Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 16:04     Subject: Re:What exactly is a prepped kid?
Clearly, you are right. All of the education theorists have no idea what they are talking about and surely as a parent you know
more than all of them do:
http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/2014/06/18/educational-makerspaces/
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 15:56     Subject: What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In my kid's kindergarten class, on the free writing exercise on Mondays, there are kids whose parents have taught them three specific sentences and who have spent the weekend practicing those sentences. It defeats the point of the exercise which is for kids to sound out words and try to write them down, to struggle a bit, etc.


Wow. Are parents really doing this? That is messed up.


Would not surprise me. I have a brother who has drilled his kids so much in writing: "Write 5 sentences before you can play on vacation," etc., that I'm quite sure he's in danger of making them hate it. I'm constantly amazed at what some parents will do to keep their kids from ever struggling to work anything out themselves.


Children need structure so your brother is doing the right thing.

This whole notion that kids will learn for themselves at their pace working things out as they struggle is one of the reasons why our educational system is deficient. But of course the blame will be placed on teachers, the lack of funding, etc when it is often because parents relinquish their responsibility in the education of their children.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 15:53     Subject: What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In my kid's kindergarten class, on the free writing exercise on Mondays, there are kids whose parents have taught them three specific sentences and who have spent the weekend practicing those sentences. It defeats the point of the exercise which is for kids to sound out words and try to write them down, to struggle a bit, etc.


Wow. Are parents really doing this? That is messed up.


Would not surprise me. I have a brother who has drilled his kids so much in writing: "Write 5 sentences before you can play on vacation," etc., that I'm quite sure he's in danger of making them hate it. I'm constantly amazed at what some parents will do to keep their kids from ever struggling to work anything out themselves.


The two examples seem materially different. I personally require my kids from first grade on to do at least a few minutes (5-10) of writing several times a week unless they have a lot of homework, and most days in the summer, because I'm dissatisfied with how the school teaches writing. But I wouldn't prepare my kindergarten child's free writing sentences -- that defeats the entire point and it's at least somewhat dishonest.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 15:48     Subject: Re:What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Prepping is what other parents do to get their borderline children into the AAP/GT programs. Good parenting is what I do because my child is naturally gifted.


Could you move your big head over a little? It is crowding the rest of us.

The bigger the head, the harder the fall.


Sarcasm impaired?


Not at all. Just not funny.


Really? I thought it was pretty funny. Clever. Not PP BTW.


Another NP who also found it rather funny. And unfortunately very accurate to the mindset that seems typical about this issue.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 15:36     Subject: What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In my kid's kindergarten class, on the free writing exercise on Mondays, there are kids whose parents have taught them three specific sentences and who have spent the weekend practicing those sentences. It defeats the point of the exercise which is for kids to sound out words and try to write them down, to struggle a bit, etc.


Wow. Are parents really doing this? That is messed up.


Would not surprise me. I have a brother who has drilled his kids so much in writing: "Write 5 sentences before you can play on vacation," etc., that I'm quite sure he's in danger of making them hate it. I'm constantly amazed at what some parents will do to keep their kids from ever struggling to work anything out themselves.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 15:06     Subject: What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:In my kid's kindergarten class, on the free writing exercise on Mondays, there are kids whose parents have taught them three specific sentences and who have spent the weekend practicing those sentences. It defeats the point of the exercise which is for kids to sound out words and try to write them down, to struggle a bit, etc.


Wow. Are parents really doing this? That is messed up.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 14:40     Subject: Re:What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Prepping is what other parents do to get their borderline children into the AAP/GT programs. Good parenting is what I do because my child is naturally gifted.


Could you move your big head over a little? It is crowding the rest of us.

The bigger the head, the harder the fall.


Sarcasm impaired?


Not at all. Just not funny.


Really? I thought it was pretty funny. Clever. Not PP BTW.


It isn't funny since some posters on here truly post like that. So when someone else does it, the humor is missing. She just seems like she's one of them.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 14:10     Subject: Re:What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Prepping is what other parents do to get their borderline children into the AAP/GT programs. Good parenting is what I do because my child is naturally gifted.


Could you move your big head over a little? It is crowding the rest of us.

The bigger the head, the harder the fall.


Sarcasm impaired?


Not at all. Just not funny.


Really? I thought it was pretty funny. Clever. Not PP BTW.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 14:05     Subject: Re:What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Prepping is what other parents do to get their borderline children into the AAP/GT programs. Good parenting is what I do because my child is naturally gifted.


Could you move your big head over a little? It is crowding the rest of us.

The bigger the head, the harder the fall.


Sarcasm impaired?


Not at all. Just not funny.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 13:56     Subject: What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Prepping is engaging in activities that have no intrinsic value beyond getting a certain score. Taking your kiddo to children's theater in Alexandria, to see the Nutcracker at Christmas, taking music lessons, pottery, building, etc. is not prepping because the kid gets an experience that makes them a more well-rounded person. THe same cannot be said for spending a summer day inside doing workbooks.

Prepped kids end up less interesting and the group as a whole suffers since they contribute less to a classroom environment in terms of ideas, enthusiasm, etc. The little girl who makes up a song is contributing in class in a way that the boy who recites the multiplication tables to impress the teacher, while not being able to tell you which number is larger -- 35 or 42 -- does not. But we all know who will get into the gifted program.


Surely not the kid who did not know whether 35 or 42 is the bigger number.


Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 13:55     Subject: Re:What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Prepping is what other parents do to get their borderline children into the AAP/GT programs. Good parenting is what I do because my child is naturally gifted.


Could you move your big head over a little? It is crowding the rest of us.

The bigger the head, the harder the fall.


Sarcasm impaired?
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 13:43     Subject: Re:What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:Prepping is what other parents do to get their borderline children into the AAP/GT programs. Good parenting is what I do because my child is naturally gifted.


Ha, I got the joke. Sounds about right to this non-FCPS parent!
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 13:35     Subject: Re:What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Prepping is what other parents do to get their borderline children into the AAP/GT programs. Good parenting is what I do because my child is naturally gifted.


Could you move your big head over a little? It is crowding the rest of us.

The bigger the head, the harder the fall.


Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 13:33     Subject: Re:What exactly is a prepped kid?
Anonymous wrote:Prepping is what other parents do to get their borderline children into the AAP/GT programs. Good parenting is what I do because my child is naturally gifted.


Could you move your big head over a little? It is crowding the rest of us.

The bigger the head, the harder the fall.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2014 13:31     Subject: Re:What exactly is a prepped kid?
Prepping is what other parents do to get their borderline children into the AAP/GT programs. Good parenting is what I do because my child is naturally gifted.