Underachieving kids

[Anonymous]

agree

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the thing I don't understand, if you child received less than a P, because the work was extremely challenging, would you be happier?

Yes! I want my kid to be challenged, not bored.

Than you, as a parent should challenge him. Mental stimulation does not need to be in the form of classwork or homework. Most of the tv time my kids have is speant on the Discovery channel. Sometimes I ask them questions and we think up different scenarios during the commercial breaks. We read a LOT. We read individually and I still ready to them as a family. My kids are getting older, and they still love to have me read to them.

Other things - when we cook, I get them to help. I have them do measurement conversions. Not because I need their help, but rather, just to keep their heads turning. Play with them, interact with them, and they will have a desire to learn.[/quote

Where do you find the time and energy to be this engaging??? I don't get home until 6:30, sometimes a little later. By the time dinner is done it is close to 7:30. I can monitor homework, provide help and then check it, but supplementing after a long day is HARD!!!

Agree. Most educated working parents won't continue to put up with an increasingly failing moco school system. The solution is not to let them off the hook, quit your job early some days and teach your child at home what the teacher used to teach. I can't believe you'd put up with that. I'd rather take a loss on my house and move to a better district or cheaper house and so private.

[Anonymous]

I'm 16:44, not the op. I'm also the catholic school poster from earlier in the thread. My sister (who teaches for mcps) has told me that I just need to get over my high expectations based on my own education and accept mcps for what it is. And I think that's appalling. The folks in this thread who have pulled their kids from mcps and sent them to private school know what I'm talking about because they can see the difference.

And all the mcps cheerleaders with kindergarteners: I think you guys are adorable! But I wonder what you will think of mcps when your kid reaches 5th grade and isn't prepared for MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want my kid to be challenged so they learn how to be a good student and are prepared for MS, HS, college and beyond. I don't want my kid to aspire to mediocrity...and that is precisely what 2.0 does: sets the bar low so everyone can get a P and mcps can "close" the achievement gap (by dragging all the above average and average kids down).

Closing the achievement gap is not measured by report card grades. It is measured by standardized tests. It used to be MSA. Now it is MAP testing and MClass until PARCC gets up and running. So your point is invalid.

[Anonymous]

My point won't be invalid once the new tests are in place, pp. They've implemented the new subpar curriculum, and next they will implement dumbed down test. MSAs (which weren't tied to the new crazy curriculum) dropped significantly. The scores will magically rise when the new test is implemented. But the real deal will hit the fan when the current fifth graders (aka 2.0 guinea pigs) take their SATs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My point won't be invalid once the new tests are in place, pp. They've implemented the new subpar curriculum, and next they will implement dumbed down test. MSAs (which weren't tied to the new crazy curriculum) dropped significantly. The scores will magically rise when the new test is implemented. But the real deal will hit the fan when the current fifth graders (aka 2.0 guinea pigs) take their SATs.

The SATs will be changing to match Common Core. Same for AP tests, ACT, etc.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/the-common-core-is-driving-the-changes-to-the-sat/284320/

[Anonymous]

Nifty!!! Do they plan to change college and law school too???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My point won't be invalid once the new tests are in place, pp. They've implemented the new subpar curriculum, and next they will implement dumbed down test. MSAs (which weren't tied to the new crazy curriculum) dropped significantly. The scores will magically rise when the new test is implemented. But the real deal will hit the fan when the current fifth graders (aka 2.0 guinea pigs) take their SATs.

Which dumbed-down test? The PARCC? I am wondering how you know that the PARCC test is dumbed-down. Have you taken it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To 16:38 - that's swell, but the real issue is that they aren't teaching kids spelling, grammar, how to write clear paragraphs, etc...and I don't think the Discovery Channel teaches that sort of thing.

My kids have been taught all of that at MCPS. You didn't say you were concerned with the curriculum, but you were concerned that you had an underachieving kid who was fine with a P. You can correct most of this at home. I don't see school (any school) as a end all/be all for education.

My kids too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 16:44, not the op. I'm also the catholic school poster from earlier in the thread. My sister (who teaches for mcps) has told me that I just need to get over my high expectations based on my own education and accept mcps for what it is. And I think that's appalling. The folks in this thread who have pulled their kids from mcps and sent them to private school know what I'm talking about because they can see the difference.

And all the mcps cheerleaders with kindergarteners: I think you guys are adorable! But I wonder what you will think of mcps when your kid reaches 5th grade and isn't prepared for MS.

My child actually is in middle school, and I am still satisfied with MCPS. Is MCPS perfect? No. But I moved to Montgomery County for the schools, and I don't regret it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The point is that mcps has lowered the bar, so kids can slack off, turn in sub-par work and still earn straight Ps. That's the issue: the lowering of the bar. It's pathetic.

