Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments What's happening in early education in my district

Sounds crazy. Admittedly it has been a long time (35 years maybe) since our new entrants (5 year olds) have had toys and naps. They do have manipulatives/blocks/board games though plus singing/dancing/outdoor games spread throughout the day (we don't have specialists so they canbe loosley scheduled). Plus more recess etc than you guys over there.

I can't see anyone thinking a power point was a good learning tool for little kids though and I can't see our teachers teaching from a script - they don't even use textbooks.

and if the classes are scripted why have a trained teacher. If fact we could put 200 five year olds in the gym and get the older kids to take turns teaching with the biggest bully in the school in charge of discipline. That sounds quite familiar now I think of it.

My first instinct is to gather a group of parents armed with research studies and make a compelling presentation to the local school board regarding the ways in which this approach is detrimental to the children.

My second instinct is that your district may actually be participating in a research experiment? Possibly the development of these pupils may be measured in several areas and compared with similar measures taken for other groups of students? Have parents signed any type of release or blanket permission slip for their child's participation in any educational research or study... possibly at time of registration/enrollment? Is information available online at your district's website, or through open records request, providing transparent and accountable government?

You described in your OP schools doing something ridiculous. Usually the press loves to do stories on things like this. Why would "politics" stop them telling the story.

This sounds disturbingly like a story I heard a few days ago on NPR about Bridge International Academy. It is apparently a for-profit school; the story was focused on a school in Nairobi. It uses what they called the school-in-a-box model, where the goal is to educate large volumes of kids for as little money as possible. The "teachers" all get the day's script via hand-held tablet computers and they literally read the lessons. They claim it is a successful model in the developing world, in part because they hire teachers who don't have college degrees (or much education at all, apparently).

Can't seem to make a link; the story is at NPR.org, entitled "Do For-profit Schools Give Poor Kenyans a Choice?"

When DD was in kindergarten at an absolutely awful inter district magnet she had the kindergarten teacher from hell. Absolutely no explanation for why she ever chose teaching as a profession or who in their right minds would have put her in a kindergarten classroom. She would have LOVED the program the OP describes. In fact it's actually pretty close to what she tried to do. No toys, no play, nothing creative or imaginative allowed. It was up to the kids to adapt to her teaching style - no way would she consider adapting to individual needs or learning styles. Obvious signs of learning disabilities or other neurological issues? P-shaw! These children are just lazy and need additional doses of discipline. Recess is a waste of time! Developmentally appropriate? Don't make me laugh! Silence, marching in straight lines, belittling criticism and punishment - that's what these spoiled brats need if we are going to meet the "rigorous academic standards of kindergarten today"!

Yeah it turned out really well for my DD. 3 years later she still suffers from PTSD type reactions to anything that reminds her of that teacher or that experience. This should prove fun for years to come...

{shiver}

Have you looked into the EMDR therapy for DD? I have heard good things about it.

Yes, I just read that story as well. It does indeed. And then I googled "scripted teaching" and it seems it's become a thing here as well.

Awful.

KDAmom, you may want to read about direct instruction, and project follow through. There is some research and background about the scripted teaching model- the wickipedia entries were good overviews.