I haven't used them past 1st grade with liza -- I'm not sure how they drill their math facts but I know in 2nd grade they had minute math - as many problems as you could do in a minute ad she seems to bring home endless worksheets.
"The whole point of school, IMO, is that school provides the basic stuff in a reliable and orderly way, leaving me free to provide the extras, the fun stuff and the tangents."
How interesting. I feel exactly the opposite - I want school to do the extras, fun stuff and tangents so I don't have to have science experiments going and invite 10 kids over to have learning experiences that are best done in a group setting. The school is much better positioned to dream up those enrichment activities than I am.
Why would you want your kid to spend 6 or 7 hours a day, every day, just covering the basics? How boring for everyone.
But the problem in the "home" is not that the parents don't know about flashcards. The basic problem is that they are not middle class. Giving them flashcards won't make them middle class.
I would preferably want the school to do more than just the basics (and every school so far has done so, to some extent), but I would at least want the basics. Also, as a matter of general policy (the main point here) I would want to make sure the basics are covered as the first step. If a school can do more, great, but don't ditch basics on the assumption that the parents will take care of that.
Basics like math drill tend to be boring, yet necessary. They also require sustained attention over time by the person doing the teaching. The regimented nature of school and the presence of a trained professional paid to do this seem to me to make school the ideal venue for this kind of teaching.
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I wasn't, does that mean my status stays the same as the one I was raised in?
PumpkinAngel
You can get a good job with all Cs in high school -- you can even get into a college with all Cs--it just may not be the one YOU would pick
"The whole point of school, IMO, is that school provides the basic stuff in a reliable and orderly way, leaving me free to provide the extras, the fun stuff and the tangents."
How interesting. I feel exactly the opposite - I want school to do the extras, fun stuff and tangents so I don't have to have science experiments going and invite 10 kids over to have learning experiences that are best done in a group setting. The school is much better positioned to dream up those enrichment activities than I am.
Why would you want your kid to spend 6 or 7 hours a day, every day, just covering the basics? How boring for everyone.
I would preferably want the school to do more than just the basics (and every school so far has done so, to some extent), but I would at least want the basics. Also, as a matter of general policy (the main point here) I would want to make sure the basics are covered as the first step. If a school can do more, great, but don't ditch basics on the assumption that the parents will take care of that.
Basics like math drill tend to be boring, yet necessary. They also require sustained attention over time by the person doing the teaching. The regimented nature of school and the presence of a trained professional paid to do this seem to me to make school the ideal venue for this kind of teaching.
Pages