When I was in elementary school (catholic school in MoCo), I could do the following in 4th grade:

1. Read a chapter in a text book (science, social studies) and prepare for a test by myself. (Note: mcps doesn't teach this skill until middle school. Actually, I take that back. They never teach that skill; rather, they expect kids to magically know how to do this when they arrive in MS).

2. Research and write a basic report or paper by myself (using the library, encyclopedias, textbooks, etc.).

3. Memorize long passages (albeit of scripture) and recite them orally every week. Mcps hates memorization. Regardless, having that weekly task which required me to study and memorize something that I had to recite each week helped with study skills as well as public speaking.

My straight Ps kids can't do this.

So your evidence that MCPS has "lowered the bar" is:

1. Fourth-graders don't learn how to use a textbook to study for a test.
2. Fourth-graders don't learn how to research or write a basic report or paper by themselves.
3. Fourth-graders don't learn to memorize long passages from the Bible and recite them in front of the class.

Yes?

Well, I agree that fourth-graders in MCPS don't learn how to use a textbook to study for a test. That's fine with me. I don't think that textbooks are very useful for fourth-graders, and I keep hearing that there is too much testing in public schools.

I disagree that fourth-graders don't learn how to research and write a paper. My child did that in second grade and is doing it again in third grade.

I agree that fourth-graders don't learn to memorize long passages from the Bible and recite them in front of the class. That's because MCPS is public school. There's plenty of oral presentation in class, though. As for memorizing long passages of any sort -- I expect, based on my own public-school education, that MCPS lowered that bar at least 40 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point is that mcps has lowered the bar, so kids can slack off, turn in sub-par work and still earn straight Ps. That's the issue: the lowering of the bar. It's pathetic.

When I was in elementary school (catholic school in MoCo), I could do the following in 4th grade:

1. Read a chapter in a text book (science, social studies) and prepare for a test by myself. (Note: mcps doesn't teach this skill until middle school. Actually, I take that back. They never teach that skill; rather, they expect kids to magically know how to do this when they arrive in MS).

2. Research and write a basic report or paper by myself (using the library, encyclopedias, textbooks, etc.).

3. Memorize long passages (albeit of scripture) and recite them orally every week. Mcps hates memorization. Regardless, having that weekly task which required me to study and memorize something that I had to recite each week helped with study skills as well as public speaking.

My straight Ps kids can't do this.

So your evidence that MCPS has "lowered the bar" is:

1. Fourth-graders don't learn how to use a textbook to study for a test.
2. Fourth-graders don't learn how to research or write a basic report or paper by themselves.
3. Fourth-graders don't learn to memorize long passages from the Bible and recite them in front of the class.

Yes?

Well, I agree that fourth-graders in MCPS don't learn how to use a textbook to study for a test. That's fine with me. I don't think that textbooks are very useful for fourth-graders, and I keep hearing that there is too much testing in public schools.

I disagree that fourth-graders don't learn how to research and write a paper. My child did that in second grade and is doing it again in third grade.

I agree that fourth-graders don't learn to memorize long passages from the Bible and recite them in front of the class. That's because MCPS is public school. There's plenty of oral presentation in class, though. As for memorizing long passages of any sort -- I expect, based on my own public-school education, that MCPS lowered that bar at least 40 years ago.

My 4th grader just did a big research project on a Native American tribe, and last year she had to research her country of orgin. Both projects required a class presentation.

In 3rd grade there was lots of practicing multiplication facts for speed, which is a form of memorization. Jay Matthews has a column in today's Post lamenting education's abandonment of rote memorization.

[Anonymous]

To MS poster: your kid wasn't really impacted by 2.0 the way current fifth graders are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nifty!!! Do they plan to change college and law school too???

LOL! We have too many lawyers. I'd encourage your kids not to go to law school. High Debt + Little Jobs = DCUM postings "I make 375K+ and still in the red".

Yes, I read an article that colleges were looking at changing their curriculum, too. They are all realizing that jobs in the 21st century require more critical thinking. The education you received in ES/MS was preparing you for a 20th century job.

[Anonymous]

How many of you have observed your kids class? I have. Everything is spoonfed to them. Drafting reports in class, eh? Sure...and the teacher reviews the draft, coaches them through it, etc. Most kids cannot sit down and research and write a report on their own. And that, my friends, is the problem.

[Anonymous]

To 18:56 - Sigh. Do you have any recent college grads working for you? Because they've been taught in schools where everything is a group effort, they are great at collaborating (yay?), but their critical thinking is limited to: how can I get someone to help me with this? Why do you want me to do this? The kids of today aren't smarter than we were at that age (even the ones from the top tier schools).