We live in a town of 6,000 people, one elementary school with five sections of Kindergarten. I grew up in this town, and have always been happy with my public education, even as I know (very well) its shortcomings. There are no private school options in town, and I'd always taken a principled opposition to those families who drove their kids out of town for private schools.
Well. My oldest DS turned 5 in May, and is heading to Kindergarten. We registered him yesterday. There is no half-day option. DS will catch the bus at 7:40am and be home around 3:30pm. I was holding it together through registration until we were leaving the building, when a registration worker told us: "The Kindergarten teachers are great. You're going to learn so much in all day Kindergarten! By the end of the year, they'll have him reading!"
DS has been reading for over a year. When we told the worker this, she said, "Well, they'll work with that, too."
And like that, every politically principled bone in my body melted away, and I wanted to whisk my boy off to some open curriculum, anti-authoritarian "unschool", flooded with natural light and educators trained in all the sorts of approaches we see listed in the 'sticky threads' on this board.
I know this is something to just get past - and not just because we could not afford that kind of education for him. DS was in preschool 4 mornings a week last year, and loved it. He is whip smart, and is reading books I didn't touch until 2nd grade. He is also very sensitive, and emotionally younger than his age, and will be disadvantaged (in the context of his peers) because we don't have a TV, and his exposure to popular kid culture has been minimal.
He is so excited about school. But if he's bored, I can easily imagine him acting out. Then getting in trouble. Then being devastated. And beginning to hate school. My fears are exacerbated by his classroom assignment...he's been placed with a teacher just two years on the job. [I know that I'm making an unwarranted assumption about less experienced teachers - maybe she'll be full of energy and cutting edge pedagogies, but in our rural area, the odds are with my assumption.]
I know that Kindergarten will have a great deal to teach my kid, and I appreciate the challenge teachers face when they have classes which include a tremendous range of abilities. What can I do to help my boy - with his own intellectual abilities and curiosity, as well as his emotional development? What would you do or what have you done?
Somebody, please talk me down....I posted an update which describes my real anxiety of how to deal with conflicts (with teachers or school system) when they arise.
Well. My oldest DS turned 5 in May, and is heading to Kindergarten. We registered him yesterday. There is no half-day option. DS will catch the bus at 7:40am and be home around 3:30pm. I was holding it together through registration until we were leaving the building, when a registration worker told us: "The Kindergarten teachers are great. You're going to learn so much in all day Kindergarten! By the end of the year, they'll have him reading!"
DS has been reading for over a year. When we told the worker this, she said, "Well, they'll work with that, too."
And like that, every politically principled bone in my body melted away, and I wanted to whisk my boy off to some open curriculum, anti-authoritarian "unschool", flooded with natural light and educators trained in all the sorts of approaches we see listed in the 'sticky threads' on this board.
I know this is something to just get past - and not just because we could not afford that kind of education for him. DS was in preschool 4 mornings a week last year, and loved it. He is whip smart, and is reading books I didn't touch until 2nd grade. He is also very sensitive, and emotionally younger than his age, and will be disadvantaged (in the context of his peers) because we don't have a TV, and his exposure to popular kid culture has been minimal.
He is so excited about school. But if he's bored, I can easily imagine him acting out. Then getting in trouble. Then being devastated. And beginning to hate school. My fears are exacerbated by his classroom assignment...he's been placed with a teacher just two years on the job. [I know that I'm making an unwarranted assumption about less experienced teachers - maybe she'll be full of energy and cutting edge pedagogies, but in our rural area, the odds are with my assumption.]
I know that Kindergarten will have a great deal to teach my kid, and I appreciate the challenge teachers face when they have classes which include a tremendous range of abilities. What can I do to help my boy - with his own intellectual abilities and curiosity, as well as his emotional development? What would you do or what have you done?
Somebody, please talk me down....I posted an update which describes my real anxiety of how to deal with conflicts (with teachers or school system) when they arise.
Any class room will have kids working at several different levels. That's the norm. Some teachers are better at handling it than others.
This wasn't a conversation with someone who is going to be involved with your sons day to day education, it was some one willing to show up and help with paper work.
