So tired of "my child is so bored in K"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyway... back on track here. Isn't it sort of pretentious for a parent-- only 2 weeks into school -- to declare that her daughter will be bored for all of K? I think some people are really delusional about their own children's abilities.

Yes, there are some examples of true genius. But more rare than we think.

It's not pretentious. It's just silly. Ideally it's a misconception that will correct itself with time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It those situations she can always find a word for each letter. Choose a theme! Animal names? Count by 2s! Make a song out of it.

I'm not being contrary, PP. And, I'm not the PP above. Just sharing some of the tactics I've used to get through homework assignments. I was G&T tracked at a young age and learned to create fun for myself. I'd list a whole bunch of three digit numbers and add them up, while the other kids finished an assignment that I'd already completed. In high school, I remember using the end pages of the blue book to write out sonnets I'd memorized because we all had to stay in the testing room until time was up. You find a way, PP. I was taught that it was impolite to complain and unfair to those who needed that exercise or time, so I had to get creative.

Were you not bored while you were adding three-digit numbers and writing down sonnets you'd memorized? Or were you merely less bored than you would otherwise have been?

I resorted to these things and spent time expanding on whatever the topic at hand was in order to stay occupied. I was really into fairy tales when I was a small child and read through our local library's shelves on stories from around the world. So, Aesop's Fables to the Greek and Roman gods, Swedish and Yiddish folk tales---I read them all. I'd take things from class and use what I was learning elsewhere to make it more interesting for myself. Later, I studied the ancient world at home and used that to add interest in class. I got in trouble for humming in class as a kid because I'd play classical music in my head while focused on handwriting. I'd use the periodic table to "play" in class when we did our spelling work. I can't remember being "less bored." From what I remember, this tactic saved me from ever being bored. I was content having my imagination to apply in these classroom settings. Call it a coping mechanism, if you will. I mean, how do any of us get through departmental meetings? As an adult, I enjoy watching office politics play out or working through a list in my head. I'm guilty of playing the country name game at work or naming books on a certain theme while sitting through a presentation. I did this with African motherhood the other day, while my (university) students prepped for an in-class assignment. What do any of us do when putting away groceries or vacuuming? Isn't it all the same thing?

So, you are projecting your interest and experiences as the ideal for what it should be for kids who have very different interests. My kid has no interest in Aesop's Fables. He is more interested in learning geography, higher level math and a few other things. So, in your class because that is what you are interested in, that works for all? You are basically encouraging kids to check out with daydreaming and creating their own little worlds rather than engaging and stimulating them. I send my kid to school to learn. K. is supposed to provide a strong foundation and learning to daydream and check out because the foundations my child needs are not taught is not a good start to academics. My kid needs help writing paragraphs, spelling, higher level math, and more complex topics in science. Teachers need to get to know their students, understand where they are at and meet those individual needs. I don't want my child coping. I want my child learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyway... back on track here. Isn't it sort of pretentious for a parent-- only 2 weeks into school -- to declare that her daughter will be bored for all of K? I think some people are really delusional about their own children's abilities.

Yes, there are some examples of true genius. But more rare than we think.

It's not pretentious. It's just silly. Ideally it's a misconception that will correct itself with time.

Or, you know, not. My son (the one who suggested different teaching techniques to his teacher) became more and more disengaged as the school year went on. By spring, it was awful, and he was incredibly depressed and anxious. A FIVE YEAR OLD, depressed over how awful school is. I promise you it wasn't "silly" or a "misconception" that corrected itself over time. On the contrary, the longer he was in that environment, the more he exhausted his coping resources.

Moving on to first grade, we thought he had a teacher who understood was supposed to understand gifted kids. Nope, not at all. Here was her take on math, in particular: because my son was not completing the base work, he was not ready for more complicated work. The base work was completing a number roll - writing the numbers 1 - 1000 on ten sheets of grid paper. The theory was that this taught number relationships - revealed the great mystery that 29 is in the same column as 19, that kind of thing - and thus was an essential building block to the first grade experience. My kid just could not bring himself to complete this thing. It finally got sent home, and I implored him to complete it. He'd sit at the table, holding his pencil, write a few numbers, and just zone out. It was misery. What finally worked for him? Turning it into something that required thought. "Fill in the square that is nine more. Now a square that is two tens more. Now three squares that are minus three from there." When we told the teacher that engaging him at a higher level got him back "into" the work, she was VERY unhappy with us, because that wasn't the assignment. The assignment was for my child to write, in order, the numbers 1-1000 on ten sheets of grid paper. Apparently we totally ruined it when we gave him a way to make it interesting and therefore not paralyze him with boredom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyway... back on track here. Isn't it sort of pretentious for a parent-- only 2 weeks into school -- to declare that her daughter will be bored for all of K? I think some people are really delusional about their own children's abilities.

Yes, there are some examples of true genius. But more rare than we think.

It's not pretentious. It's just silly. Ideally it's a misconception that will correct itself with time.

