Reply to Schools simply do not teach writing any more

Forum Index » Elementary School-Aged Kids

Reply to "Schools simply do not teach writing any more"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Since you now have the opportunity to teach the skills you want them to learn at home, order some workbooks and do it. Don't wait for the teachers.[/quote]

All the involved FCPS parents I know already supplement heavily. Our kids will be fine. What about the kids whose parents can’t, won’t, or don’t notice they need to, though? Shouldn’t the teachers and administrators care that what they do doesn’t work?

Having schools closed has allowed me to supplement while working around only 2-3 hours of class instead of 7+bus ride time, and it has been glorious.[/quote]

Why do you assume heavy supplementation by parents can replace a good education in school?

I do not have the confidence that I—as someone who has zero teaching experience—can teach my child the core of what she needs to learn in school. Her education is too important to be left to my own abilities. I would be very scared that I missed something.

We’re paying for private school as a result. [/quote]

Have a look at stats for home schooled kids.  I think you will be surprised.  I personally would never do it because I think the loss of socialization is too great a price to pay but the academic results can be wonderful.  I have said before that this is the way great thinkers were educated for hundreds of years.  Governess + music/art/language teachers used to add up to aristocratic education.  I consider myself an acolyte of Harold Bloom.  The problem is the inferiority of the reading material we give our children these days -- books that do nothing more than reflect their limited understanding of the world and do not challenge them intellectually.  It must be easy and contemporary and may not contain any words or phrases they do not already know.  Even the language used by characters on Sesame Street 30 years ago would be incomprehensible to most children now.  [/quote]

I think it’s really odd that you equate “aristocratic education” with producing “great thinkers.” Who are you specifically referring to?

I know homeschooled kids tend to do well, but they are following a prescribed curriculum and often are actually in virtual—or sometimes even very small in-person—classes with other kids. It’s really a much more involved proposition than buying some workbooks and “supplementing” after school. [/quote]

I am the PP who said every FCPS parent I know supplements. I WAS homeschooled, and among my peers saw homeschooling done both well and poorly. I supplement with pieces of homeschool curriculum and rely on homeschool reading lists. So I do feel fairly confident. Most people I know who supplement spend as much time on curriculum as homeschool parents. Math-U-See or Singapore Math, Logic of English, and other popular homeschool products stock shelves of public school families in VA.

I would guess that an aristocratic education means a governess or tutor teaching a rich British kid in the classical tradition, or maybe an old-school boarding school. Lots of personalized learning in Latin, Greek, math, geography, history, grammar, and classic literature.[/quote]

Ok, so you happen to have access to those materials and have experience in it. That’s very different than the vast majority of parents.

Also, I know what that PP was referring to; I just really question that that’s what produced “great thinkers.” I took Latin and Greek and read a lot of classic literature. It’s very important, but isn’t the be all/end all for creating “great thinkers.” For one, that setting produced a TON of elitism and pigheadedness. But that PP loves Harold Bloom, so it makes sense he/she would talk about an “aristocratic education.” [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics