Rock and a Hard Place

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-12-2003
Rock and a Hard Place
1524
Thu, 11-20-2003 - 10:45am

There's something on this board that has been bothering me, and I hope I can articulate it.

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 3:38pm
Please do not think I correlate a 5 year old's performance in school with good or bad parenting.

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2002
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 3:39pm
But again, why the heck does that kind of evaluation have to involve direct comparison between children in a given group? Isn't that effectively "grading on a curve"? If standards are going to be set with the expectation of being met by a child before moving on to the next class, then the comparison should be to the standard, not to what other children in that particular group have or haven't accomplished. And absolutely, the parents of the children who were not going to move on should have been kept informed about their child's lack of progress throughout the year, not just suddenly had the information dumped in their lap.

Keeping close watch on a child's performance to make sure that they were achieving the expected level of competence or not makes absolute sense to me. Determining that progress based on direct comparisons to the other children in that particular class makes no sense to me at all.

Laura

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 3:39pm
My child does not need additional challenges if he is average compared to his classmates, even if they are all way above the national average at a given age.

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 3:40pm
LOL

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 3:41pm
I guess I'm interested in both comparisons, and don't see any active harm in that sufficient enough to cause me to doubt a teacher's competence.

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 3:41pm
How is charting and comparing how many letters johnny recognizes as compares to how many letters suzie recognizes identifying a problem? If johnny and suzie should recognize all 26 letters by Christmas, then all that is relevent to me is how many and what letters my child needs to work on. I don't see how this type of a chart would identify any kind of a problem. It would be good information for the teacher to have from an administrative pov. For example if she has 25 students and 23 of them don't recognize any letters in October, she may have an argument for a teacher's aide. I don't see how my attending a conference and learning that my child is top dog, or at the bottom of the pile would benefit my child.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-28-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 3:44pm
Heck, it happens even earlier than that!

In my dd's My Gym class, the instructor decides whether a kid goes to the next level. There's thie little girl who, to me, has met all the "milestones" for a 19 month old, yet

I heard one say to this 19 month old's mom: "Well, she's progressed a lot, but I don't think she's up to the level of the other kids who will be going to the next class." So this little girl will be in with the 10-18 month olds for the next 2 months again. Being compared to one's peers happens. That's reality.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 3:45pm
Of course one size doesn't fit all! I don't need to see a chart that shows my child is at the top of the class to know what level he reads at. THAT doesn't tell me what level he is at. All it tells me is that he is ahead of his classmates. It is useless, pointless and has no value.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 3:46pm

Of course they can.

PumpkinAngel

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 3:48pm
If your child not only knows all the letters but is already reading in October, and he's one of only a handful of students at that point, you and the teacher could devise something else for your child to do between Oct. and Dec. when she is teaching the other children their letters.

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

Pages