News 4: Since when was it the school's responsibility to teach kids how to tie their shoes?

[Anonymous]

My 5yo can't tie his shoes and I couldn't care less. He has been in school in person the whole time. Neither school nor we have taught him this particular skill yet, and I fail to see why that matters. He can do lots of other things and we'll get to this one when it becomes relevant.

[Anonymous]

Teaching your kid to get dressed is a parents job. Do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We learned to tie shoes in K. Half day Kindergarten and the teacher had time to make sure everyone learned. All my siblings learned in K too.

1980 was a wonderful year!

I distinctly remember learning shoe-tying in my half-day kindergarten in 1996.

I learned it in K in 1973...also half day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 5yo can't tie his shoes and I couldn't care less. He has been in school in person the whole time. Neither school nor we have taught him this particular skill yet, and I fail to see why that matters. He can do lots of other things and we'll get to this one when it becomes relevant.

It doesn’t matter — as long as the shoes that he wears to school don’t need to be tied. I’m not a teacher, but like many teachers, I’ve tied a lot of shoes and taught many kids how to do this for themselves. The issue is sending kids to school with shoes that need to be tied, with the expectation that teachers will tie them for the kids who don’t know how, or will somehow find time in their crammed schedules to teach individual students life skills that are typically learned and practiced at home.

As the ECE curriculum has become more academic, the expectation is that students will have mastered age appropriate life skills and readiness skills so that the classroom focus can be on academic skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 5yo can't tie his shoes and I couldn't care less. He has been in school in person the whole time. Neither school nor we have taught him this particular skill yet, and I fail to see why that matters. He can do lots of other things and we'll get to this one when it becomes relevant.

It doesn’t matter — as long as the shoes that he wears to school don’t need to be tied. I’m not a teacher, but like many teachers, I’ve tied a lot of shoes and taught many kids how to do this for themselves. The issue is sending kids to school with shoes that need to be tied, with the expectation that teachers will tie them for the kids who don’t know how, or will somehow find time in their crammed schedules to teach individual students life skills that are typically learned and practiced at home.

As the ECE curriculum has become more academic, the expectation is that students will have mastered age appropriate life skills and readiness skills so that the classroom focus can be on academic skills.

This. The academic weight on ES kids are higher now than they were when we were kids. The expectations that they can sit and attend to tasks with only a 20 minute recess and PE once a week (our school) all day long and on computers and with homework is not what my parents had to deal with when I was a kid.

Are parents more lazy or are they trying to remember long division to help their 3rd grader with the nightly homework?

[Anonymous]

Its not just tying shoes. Its SO obvious that many kids are not taught at home to wash their hands WITH SOAP after using the bathroom, or not to pick their nose, or to throw away trash rather than just leaving it around for some adult to clean up for them. Many of them also need to be told multiple times to do a simple task ("Get out a pencil and your writing notebook.") Its clear these expectations do not exist at home.

All of this is revealed at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We learned to tie shoes in K. Half day Kindergarten and the teacher had time to make sure everyone learned. All my siblings learned in K too.

1980 was a wonderful year!

I distinctly remember learning shoe-tying in my half-day kindergarten in 1996.

I learned it in K in 1973...also half day.[/quote

Same, 1977.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 5yo can't tie his shoes and I couldn't care less. He has been in school in person the whole time. Neither school nor we have taught him this particular skill yet, and I fail to see why that matters. He can do lots of other things and we'll get to this one when it becomes relevant.

It doesn’t matter — as long as the shoes that he wears to school don’t need to be tied. I’m not a teacher, but like many teachers, I’ve tied a lot of shoes and taught many kids how to do this for themselves. The issue is sending kids to school with shoes that need to be tied, with the expectation that teachers will tie them for the kids who don’t know how, or will somehow find time in their crammed schedules to teach individual students life skills that are typically learned and practiced at home.

As the ECE curriculum has become more academic, the expectation is that students will have mastered age appropriate life skills and readiness skills so that the classroom focus can be on academic skills.

You have to buy them tie shoes to learn with. At some point they will ask for them when they realize velcro is for 5 year olds and they are 8,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We learned to tie shoes in K. Half day Kindergarten and the teacher had time to make sure everyone learned. All my siblings learned in K too.

1980 was a wonderful year!

I distinctly remember learning shoe-tying in my half-day kindergarten in 1996.

I learned it in K in 1973...also half day.

I am the 1973 poster and was just thinking...there were no velcro sneakers then so it was more important! I am old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We learned to tie shoes in K. Half day Kindergarten and the teacher had time to make sure everyone learned. All my siblings learned in K too.

1980 was a wonderful year!

I distinctly remember learning shoe-tying in my half-day kindergarten in 1996.

I learned it in K in 1973...also half day.[/quote

Same, 1977.

I was in K in 79 and my school ( private) required that I be able to tie my own shoes before the school year started.

[Anonymous]

I was in k in 1978 and I remember the board that had laces to tie, zippers and something else. We did that all the time during our 1/2 day kindergarten class. Oh, we also practiced using scissors. Having three kids of my own now, school was so much better then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in k in 1978 and I remember the board that had laces to tie, zippers and something else. We did that all the time during our 1/2 day kindergarten class. Oh, we also practiced using scissors. Having three kids of my own now, school was so much better then.

I would much rather a teacher teach my kid to read than to tie his shoes. Why not have them teach ass wiping? Or fingernail clipping? Or how to blow his nose? Teachers have kids of their own to teach that stuff to so do your job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in k in 1978 and I remember the board that had laces to tie, zippers and something else. We did that all the time during our 1/2 day kindergarten class. Oh, we also practiced using scissors. Having three kids of my own now, school was so much better then.

I would much rather a teacher teach my kid to read than to tie his shoes. Why not have them teach ass wiping? Or fingernail clipping? Or how to blow his nose? Teachers have kids of their own to teach that stuff to so do your job.

Some could argue these multi step sequential learning skills are more beneficial than memorizing sight words in kindergarten, it’s a different approach and it’s not a bad one. In the US, we certainly aren’t producing excellent results in the reading proficiency area with our current curriculums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Parents are pretty lazy these days in general. Anyone who works in a school knows this. Flame away. But nothing is ever their fault or responsibility, or their kids. This is our education crisis.



Interesting perspective. I think that what the school expects of me as a parent and what the school expected from my parents are completely different. My parents were responsible for getting me on the bus.

As a parent, I'm responsible for homework, charging chrome books, spirit days, snacks, other dress up days, and a never-ending parade of extras. I do it and I support the teachers 100% but, seriously, my parents just had to get me on the bus.

Shouldn't your child be doing these things?

Sure, my 7 year old boy remembers these things 100% on his own.

Not.

Oh, you poor martyr victim, having to raise your own child.

The horror.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in k in 1978 and I remember the board that had laces to tie, zippers and something else. We did that all the time during our 1/2 day kindergarten class. Oh, we also practiced using scissors. Having three kids of my own now, school was so much better then.

I would much rather a teacher teach my kid to read than to tie his shoes. Why not have them teach ass wiping? Or fingernail clipping? Or how to blow his nose? Teachers have kids of their own to teach that stuff to so do your job.

Some could argue these multi step sequential learning skills are more beneficial than memorizing sight words in kindergarten, it’s a different approach and it’s not a bad one. In the US, we certainly aren’t producing excellent results in the reading proficiency area with our current curriculums.

That's only because people who know nothing about the science of reading are choosing the curriculum. Gettinf dressed is something you should teach your own child. Finish the job, parents.