General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Holy Mesopotamia Batman: First Grade Common Core Social Studies vocabulary [View all]liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)Not being able to keep up with the speed at which the school expected him to learn my son was starting to think there was something wrong with him, that he was stupid. I made sure to drive the point home that there was nothing wrong with him, there was something wrong with the way they were trying to teach him. I told him he simply learns differently and at a different pace than the way they are teaching him. I also told him that altough the way they are teaching him was wrong that did not mean he could just give up. I have always insisted that he try his best, to always put in his best effort and from that point don't worry about the rest. There are even times when homework simply does not get completed and as long as he has put in a strong effort and done as much as he can do then I don't care if the homework is complete or not. The privatization of our eduation system has completely changed what we expect our children to learn. Things like critical thinking, problem solving skills, creativity, perseverance, determination, and feeling pride in small accomplishments have all been abandoned. How can our kids feel a sense of accomplishment when they are always told that how they are performing could always be better? "How nice, but you can do better." That's the message we are giving our kids. How are they suppose to develop a sense of accomplishment and confidence in their abilities when that is what they are being told by these "standards"?