New to DCPS report cards

[Anonymous]

Anyone in here saying science is just learning facts, have you ever taught science?

I used to teach fifth grade science and we did labs a few times a week to learn our standards.

[Anonymous]

OK, we have a hater troll on here who knows nothing about teaching, standards, or the schools he/she is bashing, so its getting pretty darn tedious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of ways to teach social studies that are NOT random whitewashed lessons in US History. My 2nd grader, in the past two years, has learned: what makes a community and how different types of communities may be structured; civics, including voting and other rights; structure of local and other governments; markets and money, etc. Critical thinking about citizenship and society is just as important, if not more important, as fluency in STEM skills.

Those all seem like concepts that are not really suited for elementary education. I'd rather see more focus on reading, writing, and math; plus a good social-emotional curriculum. Pushing abstractions without the necessary maturity ("critical thinking about citizenship"??) and random facts about voting and markets just seems like a waste of time. There's a reason the Common Core includes only math and English. (PS I feel the same way about all specials, not just social science and science.) In my ideal world school would be 2 hours of math, 2 hours of english, 1 hr of PE, 1 hour of lunch and recess. Real music and art classes (where kids make focused, sustained efforts) can be after school.

Yeah, well, the real experts in education (not the politicians) would disagree with you. Having something interesting to learn about is what motivates learning, not drill and kill. And children ate quite inclined to think about how people get along, fairness, natural sciences, etc.

The point is that the primary task of elementary is to learn about reading, writing, and math. The rest can be a distraction; and I doubt that kids are truly that motivated by whatever canned "expeditions" they do about science topics. Teach kids the fundamentals first, then give them free time.

I get your point, but most experts and many parents know you are wrong about the 'distractions.' The most successful path to teaching the fundamentals AND instilling a love of (or even capacity for) learning is not slogging through an enormous pile of lifeess worksheets.

There isa reason any people in this town pay $40,000/year for learning disguised as fun.

[Anonymous]

^^ is a reason many

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of ways to teach social studies that are NOT random whitewashed lessons in US History. My 2nd grader, in the past two years, has learned: what makes a community and how different types of communities may be structured; civics, including voting and other rights; structure of local and other governments; markets and money, etc. Critical thinking about citizenship and society is just as important, if not more important, as fluency in STEM skills.

Those all seem like concepts that are not really suited for elementary education. I'd rather see more focus on reading, writing, and math; plus a good social-emotional curriculum. Pushing abstractions without the necessary maturity ("critical thinking about citizenship"??) and random facts about voting and markets just seems like a waste of time. There's a reason the Common Core includes only math and English. (PS I feel the same way about all specials, not just social science and science.) In my ideal world school would be 2 hours of math, 2 hours of english, 1 hr of PE, 1 hour of lunch and recess. Real music and art classes (where kids make focused, sustained efforts) can be after school.

Yeah, well, the real experts in education (not the politicians) would disagree with you. Having something interesting to learn about is what motivates learning, not drill and kill. And children ate quite inclined to think about how people get along, fairness, natural sciences, etc.

The point is that the primary task of elementary is to learn about reading, writing, and math. The rest can be a distraction; and I doubt that kids are truly that motivated by whatever canned "expeditions" they do about science topics. Teach kids the fundamentals first, then give them free time.

I get your point, but most experts and many parents know you are wrong about the 'distractions.' The most successful path to teaching the fundamentals AND instilling a love of (or even capacity for) learning is not slogging through an enormous pile of lifeess worksheets.

There isa reason any people in this town pay $40,000/year for learning disguised as fun.

The "slogging through lifeless worksheets" perception of DCPS is really not true. I'll bet you $100 that my DC is receiving a more thorough grounding in the fundamentals at his DCPS K than kids get in those expensive privates. The reason people pay for privates is because they actually don't WANT their kids to have to learn because they think "my kid will do fine wherever!" Getting a good grasp on fundamentals is what instills a love of learning and confidence -- without really knowing how to read, write, and do math, you can't enjoy learning. Kids have a lot of capacity to learn. We consistently underestimate them in the US. Fakey STEM "crafts" and going on teacher-led nature walks to collect leaves or whatever is not instilling a love OR capacity for learning. It's childcare.