Reply to Do large class sizes in FCPS make you consider paying $25K for private?

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "Do large class sizes in FCPS make you consider paying $25K for private?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here.... my kids are not in AAP so the 30 and 29 kids in the class are a mixture of abilities and a mixture of interest in learning.  I think the comparison with large AAP classes might not be an accurate comparison.

I generally feel like because I've made sure my kids are meeting the minimum benchmarks in reading/math, and they are generally well behaved, they are left to their own a lot and the teacher doesn't have time for working with the kids who are already on target.

Where are the FCPS where the class sizes are in the lower 20s?

As for homeschooling as an add-on, can you recommend some programs?  I taught them reading and math facts on my own, but I have no idea what to do beyond that.[/quote]

Our "homeschooling" program does not involve established curricula or programs of any type. What I think it most important for my children's future is not a grasp of facts and figures or an ability to read or do math above their grade levels. Rather, I want them to develop a deep love of learning and strong critical thinking skills.

To that end, I read aloud to our kids almost every night until they are/were in middle school. This allows them access to rich and complex stories well above their reading level (but well within their comprehension level) and gave me an opportunity to have deep, probing discussions with them about what we read. Books on tape in the car are great for this, too. We've gone on to listening to podcasts of This American Life, the Diane Rehm show, as long as they aren't discussing disturbing or scary or otherwise too mature in content.

We make it a point to talk about all kinds of things at home. Sometimes just my DH and me are doing the talking, but the kids are always listening and usually they join in. General and open discussions about politics, current affairs, etc., spark all kinds of questions and exploration. In the past few days, my 10-year-old and I have talked about fighting forest fires out west, how the thinking about the benefits/costs of forest fires has changed, what the problems are with people living in areas with forest fires, why they choose to live there, etc. etc. etc. We talked about the panda cub being born, the one that died, why it died, was the mother sad, etc. He looked up panda info on line when I couldn't answer some of his questions. We talked a lot about MLK and his speech at the Lincoln Memorial. We talked about the Governor McDonnell's ongoing ethics issues, the difference between "ethical/moral" and "legal," whether laws should be changed, and why some people might not want them to be changed.

We go to the library, to art and history and nature and science museums, to historical sites. We have books and other reading materials littering every room of the house. We subscribe to a newspaper and leave it on the breakfast table and point out interesting things for the kids to read. We encourage our baseball lover to check the standings and stats every day and tell us what it going on. We play penny poker and hearts and strategy board games. We find thought-provoking movies and TV shows to watch with the kids.

This is what "homeschooling" (as a supplement to regular school) should be. JMO.[/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