Reply to News 4: Since when was it the school's responsibility to teach kids how to tie their shoes?

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Reply to "News 4: Since when was it the school's responsibility to teach kids how to tie their shoes?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think it sounds silly when you pick a single example like this, but everyone working in ECE or 1st grade with kids who missed school last year knows this is a bit of an issue.

This is what “learning loss” looks like for kids who did virtual K or PK. Alongside literacy and some very basic math, most of what kids learn in ECE are basic life skills. Tying shoes, putting on and taking off clothes, cleaning, how to stand in line, how to wait your turn, how to choose between a menu of activities, sharing, experiencing disappointment, following a schedule, communicating clearly with adults, etc.

Yes, parents can and should teach their kids these things. [b]But the process is slower and more uneven when kids learn them at home. [/b]School is like magic fir acquiring these skills, because school has major advantages over parents. They can utilize peer learning, since kids can watch each other. Seeing a child their own age perform a skill is much more useful to them than watching an adult do it. Kids are also often more open to learning these skill at school— at home they are more likely to resist or refuse, or lean on having a parent do things for them. ECE teachers have training and experience in overcoming those things, plus also tend to have a special kind of authority with the kids that is hard to replicate at home. ECE classrooms also often introduce skills and then let parents know so they can reinforce at home. It’s a collaborative approach and it works really well.

Kids who didn’t get that last year are at a distinct disadvantage, because these are skills schools build on as a child advances to another grade. If 90% of your class doesn’t have some of the basic skills they should have learned previously, you are going to have to take time that would be spent on literacy and other academics, and dedicate it to life skills. And 1st grade teachers have less experience teaching these things and may be less effective.

This is why “they’ll catch up, it’s not a big deal” was an irresponsible position last year, especially for ECE and early elementary. And anyone teaching these grades knows it. They do catch up, but some kids may slip through and there may be consequences to these delays.[/quote]

Really? Teaching ONE child to tie his/her own shoes is slower than one teacher trying to teach 25 kids? Nope. Stop trying to pass the buck and teach your kid yourself. You taught them how to get dressed so finish the job![/quote]

You’re assuming they taught them how to get dressed and are not dong it for them at home.  My kids pre-k  and K teachers would often give me kudos for teaching my kids what I assumed where basic life skills that parents taught at home (tying your shoes, zipping/buttoning your jeans, coat, getting dressed on their own).  I kept saying thank you but secretly thinking it was really odd until I ask someone at work and found out they were still laying their kids clothes out every night and making sure they got dressed correctly in the morning.  After that I started looking more closely and understood just why the teachers were so surprised.  I was FLOORED at the things most kids couldn’t do and that parents didn’t seem to be actively practicing and trying to get their gets to do on their own.

I volunteered in a K classroom and came home telling me husband that every K-2 teacher should get an immediate raise because they clearly do God’s work.[/quote]

I did costume stuff for a middle school play (kids ages 11-14). The number of kids who had no idea how to properly hang a shirt on a hanger, or God forbid, hang PANTS on a hanger, was crazy.  I literally had to teach them how to use a hanger the right way and put one side in each shoulder/sleeve of the shirt. They'd just throw everything on there however they could make it (temporarily) stay and it was a huge mess, things falling off, etc.

We also taught the kids on costume crew how to use a garment steamer to get wrinkles out. Which is 100% a life skill, if one that is a bit more advanced.

Meanwhile, I remember ironing my dad's shirts regularly at that age -- but TBH I'm not even sure my own kids have ironed a shirt. We get DH's stuff drycleaned. Heck, I hate ironing to this day because of having to do so much of it as a kid, and to the extent possible, avoid buying clothes that need to be ironed. But that does mean my own kids don't really have that skill. [/quote]

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