Or, you know, not. My son (the one who suggested different teaching techniques to his teacher) became more and more disengaged as the school year went on. By spring, it was awful, and he was incredibly depressed and anxious. A FIVE YEAR OLD, depressed over how awful school is. I promise you it wasn't "silly" or a "misconception" that corrected itself over time. On the contrary, the longer he was in that environment, the more he exhausted his coping resources.

Did you declare after 2 weeks of kindergarten that your son would be bored for all of K? That's the silly misconception. Nobody can know this after 2 weeks of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It those situations she can always find a word for each letter. Choose a theme! Animal names? Count by 2s! Make a song out of it.

I'm not being contrary, PP. And, I'm not the PP above. Just sharing some of the tactics I've used to get through homework assignments. I was G&T tracked at a young age and learned to create fun for myself. I'd list a whole bunch of three digit numbers and add them up, while the other kids finished an assignment that I'd already completed. In high school, I remember using the end pages of the blue book to write out sonnets I'd memorized because we all had to stay in the testing room until time was up. You find a way, PP. I was taught that it was impolite to complain and unfair to those who needed that exercise or time, so I had to get creative.

Were you not bored while you were adding three-digit numbers and writing down sonnets you'd memorized? Or were you merely less bored than you would otherwise have been?

I resorted to these things and spent time expanding on whatever the topic at hand was in order to stay occupied. I was really into fairy tales when I was a small child and read through our local library's shelves on stories from around the world. So, Aesop's Fables to the Greek and Roman gods, Swedish and Yiddish folk tales---I read them all. I'd take things from class and use what I was learning elsewhere to make it more interesting for myself. Later, I studied the ancient world at home and used that to add interest in class. I got in trouble for humming in class as a kid because I'd play classical music in my head while focused on handwriting. I'd use the periodic table to "play" in class when we did our spelling work. I can't remember being "less bored." From what I remember, this tactic saved me from ever being bored. I was content having my imagination to apply in these classroom settings. Call it a coping mechanism, if you will. I mean, how do any of us get through departmental meetings? As an adult, I enjoy watching office politics play out or working through a list in my head. I'm guilty of playing the country name game at work or naming books on a certain theme while sitting through a presentation. I did this with African motherhood the other day, while my (university) students prepped for an in-class assignment. What do any of us do when putting away groceries or vacuuming? Isn't it all the same thing?

So, you are projecting your interest and experiences as the ideal for what it should be for kids who have very different interests. My kid has no interest in Aesop's Fables. He is more interested in learning geography, higher level math and a few other things. So, in your class because that is what you are interested in, that works for all? You are basically encouraging kids to check out with daydreaming and creating their own little worlds rather than engaging and stimulating them. I send my kid to school to learn. K. is supposed to provide a strong foundation and learning to daydream and check out because the foundations my child needs are not taught is not a good start to academics. My kid needs help writing paragraphs, spelling, higher level math, and more complex topics in science. Teachers need to get to know their students, understand where they are at and meet those individual needs. I don't want my child coping. I want my child learning.

AMEN! This is it, exactly. Every child has the right to learn when at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyway... back on track here. Isn't it sort of pretentious for a parent-- only 2 weeks into school -- to declare that her daughter will be bored for all of K? I think some people are really delusional about their own children's abilities.

Yes, there are some examples of true genius. But more rare than we think.

It's not pretentious. It's just silly. Ideally it's a misconception that will correct itself with time.

Or, you know, not. My son (the one who suggested different teaching techniques to his teacher) became more and more disengaged as the school year went on. By spring, it was awful, and he was incredibly depressed and anxious. A FIVE YEAR OLD, depressed over how awful school is. I promise you it wasn't "silly" or a "misconception" that corrected itself over time. On the contrary, the longer he was in that environment, the more he exhausted his coping resources.

Did you declare after 2 weeks of kindergarten that your son would be bored for all of K? That's the silly misconception. Nobody can know this after 2 weeks of school.

No, we didn't declare that for our son, because we were first time parents with foolishly lofty expectations of the school's quality and ability to reach individual students. Knowing what I know now, I can say with absolute certainty that my daughter, entering K next year and extremely similar to her brother, will be bored (unless of course her personality changes or she unlearns everything she currently knows, in which case maybe K will be a stimulating and learning-rich environment for her).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No, we didn't declare that for our son, because we were first time parents with foolishly lofty expectations of the school's quality and ability to reach individual students. Knowing what I know now, I can say with absolute certainty that my daughter, entering K next year and extremely similar to her brother, will be bored (unless of course her personality changes or she unlearns everything she currently knows, in which case maybe K will be a stimulating and learning-rich environment for her).

Well, you can't, really. Maybe you could say it with absolute certainty if you knew that your daughter's kindergarten class would be exactly like your son's. But you probably don't know that -- or, if you do, how do you know it?

