Another wasted day of school at MCPS

[Anonymous]

Some research indicates that spelling/vocab lists are a waste of time. Ever heard of Friday speller...kids can memorize all kinds of word for the test and then promptly forget them. Spelling and vocab are learned much better through exposure and reading.

[Anonymous]

My DC had quizes in two classes today, not a wasted day for my DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids aren't in a W school.

What were you thinking?!?

You gotta fix that quick!

Why? The curriculum is uniform across the county. Same crummy education in W schools and Silver Spring.

My kids in Clarksburg are getting a good education. Maybe you should move here?

NP. I live in Clarksburg! My kid isn't school-aged yet, but I'm glad to hear you're happy with the schools!

[Anonymous]

I wonder if part of the reason some of the W areas are so unhappy about 2.0 is because their teachers are more likely to be older and more experienced and so not eager to redo everything. Our school has a LOT of relatively young teachers and seems to be implementing the new curriculum in a very good way. One area I had not liked - lack of math grouping - is reportedly being fixed next year.

[Anonymous]

I agree; howard county used to schedule professional work day on take your child to work day (which I think needs to be banished! I can do that shit in the summer.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree; howard county used to schedule professional work day on take your child to work day (which I think needs to be banished! I can do that shit in the summer.)

Good idea to do it as a professional day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some research indicates that spelling/vocab lists are a waste of time. Ever heard of Friday speller...kids can memorize all kinds of word for the test and then promptly forget them. Spelling and vocab are learned much better through exposure and reading.

.

So no effort to teach spelling at all is better than this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some research indicates that spelling/vocab lists are a waste of time. Ever heard of Friday speller...kids can memorize all kinds of word for the test and then promptly forget them. Spelling and vocab are learned much better through exposure and reading.

.

So no effort to teach spelling at all is better than this?

Your child's school makes no effort to teach spelling at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a fifth grader, pp? I do. And it's a struggle for him to write two coherent paragraphs. When I raised my concerns with his teacher, she told me that most of the kids struggle with it and that his writing skills are above average. Bottom line: the bar is set very low in elementary school...but not in MS. Next year will be a rude awakening. It's ridiculous that mcps can't prepare students for success.

I'm not a tiger mom...I'm a slacker mom. I'm not overreacting.

Question: What's the longest essay your fifth grader has written without assistance from his teacher or a parent? At our school, it's two paragraphs. And the content is crummy. I was writing reports by fifth grade. My fifth grader hasn't written one single report in elementary school. I think that's shocking. My nephews in other states are receiving a far better education than my kid. It's pathetic.

Move?

Please move PLEASE, so the rest of us deluded cretins can continue to enjoy MCPS without your BITCHING!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some research indicates that spelling/vocab lists are a waste of time. Ever heard of Friday speller...kids can memorize all kinds of word for the test and then promptly forget them. Spelling and vocab are learned much better through exposure and reading.

.

So no effort to teach spelling at all is better than this?

There are many ways to teach spelling..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid watched a movie, which is fine with me. Half the class was absent.

You do realize that they really don't learn much at mcps on a good day, right? I have to supplement at home...which is annoying. I went to private school and my parents never had to teach me at home. Our classes were larger too.

Sorry you're doing so poorly that you can't afford to give your own kids that which your parents gave you.

[Anonymous]

My child is in middle school and they watched two movies. Total waste of a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's beyond sad that my second grader can't spell the word "went." In the same paragraph he also used "there" instead of "their." He also spelled a number of other words incorrectly. But I can't blame him...they don't teach phonics or spelling (word their way at our school is pathetic). He's above average (according to his teacher and his test scores), and he's in the highest reading group (reading a year above grade level). So I guess I need to blame myself for not teaching him more at home. I'll keep trying...but I think it's annoying that I have to teach him basic skills because mcps has opted to take a sub-par approach to teaching.

I asked my DD's teacher about spelling. I see other kids her age with spelling tests but DD has never taken on.

The teacher told me that they start working on spelling in 3rd grade. I assumed it was MCPS-wide, but maybe not. Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it too much. The spelling will eventually come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's beyond sad that my second grader can't spell the word "went." In the same paragraph he also used "there" instead of "their." He also spelled a number of other words incorrectly. But I can't blame him...they don't teach phonics or spelling (word their way at our school is pathetic). He's above average (according to his teacher and his test scores), and he's in the highest reading group (reading a year above grade level). So I guess I need to blame myself for not teaching him more at home. I'll keep trying...but I think it's annoying that I have to teach him basic skills because mcps has opted to take a sub-par approach to teaching.

I asked my DD's teacher about spelling. I see other kids her age with spelling tests but DD has never taken on.

The teacher told me that they start working on spelling in 3rd grade. I assumed it was MCPS-wide, but maybe not. Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it too much. The spelling will eventually come.

What is pathetic is not only do they wait until 3rd grade, you don't even have to know what the words mean. No vocabulary ever. Grammar? Foreign in public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What is pathetic is not only do they wait until 3rd grade, you don't even have to know what the words mean. No vocabulary ever. Grammar? Foreign in public schools.

You must be at different schools than we are! My sixth grader has been doing Wordly Wise (vocabulary) as well as sentence diagramming.