This comment struck me as particularly pithy:
Sounds like this parent should stop wanting "the best" for his daughter, and should begin to want "the best for his daughter" instead.
And 40 minutes to do those simple math problems and 30 minutes to read 16 pages? Sorry, but there may be some genetics at work here that keep Esmee, Lola and Karl out of the elite schools.
Or it could be all the pot.
While flippant and not a little harsh (after all, his daughter IS keeping up okay with the expectations, though I might argue somewhat about the "memorization" credo, this is only because I've seen what it leads to in post-secondary students); it's not entirely incorrect in its conclusions.
Honestly-- the ONLY thing to do about this sort of toxicity is walk away for a less toxic (hopefully even a "healthy") alternative. That definition is going to vary tremendously from parent to parent and child to child. I'm just stunned that he signed up for this and is now unhappy because-- well, apparently because he didn't understand what he was getting his daughter into. Not sure on that point.
As noted up-thread-- my DD would
not have found this workload that onerous. She does FAR more in terms of work output, and did even then (as an 8th grader). Yes, it's
some busywork-- but looking at the details provided, not THAT much. It's different than the described state capitals assignment from the previous (also selective?) school. I question, at least somewhat, the ability of even most very bright 8th grade students to grasp the finer points of the McCourt or Alexie novels being studied (other than as stylistic examples of memoir), but otherwise this seems quite
reasonable to me. Personally, I mean.
After all, this is a selective charter school; it is a
school of choice. So choose something ELSE, for heaven's sakes.
What on earth makes this kind of thing WORTH the cost?? Seriously-- answer that question honestly for a minute. What is he hoping that his children will garner from this experience?
I see many, many parents around here who subject their children to this kind of punitive regimen in the hopes of getting them into an "elite college" in order to... well, something vague about success, apparently meaning high earning power or television appearances or something.
I'm not entirely opposed to the neural plasticity thinking about academic ability and achievement, but I see this as inherently being about the egalitarianism espoused by writers like Gladwell, and taken to toxic extremes. No, not everyone
can be in the "top" whatever-percentile. No matter how hard they work. "High expectations" also need to be "realistic" expectations, but there's definitely something missing there at this point. IMO.
