I do the same thing with my 4th grader. I don't check her HW every night, but I do look at it occasionally to make sure she understands the work. In her class, HW is corrected by the students, not the teacher, so the teacher doesn't necessarily know if a kid isn't getting something unless the child asks a question (which dd is loathe to do unfortunately) or if they consistently miss those concepts on in-class graded work, quizzes or tests.
My dd plans to study drama in college, and eventually go to law school, Yale, no less, is her school of choice. So theatre time does prepare her for college.
Yes, that is why I said means "such as" travel. I realize we are very fortunate in terms of our ability to travel. But I never meant to restrict the terms of the debate to travel only as a means of enrichment.
Good analogy, but if there's a problem with the plumbing, I'm going to the most senior guy - the general contractor - to ride herd on the plumber to get it done, rather than going directly to the plumber.
Yes. It is the child who pays the price. The entire reason NCLB was instituted was to force the schools to pay a price as well so that they could no longer just hand out failing grades and leave it at that.
"Exactly my point, so why the insistence that it's the school's job to teach your children?"
I expect it is the school's job to ensure that all students leave school with a reasonable grasp of the fundamentals, regardless of whether the parents help or not. That is also the stated mission of the school system in Sweden. The reality for my particular children, of course, is rather different since I personally spend quite a lot of time teaching my kids things the school doesn't, going more deeply into subjects than is typical for the grade-level and providing resources and materials the schools can't. I don't feel the school is obliged to provide these extras. I do expect it is the school's job to make sure all children have grasped the essentials.
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Let me use this analogy:
I'm a General Contractor (parent)
Good analogy, but if there's a problem with the plumbing, I'm going to the most senior guy - the general contractor - to ride herd on the plumber to get it done, rather than going directly to the plumber.
The parent has overall responsibility regardless.
Yes. It is the child who pays the price. The entire reason NCLB was instituted was to force the schools to pay a price as well so that they could no longer just hand out failing grades and leave it at that.
"Exactly my point, so why the insistence that it's the school's job to teach your children?"
I expect it is the school's job to ensure that all students leave school with a reasonable grasp of the fundamentals, regardless of whether the parents help or not. That is also the stated mission of the school system in Sweden. The reality for my particular children, of course, is rather different since I personally spend quite a lot of time teaching my kids things the school doesn't, going more deeply into subjects than is typical for the grade-level and providing resources and materials the schools can't. I don't feel the school is obliged to provide these extras. I do expect it is the school's job to make sure all children have grasped the essentials.
"I do expect it is the school's job to make sure all children have grasped the essentials."
But that's simply the goal, not reality.
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