The decade-long "learning recession"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What grade would you expect kids to start reading a classroom chapter book? Mine had reading groups where each kid in a group read the same chapter book but they never finished the book. The next grade the teacher did a whole book for the whole class but she did it as a read aloud where the kids just listened. When do kids read a whole book with pages assigned every night with a book report or something at the end?

I don't leave these things to the school anymore. My youngest is reading chapter books at the end of First Grade. What they were teaching versus what she is capable of reading just didn't align. We are working through the Ivy and Bean and she gets a big prize if we can finish book 12 by the end of the summer.

Same with math. Not happy with school math - they have zero differentiation in first grade for kids who are ahead, so we are doing Beast Academy, and we are doing a mixture of online and books. She likes online better because she likes the videos, so this is an example of how technology and Ed Tech can be helpful. I'm blown away by how much mental math she's learned on Level One - she can add and subtract 2-digit numbers in her head, fast. Per their strategy, I haven't even taught her the algorithm yet for carrying and borrowing.

It just takes an hour every evening, and we make it fun. School is for art, PE, recess, socializing, music. One hour of homework is for learning.

I did this for 7 years and it was exhausting. It was such a relief to switch my kids to a private school where there was learning during the out-of-the-house block, so I wasn't trying to take exhausted kids and cram the multiplication tables in their head through some sort of game.

Does your private school have a gifted program? The only reputable private within a 30-minute drive of our house does not believe in differential learning.

Most privates don’t need a gifted program. They take average to above average kids, teach the basics, and they do it well. Kids do not slip through the cracks. There are always one or two kids with learning differences or other challenges and they get resource or specialist help. See also, parish schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What grade would you expect kids to start reading a classroom chapter book? Mine had reading groups where each kid in a group read the same chapter book but they never finished the book. The next grade the teacher did a whole book for the whole class but she did it as a read aloud where the kids just listened. When do kids read a whole book with pages assigned every night with a book report or something at the end?

I don't leave these things to the school anymore. My youngest is reading chapter books at the end of First Grade. What they were teaching versus what she is capable of reading just didn't align. We are working through the Ivy and Bean and she gets a big prize if we can finish book 12 by the end of the summer.

Same with math. Not happy with school math - they have zero differentiation in first grade for kids who are ahead, so we are doing Beast Academy, and we are doing a mixture of online and books. She likes online better because she likes the videos, so this is an example of how technology and Ed Tech can be helpful. I'm blown away by how much mental math she's learned on Level One - she can add and subtract 2-digit numbers in her head, fast. Per their strategy, I haven't even taught her the algorithm yet for carrying and borrowing.

It just takes an hour every evening, and we make it fun. School is for art, PE, recess, socializing, music. One hour of homework is for learning.

I did this for 7 years and it was exhausting. It was such a relief to switch my kids to a private school where there was learning during the out-of-the-house block, so I wasn't trying to take exhausted kids and cram the multiplication tables in their head through some sort of game.

What grade did you switch? If you did this for 7 years that means you switched sometime in middle? So it doesn’t get any better in middle school??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reading books thing is ridiculous. Im doing a summer reading list for my kid and how dafu6 is that not a thing anymore? I remember getting a 2 page list and being told to read minimum 10 books.
I read most of the Nancy Drew series over 2-3 summers because I was with my grandparents and had very few friends to play with except my brother and whatever kids were visiting that week at the beach houses around us. I averaged a book a day, sometimes more. Also, my grandparents used to get the Reader's Digest hardcover books and there were lots of short stories in them.
I read 2-3 hours a day.

Right. Then you go back to school in a classroom with some kids who haven't touched a book all summer. What is a single classroom teacher to do with you, or with them?

