Longer school year. Yay or Nay

[CrazyKell]

Originally Posted by Kaneman

This is on top of a measly 15 minute recess and P.E. 2 times a week. They are literally training kids to be fat little mindless drones. I gotta get a picture of the kindergartners walking around the playground in a single file lines for recess one of these days...

As much as I love teaching, I'm not sure I can go back to it.

The policies and politics are too much for me.

I did some form of physical activity every day (whether we had PE or not).

I rewarded the kids with special recesses outside (when the rest of the school was inside).

And recess? That was the time to let loose and RUN!

[Dave]

Originally Posted by 101lifts2

How much we talkin here? Mine keep going down. Started at 3600...now they are 1100. Oh course the property value plummeted, but hey lower taxes.

Round about double of your high watermark. Welcome to nj

[Smittie61984]

Originally Posted by Kaneman

There are other things in life than school a kid needs to be learning about. In my kid's case he studies Jiu Jitsu, he has a couple of "jobs" that he has to do, etc. etc....you know, it can't be all school all the time. We do the homework when we have time, but it doesn't always get done, life happens....but more school certainly doesn't seem like the answer to me.

My GF and I were discussing this the other day. I did not do well in school because the HW got me down so much. When you are 8 years old and you have to come home with a couple of hours of daylight and you have to spend it doing math problems, social study questions, science, etc you really don't like to do it. I use to just make up answers about halfway through so I could go out and play. Which of course made me do horrible and then the school makes you feel even worse. "Just wait until you get to college, HW will be much harder then". Well no wonder I didn't want to go to college.

Now that I'm in college I find the HW no where near as bad as in my early schooling (and I make As on just about everything). Sure it is more complicated but 4 pages of division to a (whatever grade they teach division) is fucking shitty.

You have 8 hours with our kids. If you can't teach them within that amount of time then you need to find a new fucking job (I hear BK is hiring). After school time is MY time with MY kids.

[CrazyKell]

Originally Posted by Smittie61984

You have 8 hours with our kids. If you can't teach them within that amount of time then you need to find a new fucking job (I hear BK is hiring). After school time is MY time with MY kids.

While I agree with most of your post, you do know that it's not the school systems to job to be the sole teacher of your children right?

Learning happens everywhere and if more parents took raising children as a serious responsibility, rather than treating them like a new puppy they can play with all the time, well we'd (as a world) be in a lot better position.

*not saying you feel that way necessarily (wasn't exactly clear).

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by CrazyKell

While I agree with most of your post, you do know that it's not the school systems to job to be the sole teacher of your children right?

Learning happens everywhere and if more parents took raising children as a serious responsibility, rather than treating them like a new puppy they can play with all the time, well we'd (as a world) be in a lot better position.

*not saying you feel that way necessarily (wasn't exactly clear).

You said it alot better than I was going to. My version would have included the phrase "fucktard" and would have used the word "fuck" and "fucking" rather liberally.

Parents thinking that all learning must take place in school are fucking clueless and are contributing to the mass suckage in schools. I've been a teacher. The biggest struggle was getting parents engaged in their kids studying. You want a fucking babysitter, call the fucking YMCA.

[Kaneman]

Originally Posted by CrazyKell

While I agree with most of your post, you do know that it's not the school systems to job to be the sole teacher of your children right?

Learning happens everywhere and if more parents took raising children as a serious responsibility, rather than treating them like a new puppy they can play with all the time, well we'd (as a world) be in a lot better position.

*not saying you feel that way necessarily (wasn't exactly clear).

Bullshit. They make sure there is not enough time to spend any with your kids teaching them something substantial. The homework they send home every night has nothing to do with learning. Its all busy work.

I agree with Smittie....you've got 8 hours a day with him....make it count.

[Particle Man]

Sorry dude. I can't agree with that. If you have teachers assigning homework as just busywork it's time to shop for a new school if you have the option. I never assigned more than 30 minutes of homework a night and only when it was needed to genuinely reinforce a lesson or set up the next day's lesson.

And where are you guys having kids in school for 8 hours? School day around here is 6 hours.

[defector]

Are we talking about hour (s) of homework with you helping your kid? Or your kid doing it on his own? What the hell kind of homework do you get in 1st grade?
I don't think I had homework until like 4th grade.

Hell, it takes less than an hour per day with my son (who is a freshman in HS). This is on the rare occassion that he has any left. The last "class" of the day being study hall is pretty nice.

[OneSickPsycho]

Originally Posted by Kaneman

I might be down for what you guys are talking about with the vacation spread out through the year, but I think what Obama is proposing is to just send kids to school for more weeks out of the year.

My kid just turned 7, he's in first grade and he brings home an hour of homework every night, and then a couple hours on Friday. It is so absurd. Now, they're not going to fail him if he doesn't do the homework, because that could hit them in the pocketbook....no, they only make him feel like a bad kid and ensure that he's depressed all day 'til I pick him up. Of course, a 7 year old doesn't have a vast amount of control over whether he does his homework or not.

There are other things in life than school a kid needs to be learning about. In my kid's case he studies Jiu Jitsu, he has a couple of "jobs" that he has to do, etc. etc....you know, it can't be all school all the time. We do the homework when we have time, but it doesn't always get done, life happens....but more school certainly doesn't seem like the answer to me.

That's retarded... I didn't have that much homework... well, ever. High school was probably a total of about 3 hours per week... and my HS was one of the best in the area - by what I saw of people when I first went to college, one of the best in the state, probably well above average in the country too.

Originally Posted by Kaneman

This is on top of a measly 15 minute recess and P.E. 2 times a week. They are literally training kids to be fat little mindless drones. I gotta get a picture of the kindergartners walking around the playground in a single file lines for recess one of these days...

There you go... Year round school, more frequent/longer breaks, and longer recesses. More classroom time, less 'refresher' crap, and more exercise for the the kids. Win, win, win.

OSP for President - "To get shit done."

[CrazyKell]

Originally Posted by Kaneman

Bullshit. They make sure there is not enough time to spend any with your kids teaching them something substantial. The homework they send home every night has nothing to do with learning. Its all busy work.

I agree with Smittie....you've got 8 hours a day with him....make it count.

I already told you that I don't believe in homework the way it's obviously being handed out at your kid's school.