Reply to Is Basis really as hard as people think?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Am I the only one who questions the value of homework?  By 5th grade, I probably had some math problems most nights (it's so long ago, I may not remember correctly) but that's probably all.  I was ten years old.  I did not have an hour or more per night and 5 hours on the weekend.  I got into an Ivy anyway.  Is all of this work of actual instructional value?  The Finns don't do this to their children, and they're among the top scorers in the world.  Does anyone else wonder if we're beating the love of learning out of our children, instead of encouraging it?[/quote]

Keep in mind that the BASIS curriculum in accelerated.  A BASIS fifth grader should probably be doing the same amount of homework as a sixth or seventh grader at another school.  Also, that BASIS fifth grader can usually graduate after 111th grade with up 10 APs under his belt, so he can probably skip most of freshman year at college as well.[/quote]

See but this is where I think the BASIS model is out of whack, despite possessing some strong traits as a school. What is the purpose of elementary and secondary school? Is it to prepare for and then take the most amount of APs by 11th grade, and position oneself to graduate from college in 3 years? Yes perhaps from some parents point of view. Almost always no if you put yourself in the shoes of the child. APs are not without worth. They show colleges an objective score, like the SAT. But having 12 4s and 5s is not 3x better than having 4 4s and 5s. Colleges want interesting kids. Extracurriculars and community service and other growth experiences will be much more important than piling on the APs, and this is something BASIS doesn't seem to get (although perhaps it only becomes a problem in the later grades). Additionally, though the brochures don't mention it, I assure you that all classes teach to the test. In AP courses this is a given, but in lower school teachers are evaluated primarily on comp pass rates. Again, the AP is not a bad test in itself, but they are multiple choice heavy and the writing components are quite superficial exercises. 
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