WE SHOULDNT BE IN THE SAME CLASS!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An hour of structured supplemental learning every day for a 7 year old? I understand having them read books, but a whole hour of worksheets, Beast Academy, spelling lists or whatever every day is just not doable. If you have two working parents, let’s say 1 can get home early and pick up the child after school. Have them complete their 10minutes of school homework or have a snack. Then you might go to a sport practice or game (that’s two days per week at this age), or make dinner. Then you eat dinner and it’s 6:30 and everyone cleans until 6:40p. In my house we think music is important so 15 minutes of piano practice takes you to 7pm. And that’s not accounting for younger child tantrums or needs, parent working late or having to have staggered dinner times, school performances, play dates, after school clubs or activities like dance, art, or tae kwon do. If you’re adding an hour of supplementation, where are we supposed to get family time in, let the child rest and play, do bedtime routine, and have them get enough sleep (11-12 hours at this age)?

I see your point, but my 7-year old actually loves Beast Academy. If you're not familiar, it's reading a comic book and doing interesting math problems in the form of puzzles with cute, colorful characters. We often read the comic book multiple times using different voices, like its a play. And we always do it together, often times cuddled in bed on her ipad. She likes reading less than Beast Academy. Reading is more of a chore. We don't do music, so that frees up more time. She does have an activity everyday after school, and a playdate every weekend that we are in town and someone is available. It's hard to find playdates on weekdays in our neighborhood anyway, most of her friends are busy. We are in bed by 7 pm every night. We make it work. It helps that we only have 2 kids, and they have an age gap so I focus on her first and our older kid after she's down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest problem isn't students tuning into tech it's too many parents tuning out on their kid's education and expecting the schools to teach their kid everything, including manners. Too many parents are MIA. You deal with it all, teacher. I'm too busy doing me.

My kid's K teacher wouldn't even read actual books to the class. Instead she would show animated YouTube videos about books. The massive screen in every classroom is a problem. My kid's behavior dramatically improved after we took away her iPad at home. Teachers should experiment with doing the same in their classrooms to the extent possible. Daily screen time in kindergarten is not necessary.

It's the only way some of teachers believe they can offer differential learning. It's hard to teach reaching when you kindergartners who don't know their letters and kindergartners reading chapter books, so they have the advanced readers read to Amira on their ipads and focus on the struggling readers. I hate to say it's a good idea to create cohorts that young, but unless you default to technology for some kids, how else can you teach a class of 20+ kids who are at very different places entering kindergarten depending on parental involvement and quality of preschool?

I call BS. Schools have never tracked kids in kindergarten. By their nature kindergarteners are always going to have different reading abilities. We used to be able to have kindergarten without screens and we still can.

Why shouldn't advanced readers learn something in kindergarten? Just because we failed them in the past, doesn't mean who shouldn't do better. Why should they sit in a classroom and be bored because the teacher has to teach to the bottom? I favor testing at the beginning of the year and splitting classrooms by ability level, but everyone else around here seems to hate that idea. So if not that, then maybe teachers can use technology to at least teach them something.

The problem is you believe:
- Technology in the classroom is a net good; and
- Technology at home destroys children's brains

That is psychotic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reading books thing is ridiculous. Im doing a summer reading list for my kid and how dafu6 is that not a thing anymore? I remember getting a 2 page list and being told to read minimum 10 books.
I read most of the Nancy Drew series over 2-3 summers because I was with my grandparents and had very few friends to play with except my brother and whatever kids were visiting that week at the beach houses around us. I averaged a book a day, sometimes more. Also, my grandparents used to get the Reader's Digest hardcover books and there were lots of short stories in them.
I read 2-3 hours a day.

10 books in one summer?? I can’t imagine our elementary telling my student to read 10 books over the entire k-5 period.

Yes, summer reading lists were a thing. I lived in FL and MS during ES years and even they had them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reading books thing is ridiculous. Im doing a summer reading list for my kid and how dafu6 is that not a thing anymore? I remember getting a 2 page list and being told to read minimum 10 books.
I read most of the Nancy Drew series over 2-3 summers because I was with my grandparents and had very few friends to play with except my brother and whatever kids were visiting that week at the beach houses around us. I averaged a book a day, sometimes more. Also, my grandparents used to get the Reader's Digest hardcover books and there were lots of short stories in them.
I read 2-3 hours a day.