[Anonymous]

So, you are projecting your interest and experiences as the ideal for what it should be for kids who have very different interests. My kid has no interest in Aesop's Fables. He is more interested in learning geography, higher level math and a few other things. So, in your class because that is what you are interested in, that works for all? You are basically encouraging kids to check out with daydreaming and creating their own little worlds rather than engaging and stimulating them. I send my kid to school to learn. K. is supposed to provide a strong foundation and learning to daydream and check out because the foundations my child needs are not taught is not a good start to academics. My kid needs help writing paragraphs, spelling, higher level math, and more complex topics in science. Teachers need to get to know their students, understand where they are at and meet those individual needs. I don't want my child coping. I want my child learning.




You don't think there is learning in Aesop's Fables? That is your problem. Maybe that is not your point here, but it is clear that you expect your child to be learning only what HE wants to learn--or, perhaps, what YOU want him to learn. I know you threw Aesop's in as an example, but this is a good illustration of YOUR problem.
Well, here is a point, what if I would rather have my child learn classic literature than geography? Then, does that mean I can complain about him being bored because he is being taught geography? It makes about as much sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No, we didn't declare that for our son, because we were first time parents with foolishly lofty expectations of the school's quality and ability to reach individual students. Knowing what I know now, I can say with absolute certainty that my daughter, entering K next year and extremely similar to her brother, will be bored (unless of course her personality changes or she unlearns everything she currently knows, in which case maybe K will be a stimulating and learning-rich environment for her).

Well, you can't, really. Maybe you could say it with absolute certainty if you knew that your daughter's kindergarten class would be exactly like your son's. But you probably don't know that -- or, if you do, how do you know it?

You're right. If there is an overhaul of the school's K curriculum in the next 12 months, maybe she'll be quite engaged. If not, I stand by my statement above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyway... back on track here. Isn't it sort of pretentious for a parent-- only 2 weeks into school -- to declare that her daughter will be bored for all of K? I think some people are really delusional about their own children's abilities.

Yes, there are some examples of true genius. But more rare than we think.

It's not pretentious. It's just silly. Ideally it's a misconception that will correct itself with time.

Or, you know, not. My son (the one who suggested different teaching techniques to his teacher) became more and more disengaged as the school year went on. By spring, it was awful, and he was incredibly depressed and anxious. A FIVE YEAR OLD, depressed over how awful school is. I promise you it wasn't "silly" or a "misconception" that corrected itself over time. On the contrary, the longer he was in that environment, the more he exhausted his coping resources.

Did you declare after 2 weeks of kindergarten that your son would be bored for all of K? That's the silly misconception. Nobody can know this after 2 weeks of school.

No, we didn't declare that for our son, because we were first time parents with foolishly lofty expectations of the school's quality and ability to reach individual students. Knowing what I know now, I can say with absolute certainty that my daughter, entering K next year and extremely similar to her brother, will be bored (unless of course her personality changes or she unlearns everything she currently knows, in which case maybe K will be a stimulating and learning-rich environment for her).

You are ridiculous. Your son is as well if he can't do an assignment whether he wants to or not.

[Anonymous]

If your kids are so gifted, why not skip a grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So, you are projecting your interest and experiences as the ideal for what it should be for kids who have very different interests. My kid has no interest in Aesop's Fables. He is more interested in learning geography, higher level math and a few other things. So, in your class because that is what you are interested in, that works for all? You are basically encouraging kids to check out with daydreaming and creating their own little worlds rather than engaging and stimulating them. I send my kid to school to learn. K. is supposed to provide a strong foundation and learning to daydream and check out because the foundations my child needs are not taught is not a good start to academics. My kid needs help writing paragraphs, spelling, higher level math, and more complex topics in science. Teachers need to get to know their students, understand where they are at and meet those individual needs. I don't want my child coping. I want my child learning.




You don't think there is learning in Aesop's Fables? That is your problem. Maybe that is not your point here, but it is clear that you expect your child to be learning only what HE wants to learn--or, perhaps, what YOU want him to learn. I know you threw Aesop's in as an example, but this is a good illustration of YOUR problem.
Well, here is a point, what if I would rather have my child learn classic literature than geography? Then, does that mean I can complain about him being bored because he is being taught geography? It makes about as much sense.
a

You are missing the point, especially as a teacher. Yes, there is learning in that but you are choosing that based off your interests. Kids need a variety, not just fairy tales that interest the teacher. I want my child to have a balance of what they are interested in and meeting the learning objective designed for children his age. He would do the fairy tales but it is not what he would enjoy right now. You are clearly all or nothing and my way or nothing. There are clear foundation skills in reading, writing, and math that child need to achieve and the earlier they grasp those concepts the easier it is long term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are so gifted, why not skip a grade?

We are doing that and my child is not gifted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are so gifted, why not skip a grade?

That's not so easy to do. (I'm not a PP who was unhappy with kindergarten.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are so gifted, why not skip a grade?

Lots of gifted kids are on grade-level socially. They can do the work in the grade above them, but they may not cope well with the social requirements of the grade above them. Grade skips are a blessing for gifted kids who are also socially advanced, and a disaster for gifted kids who are not socially advanced.