I've been getting more and more frustrated with my older son's fourth grade experience. It seems like I spend an unreasonable amount of time helping him not with his work, but with organizing his work and determining what he is supposed to be doing. He does have an agenda and I would say he's about 90 - 95% accurate and complete with it. Sometimes he forgets to bring a book or assignment home, but overall he does OK.
But issues come up. He'll have it written down that there's a science test, but it's not always obvious what the topic is. And there's not always advance notice. He has a spelling test every Friday and he doesn't get the words until Monday. They are supposed to post them online but they don't, they just leave a broken link. He's an exceptionally poor speller and Tuesdays are very busy, so it's a little tight. He also has a grammar test every Friday, but there is no text. We just have to go off the worksheet(s) he did earlier in the week. So the resources at his disposal are limited to the worksheet examples. Occasionally some information about something will be posted online, but it's very hit or miss. They send a weekly update home, but I get it on Tuesday or Wednesday - halfway through the week! These little things add up and the result is that his homework requires a lot of supervision and administrative effort on my part.
I've been drinking the Cool Aid and going along with the idea that kids need to learn to be organized to be prepared for high school and college. But I'm just not buying that anymore. I am certain that my son is learning less because instead of discussing topics with him, I am sorting through worksheets and notebooks and trying broken links.
I recently finished a grad degree and taught some undergraduate classes in a different discipline at the same time. In EVERY course I taught or took there was a syllabus that listed the topics in the order of presentation, the number of tests and the topics to be included (test dates were usually provided too), what the expectations were for homework, how grades would be calculated, and what texts would be used. There was always a rough timeline, and often a very precise schedule. Every instructor, myself included, also posted this online and kept it current. Topics for exams and homework assigments were also posted online. It would be almsot unthinkable for an instructor not to do all this and the syllabus was required of all instructors. So clearly, writing stuff in an agenda and keeping trach of test dates that are moving targets are NOT a skills that are required for success in college.
So why don't elementary school teachers do this for each subject? Prior to this year's public school experience I sympathized with teachers' gripes about dealing with students whose parents don't support their learning at home, but I don't anymore. They make it too hard. I am a well-educated, very involved, very knowledgeable parent with a manageable work schedule. My kids are smart and have had the advantage of excellent educations prior to this year and have recieved a lot of enrichment and exposure to topics at home. But I am starting to consider my son's public school education to be an imposition on my time that I resent. I can't imagine how a parent with less ability, resources, time, and support would handle all this stuff.
I have to admit, I am probably only talking about 5 - 20 minutes a day. But if I had that time back to spend on piano or some math enrichment or even just folding laundry with my kids, I would consider it a better use of time.
I am really surprised that elementary teachers are subject to standards so much lower than university level instructors. Why is this? Wouldn't it make more sense to give young children MORE help staying organzied, not less?
ETA: I know I sound ridiculously cranky. I think it's the ratio of getting organized time to learning time that's got me so worked up. My son is learning almost nothing at school, so I'm frustrated that I'm obligated to support it.
Last edited by JaneSmith; 10/14/10 05:48 AM.