Right. Then you go back to school in a classroom with some kids who haven't touched a book all summer. What is a single classroom teacher to do with you, or with them?

WE SHOULDNT BE IN THE SAME CLASS!!!!!!!!!!!

Right. Agree. I wish more people did. Our school doesn't even test for gifted support until the end of second grade, so if your kid is ahead, they literally learn nothing for the first three years of elementary school unless (1) you supplement at home or (2) your kid's teacher uses technology to differentiate. Even just boring IXL or Amira is better than learning phonics when they can already read Harry Potter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest problem isn't students tuning into tech it's too many parents tuning out on their kid's education and expecting the schools to teach their kid everything, including manners. Too many parents are MIA. You deal with it all, teacher. I'm too busy doing me.

My kid's K teacher wouldn't even read actual books to the class. Instead she would show animated YouTube videos about books. The massive screen in every classroom is a problem. My kid's behavior dramatically improved after we took away her iPad at home. Teachers should experiment with doing the same in their classrooms to the extent possible. Daily screen time in kindergarten is not necessary.

It's the only way some of teachers believe they can offer differential learning. It's hard to teach reaching when you kindergartners who don't know their letters and kindergartners reading chapter books, so they have the advanced readers read to Amira on their ipads and focus on the struggling readers. I hate to say it's a good idea to create cohorts that young, but unless you default to technology for some kids, how else can you teach a class of 20+ kids who are at very different places entering kindergarten depending on parental involvement and quality of preschool?

I call BS. Schools have never tracked kids in kindergarten. By their nature kindergarteners are always going to have different reading abilities. We used to be able to have kindergarten without screens and we still can.

Why shouldn't advanced readers learn something in kindergarten? Just because we failed them in the past, doesn't mean who shouldn't do better. Why should they sit in a classroom and be bored because the teacher has to teach to the bottom? I favor testing at the beginning of the year and splitting classrooms by ability level, but everyone else around here seems to hate that idea. So if not that, then maybe teachers can use technology to at least teach them something.

The problem is you believe:
- Technology in the classroom is a net good; and
- Technology at home destroys children's brains

That is psychotic

I think technology in limited doses and on a closed system that is closely monitored is a net good. I don't mind if my kid does 45 minutes of math on the ipad a day if it's a high quality program and it's in between an outdoor recess and something like an art or music class and they don't have access to anything on their ipad other than the math program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest problem isn't students tuning into tech it's too many parents tuning out on their kid's education and expecting the schools to teach their kid everything, including manners. Too many parents are MIA. You deal with it all, teacher. I'm too busy doing me.

My kid's K teacher wouldn't even read actual books to the class. Instead she would show animated YouTube videos about books. The massive screen in every classroom is a problem. My kid's behavior dramatically improved after we took away her iPad at home. Teachers should experiment with doing the same in their classrooms to the extent possible. Daily screen time in kindergarten is not necessary.

It's the only way some of teachers believe they can offer differential learning. It's hard to teach reaching when you kindergartners who don't know their letters and kindergartners reading chapter books, so they have the advanced readers read to Amira on their ipads and focus on the struggling readers. I hate to say it's a good idea to create cohorts that young, but unless you default to technology for some kids, how else can you teach a class of 20+ kids who are at very different places entering kindergarten depending on parental involvement and quality of preschool?

I call BS. Schools have never tracked kids in kindergarten. By their nature kindergarteners are always going to have different reading abilities. We used to be able to have kindergarten without screens and we still can.

Why shouldn't advanced readers learn something in kindergarten? Just because we failed them in the past, doesn't mean who shouldn't do better. Why should they sit in a classroom and be bored because the teacher has to teach to the bottom? I favor testing at the beginning of the year and splitting classrooms by ability level, but everyone else around here seems to hate that idea. So if not that, then maybe teachers can use technology to at least teach them something.

