E. turns 5 this fall. Not soon enough to start school but it is soon enough that some of her little friends are starting. This means that the conversations are all about good schools, bad schools, charter schools, shifting lines, teachers, etc and how quickly 5 years have flown by.
It has made me start thinking about teaching and the whole education process again. I have so many, many thoughts about this; hence the title. I think there will be several blogs about it. I am not sure how to transition my thoughts into something smooth so I think the best approach is to hold my breath and dive right in.
Here goes. . .
There is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with the education system as is. It is the same system that we have had for over a 100 years. We have tried different "gimmicks" that all have slightly different names but are essentially the same- just read turn of the (last) century novels. So what is the problem?
Again, my opinion is that it starts before the kids get to school. No, I don't think that we should start school sooner. It starts with the parents. COME ON PEOPLE! There is a reason why Super Nanny is so popular. Look, I am not saying that bad parents turn out bad kids or that good parents have good kids. Sometimes, the horse won't drink when you lead it to water - clear or brackish. But I am saying that we need to look beyond poor schools to the home life.
This is in no way saying that I have got it figured out or that I am going to win awards for parenting or that my kids won't have issues in school. Case in point. All 4 of us were playing Hungry Hungry Hippos. Mom, Dad, 4 year old and 2 year old. First time! It was fun! S. (2 year old) thought this was great! Loud noises! Little balls! Being included! Whoo hoo! Then he decided that he would just scoop up the balls and shove them in the hippos mouth. The parents thought this was hilarious! Well, it got a laugh out of mom and dad, right? So the 4 year old did it. Now, if there is one thing her dad can't stand - it is cheating. Poor E. had to sit out a game and got a talking to. Now, is it would I have done? No, the concept of cheating is new so we would have explained it and then if it happened again, well, there would be consequences.
That is one example but I can't tell you the number of times I have lost it! So my parenting isn't the best but there is something wrong with society when teachers need unions for the lawyers in order to protect themselves from parents who didn't like the verbal reprimand that the teacher gave the kid for throwing another kid up against the wall (and then walked him to the office for further punishment). Yeah, like I really shook the kid who had a foot and 50 lbs on me!
That is just wrong. There is something wrong here. And it isn't just the schools that are at fault.
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