than their own experience and we're supposed to take their opinion as fact? That's what seems to be happening here.

OP here. Their children ARE in K right now. This thread crosses K, 1st, and 2nd in our public schools. Any parent that is actively involved in their child's education early on is going to have a voice on this topic because they want more than just a daycare or babysitting situation in K, 1st, and 2nd. As one PP said, they just want to feel like more is going on at the school at these early levels. I am sympathetic to teachers as well who are dealing with parents who are not actively or barely involved in their child's education. That is sad, unfair to the teachers, unfair to the other children, and unfair to the active parents of those children. Yes it is a total ripple effect but it is what it is until change happens. I am actively writing letters and making phone calls at the county level and to Congress. Is this frustrating! Yes...especially when I am being told that they have not received my kind of feedback from other parents. So I guess I must be the only one in the entire USA that feels this way. I have even pointed them to the forums here on DCUM to look at the education related forums for guidance. I am not sure that ever happened, but anyways...

For some things it can be handled at the county level. Others are harder. I have not given up. I urge all of you who are frustrated to write your Representatives. Make a change.

Also somebody mentioned earlier that school is free. What county do you live in because last time I checked, I am paying a property tax AND school tax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could the parents of kinder kids please refrain from commenting how bad school is in general until at least gasp 3rd grade when they've observed a little more than the first year of elementary?

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Were the schools better in the 60's and 70's than today? From my experience, the schools do need improvements, but they aren't worse than they were in the 70's and 80's.

I think the schools are much better. I grew up in a similar community in suburban Boston and the curriculum was strong then and there and it is strong here and now. The advanced students took Algebra I in 7th grade and here the advanced students take it in 6th or 7th. The classes are bigger in ES though.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are not pleased with how your child's education is going so far. You haven't mentioned whether you have a background in education yourself. If you haven't studied education on an undergrad or graduate level, have you done your own research on K-2 learning as suggested in previous posts? What is it exactly about your child's class that appears to be a "daycare or babysitting situation"?

Have you talked to your child's teacher about your concerns? If so, what has been the teacher's response?

You mention writing letters and making phone calls: would you mind sharing the specific concerns you cite in the letters and calls?

I know these are a lot of questions, but I'm genuinely interested in understanding your concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are not pleased with how your child's education is going so far. You haven't mentioned whether you have a background in education yourself. If you haven't studied education on an undergrad or graduate level, have you done your own research on K-2 learning as suggested in previous posts? What is it exactly about your child's class that appears to be a "daycare or babysitting situation"?

Have you talked to your child's teacher about your concerns? If so, what has been the teacher's response?

You mention writing letters and making phone calls: would you mind sharing the specific concerns you cite in the letters and calls?

I know these are a lot of questions, but I'm genuinely interested in understanding your concerns.

This. I am still trying to understand what exactly you are so unhappy about.

[Anonymous]

Love your kid. Give them a strong foundation of confidence and basics of reading and writing. In first grade why do they have to know how to write an essay? I was 6 starting in K in 1978. I knew not one word of English. My English sucked until maybe 4-5th grade. My parents left me alone until then. My mom supplemented my English through xtra homework in reading and writing until about 7 grade from there. I tested at 7 grade to have like 10 grade vocab. I took AP English through high school and in college continued to get As on papers. I love literature and I studied international relations and journalism. This from someone who until age maybe 8 didn't know their stuff as well as any of your kids. Life is long. Waiting a year until they can write you an essay is not going to affect them at age 16. Talk to me when they are 10. I picked up Russian with my nanny at age 10. Not age 3. I speak better and more Mandarin than any of my parents' friends' kids as an adult though I was the only one who did not attend Chinese school at age 8. Why and how? Because I wanted to and since I'm not an idiot I was able to learn at my own speed. I had fundamentals and I learned at speed. Absolutely there should be a standard and a measurement for education but if you can see that, give your kids their childhood and relax. Calm down. Metro DC is rated tops in early Ed - whether you deem it enough or it is what you like is another story. If the standards are being met start stressing when your kid is older like in 6th grade. Give them experience and confidence learning how to write a sentence is much easier. This is what I hate about metro DC and east coast - people are so anxious about things they need not be. Again - life is long - preparing too early is not a guarantee your kid will excel or be who you want them to be. If they are not an idiot, they are going to be ok at age 5! At age 10 they will start freaking out and wanting to learn as I did. High school is when you want then to hit their stride you don't want to burn them or yourself out by age 10!