The problem is you believe:
- Technology in the classroom is a net good; and
- Technology at home destroys children's brains

That is psychotic

I think technology in limited doses and on a closed system that is closely monitored is a net good. I don't mind if my kid does 45 minutes of math on the ipad a day if it's a high quality program and it's in between an outdoor recess and something like an art or music class and they don't have access to anything on their ipad other than the math program.

Tech in schools is not monitored, stop putting your head in the sand. Neither teachers nor students are monitored in how they use tech in schools. Kids are watching porn in schools on school-issued devices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids might be more interested in reading if the schools didn't insist on picking only DEI books. My 15/16 yr old had shown me a list of books they had to choose from, and they were all about the African American or Hispanic experience. I'm sorry but that sounds super boring to a 15/16 yr old (and to me honestly).

In their AP class they read Handmaid's Tale, Macbeth, and they enjoyed those books.

My kids used to love reading, but the school district killed their love of reading by insisting on reading boring books.

I hate to agree, but yes. My kids are elementary aged and the books are so bad that they bring home. Just boring ones whose only redemptive quality was that there was some sort of diversity in it. At home my kids are big readers. I've worked really hard to choose interesting books and focus on caldecott ones (and there's lots of diversity and way better writing!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest problem isn't students tuning into tech it's too many parents tuning out on their kid's education and expecting the schools to teach their kid everything, including manners. Too many parents are MIA. You deal with it all, teacher. I'm too busy doing me.

My kid's K teacher wouldn't even read actual books to the class. Instead she would show animated YouTube videos about books. The massive screen in every classroom is a problem. My kid's behavior dramatically improved after we took away her iPad at home. Teachers should experiment with doing the same in their classrooms to the extent possible. Daily screen time in kindergarten is not necessary.

It's the only way some of teachers believe they can offer differential learning. It's hard to teach reaching when you kindergartners who don't know their letters and kindergartners reading chapter books, so they have the advanced readers read to Amira on their ipads and focus on the struggling readers. I hate to say it's a good idea to create cohorts that young, but unless you default to technology for some kids, how else can you teach a class of 20+ kids who are at very different places entering kindergarten depending on parental involvement and quality of preschool?

I call BS. Schools have never tracked kids in kindergarten. By their nature kindergarteners are always going to have different reading abilities. We used to be able to have kindergarten without screens and we still can.

Why shouldn't advanced readers learn something in kindergarten? Just because we failed them in the past, doesn't mean who shouldn't do better. Why should they sit in a classroom and be bored because the teacher has to teach to the bottom? I favor testing at the beginning of the year and splitting classrooms by ability level, but everyone else around here seems to hate that idea. So if not that, then maybe teachers can use technology to at least teach them something.

The problem is you believe:
- Technology in the classroom is a net good; and
- Technology at home destroys children's brains

That is psychotic

I think technology in limited doses and on a closed system that is closely monitored is a net good. I don't mind if my kid does 45 minutes of math on the ipad a day if it's a high quality program and it's in between an outdoor recess and something like an art or music class and they don't have access to anything on their ipad other than the math program.

Tech in schools is not monitored, stop putting your head in the sand. Neither teachers nor students are monitored in how they use tech in schools. Kids are watching porn in schools on school-issued devices.

My head is not in the sand. I'm not defending tech in schools in the status quo. I believe the answer is to use tech better in schools, not eliminate it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids might be more interested in reading if the schools didn't insist on picking only DEI books. My 15/16 yr old had shown me a list of books they had to choose from, and they were all about the African American or Hispanic experience. I'm sorry but that sounds super boring to a 15/16 yr old (and to me honestly).

In their AP class they read Handmaid's Tale, Macbeth, and they enjoyed those books.

My kids used to love reading, but the school district killed their love of reading by insisting on reading boring books.

