Sure but thats not whats happening. |
|
The problem is not failure to differentiate in K and a lack of bespoke accelerated educations for children of strivers; that has never been a part of public school. For decades, reading wasn't even taught in K - it began in 1st. Even the "good" parents were not supplementing outside of doing some bedtime reading.
As for rigor in the curriculum - many of the grade level standards for math, reading, writing, etc. have been pushed downwards even though they are not appropriate (for kids as a whole), and standards have only become more rigorous over time. But that leaves many to fall behind early in elementary school, and there are never opportunities to catch up. The proliferation of devices at home and in school has been such a disaster. The old studies about Head Start -comparing results for poor children who got into Head Start vs those who didn't attend preschool - also make me wonder if increasingly "rigorous" preschools are countereffective down the road, since children lose out on so much other developmentally appropriate activity (social skills, motor skills, problem solving, etc.) |
But preschool and kindergarten - second grade are pretty different learning windows. And kindergarteners are sitting in a classroom for hours everyday. Why shouldn't kids be placed in groups so that everyone learns something from instruction time? What is the value in making kids who can already read sit in a kindergarten class and listen to a teacher teach the alphabet or basic phonics? |
Yes, I mean that would be great. Many of us on this board have academically inclined kids. But that is not what has caused this nationwide (and worldwide) decline. |
My kid was ready to sit in a K class and listen to a teacher. She wasn't ready to read. The lesson she learned from K was that she couldn't read and her friends could. |
Well that's like saying teachers will provide math acceleration to one of three groups in a mixed class of 4th graders. It's not going to happen. It will always be abused because it is designed to be abused. |
That's cynical. I'm sure we can design a closed system that only allows access to specific digital tools and blocks everything else. It just takes some work. |
How long do you want kids to be exposed to pornography in schools while somebody figures this out and how long will that last before kids find workarounds? |
| Also, why do you not care that kids are being exposed to pornography in schools? Why are edtech profits more important than student safety? This should be a five alarm fire. Every school admin who is not actively trying to stop this needs to be fired. |
It is this! I have had a front row seat to watching and requiring paper work products. |
Are you stating the differentiation never happened in early ES? It absolutely did. One of the problems that proponents against tracking use is equity and also that there is no transparency. All schools run things a bit different, within a system, within a state, and state compared to other states. Our current school has moved to having teachers only teach 1 subject starting in 3rd grade and the kids move between the teachers. Is that county approved? Have no idea because I was just informed about it. Do they have testing that shows it improved outcomes? Are kids also grouped by tracking scores to ensure that if a teacher is only teaching math to one group that are reasonably on the same level? Do test scores have more weight or do previous teachers get a say in where your kid goes next? I think part of the reason we all have such different experiences is because there is a lot of teacher and administrative autonomy which is great because you want to be able to modulate your environment to the group of kids you have. But it doesnt seem like students are given the same benefits to being in classrooms modulated to where they are and I think it causes a lot of boredom (not the good kind). |
Maybe you should join the Amish? Obviously, no one wants their kids exposed to pornography. No one on here is defending the status quo. Everyone agrees that things need to change. Most of us believe that there is a place for some technology in schools. There is some very high quality ed tech (I'm not talking about things horrible products like Prodigy), and it's especially good for differential learning. Programs that do frequent assessments and give tailored work based on student results are quite good if administered properly and safely. |
Reciprocally our school system tests in 1st and my kid did not do well on the test and was not selected for TAG, but he also completed the entire Chromebook reading program before the end of 2nd grade 1st quarter. He wont have an opportunity to retest until 4th sooo 2nd-4th will be a toss up depending on how it goes with teachers and his cohort. |
What do you mean "most of us"? I have met zero parents in our elementary school who want anywhere near the level of technology use there is now. Most would be happier with zero tech use in early elementary school. It is simply not okay for kids to have access to distracting and potentially dangerous content on school issued devices. It sounds like you are labeling that perspective as "Amish" (whatever tf that means). That is psychotic. |
Maybe annual testing is part of the solution. Can you appeal based on other test scores? If he's in the upper 95% you have a solid leg to stand on. |