[Anonymous]

OP. Maybe your concerns at your child's school are legitimate even if they aren't at my child's school, however your title asks a question but your opening statement already gives an opinion. Sure, many people have gripes that are very legitimate, but yours goes beyond that to say that the entire K-2 program is the pits. Also, if you stay on this board you will realize that there are K parents after Kparents writing about how easy K is for their snowflakes. I have yet to see anywhere near the number of people write back to say they have the same feelings in 1st and 2nd grade. If anything they're starting to write about how there's too much homework by then or no enough recess. So, if you are one of those K parents just dissatisfied with K and then extrapolating that the rest of the school until AAP or whatever magnet is available starts is going to be too easy peasy, I think you need to take a broader look and let your judgements evolve as time goes by. It's much easier to work with any government agency if you're targeting one thing specifically than if you write and say that all of K-2 public is a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. Maybe your concerns at your child's school are legitimate even if they aren't at my child's school, however your title asks a question but your opening statement already gives an opinion. Sure, many people have gripes that are very legitimate, but yours goes beyond that to say that the entire K-2 program is the pits. Also, if you stay on this board you will realize that there are K parents after Kparents writing about how easy K is for their snowflakes. I have yet to see anywhere near the number of people write back to say they have the same feelings in 1st and 2nd grade. If anything they're starting to write about how there's too much homework by then or no enough recess. So, if you are one of those K parents just dissatisfied with K and then extrapolating that the rest of the school until AAP or whatever magnet is available starts is going to be too easy peasy, I think you need to take a broader look and let your judgements evolve as time goes by. It's much easier to work with any government agency if you're targeting one thing specifically than if you write and say that all of K-2 public is a joke.

Not OP, but I have a lot of parents in my neighborhood that feel the same way as OP. I'm glad there are a lot of people here that are having different experiences. That, however, does diminish OP' s experience. Not every school or every teacher is stellar. Also, depending on other issues in some schools, concerns like OP' s may be more wide spread. OP, in case you didn't know, people on DCUM are very concerned with touting how fabulous FCPS and APS school are so you committed a major mistake by questioning that. I have friends who have had wonderful experiences and those that haven't. You aren't going to get open-minded responses on this board. Everyone is too vested in maintaining the superior aura of FCPS and APS schools. Good luck with resolving your concerns.

[Anonymous]

12:35 That is entirely UNTRUE how parents feel about their schools. People have many different vested interests both positively and negatively towards schools and I've seen public hearings filled often. Many families I know have come to hearings after having 4 children through the system and just want to help out even though there's nothing in it for them anymore. The full day kinder hearings had many parents speak up about the downsides to part day kinder even though they had no young children anymore. What people DON'T do successfully is discredit the system entirely from the start and then get everything they want changed just because they think it's all bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think elementary schools have gotten significantly better than when I was in school (high school class of 1983). Two of my three kids have learning disabilities that would have marginalized them in my school. They aren't stupid - like the typical DCUM kid, their 'gifted'. I've seen multi-modal methods of teaching that just wasn't done in the 60s/70s. My kids are enthusiastic learners and I'm satisfied with how and what they're being taught. This is also at an elementary school that most of DCUM would consider 'undesirable'.

And, the PP who says science isn't taught in kindergarten - it is in our FCPS school and I find it difficult to believe it's not in other systems. http://www.fcps.edu/is/pos/documents/es/scik.htm

+1

[Anonymous]

I'm not going to read this entire thread--I definitely get the gist--but I have to add that in the '70s, kindergarten was half-day playtime; basically, what preschool is today, since preschool was a rarity for most kids then. We weren't taught to read until the second half of first grade ("Dick and Jane," which all of my kids could read while still in preschool). AFAIK, no one questions the literacy of those in their 40s and 50s today.

If anything, I find the current pace of standards-based learning in the lower grades much too quick. Young children need a LOT of time for exploration and simply letting the lessons sink in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So any parents of kindergarteners are allowed to discredit kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd as a babysitting service with no other knowlege of teaching other than their own experience and we're supposed to take their opinion as fact? That's what seems to be happening here.

OP here. Their children ARE in K right now. This thread crosses K, 1st, and 2nd in our public schools. Any parent that is actively involved in their child's education early on is going to have a voice on this topic because they want more than just a daycare or babysitting situation in K, 1st, and 2nd. As one PP said, they just want to feel like more is going on at the school at these early levels. I am sympathetic to teachers as well who are dealing with parents who are not actively or barely involved in their child's education. That is sad, unfair to the teachers, unfair to the other children, and unfair to the active parents of those children. Yes it is a total ripple effect but it is what it is until change happens. I am actively writing letters and making phone calls at the county level and to Congress. Is this frustrating! Yes...especially when I am being told that they have not received my kind of feedback from other parents. .

Actually I am most sympathetic to teachers who have to deal on a daily basis with over involved, active parents, the ones who question everything the teacher does, needs details about why their child does not have all 4's, always takes their child's side without listening, etc. These are the teachers who deserve the praise to endure this. Yes, communicate, but make sure it is a two way communication. Uninvolved parents may be too busy working to make ends meet, but are appreciative of what the teacher can provide to their child. Write your letters, and deal with the politics but listen to the teacher before calling it babysitting.