I hate to agree, but yes. My kids are elementary aged and the books are so bad that they bring home. Just boring ones whose only redemptive quality was that there was some sort of diversity in it. At home my kids are big readers. I've worked really hard to choose interesting books and focus on caldecott ones (and there's lots of diversity and way better writing!).

Same. I've almost all of the Caldecott books at home to my kids. They are true gems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids might be more interested in reading if the schools didn't insist on picking only DEI books. My 15/16 yr old had shown me a list of books they had to choose from, and they were all about the African American or Hispanic experience. I'm sorry but that sounds super boring to a 15/16 yr old (and to me honestly).

In their AP class they read Handmaid's Tale, Macbeth, and they enjoyed those books.

My kids used to love reading, but the school district killed their love of reading by insisting on reading boring books.

I hate to agree, but yes. My kids are elementary aged and the books are so bad that they bring home. Just boring ones whose only redemptive quality was that there was some sort of diversity in it. At home my kids are big readers. I've worked really hard to choose interesting books and focus on caldecott ones (and there's lots of diversity and way better writing!).

Same. I've almost all of the Caldecott books at home to my kids. They are true gems.

We read a lot of the "old books," but we do have to spend some time explaining about gender roles, sexism, and so on. I don't think the books or authors should be demonized or removed from reading lists and curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids might be more interested in reading if the schools didn't insist on picking only DEI books. My 15/16 yr old had shown me a list of books they had to choose from, and they were all about the African American or Hispanic experience. I'm sorry but that sounds super boring to a 15/16 yr old (and to me honestly).

In their AP class they read Handmaid's Tale, Macbeth, and they enjoyed those books.

My kids used to love reading, but the school district killed their love of reading by insisting on reading boring books.

I hate to agree, but yes. My kids are elementary aged and the books are so bad that they bring home. Just boring ones whose only redemptive quality was that there was some sort of diversity in it. At home my kids are big readers. I've worked really hard to choose interesting books and focus on caldecott ones (and there's lots of diversity and way better writing!).

The leveled readers aren’t the most interesting books but they are appropriate for your kids current independent reading level.

Supplement at home with books they like more. Ideally, you can read them together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest problem isn't students tuning into tech it's too many parents tuning out on their kid's education and expecting the schools to teach their kid everything, including manners. Too many parents are MIA. You deal with it all, teacher. I'm too busy doing me.

My kid's K teacher wouldn't even read actual books to the class. Instead she would show animated YouTube videos about books. The massive screen in every classroom is a problem. My kid's behavior dramatically improved after we took away her iPad at home. Teachers should experiment with doing the same in their classrooms to the extent possible. Daily screen time in kindergarten is not necessary.

It's the only way some of teachers believe they can offer differential learning. It's hard to teach reaching when you kindergartners who don't know their letters and kindergartners reading chapter books, so they have the advanced readers read to Amira on their ipads and focus on the struggling readers. I hate to say it's a good idea to create cohorts that young, but unless you default to technology for some kids, how else can you teach a class of 20+ kids who are at very different places entering kindergarten depending on parental involvement and quality of preschool?

I call BS. Schools have never tracked kids in kindergarten. By their nature kindergarteners are always going to have different reading abilities. We used to be able to have kindergarten without screens and we still can.

Why shouldn't advanced readers learn something in kindergarten? Just because we failed them in the past, doesn't mean who shouldn't do better. Why should they sit in a classroom and be bored because the teacher has to teach to the bottom? I favor testing at the beginning of the year and splitting classrooms by ability level, but everyone else around here seems to hate that idea. So if not that, then maybe teachers can use technology to at least teach them something.

The problem is you believe:
- Technology in the classroom is a net good; and
- Technology at home destroys children's brains

That is psychotic

I think technology in limited doses and on a closed system that is closely monitored is a net good. I don't mind if my kid does 45 minutes of math on the ipad a day if it's a high quality program and it's in between an outdoor recess and something like an art or music class and they don't have access to anything on their ipad other than the math program.

+1

Technology can be beneficial in classrooms if not abused.