Submitted by "Old School" (not verified) on May 5, 2008 - 05:55.
"The Good Old Days!! :-0) I love all of your posts. Grandma, keep flying kites with those kiddies. Twenty years from now long after they've forgotten about their DIBELS score in Kindergarten, they remmeber the love they felt sharing the wind with you!
Yes. I too was an elementary child of the 60's and 70's. I attended Kindergarten at four years old (before age cutoffs) in 1965. We had fun. But, fun then meant enjoyment, learning how to "work with others", learning empathy, hearing classic stories, watching PBS, making nice things for our parents. Oh, there was one thing we were tested for......learning to tie our shoes!
I too am a teacher. I constantly hear the calls for research-based decision making. data-driven decision making and standards. Somehow this all this research and data has really become a way for politicians to bash our schools and teachers. Since the dawn of the standards movement, teachers have gradually phased out more and more fun activites because they have too little time and are wary of being belittled or worse.
Yes, an earlier post summarized beautifully...they only have 12 to 18 years to be kids and 60+ years to be adults. Let's allow them to at least have the first couple of years as true children of their imaginations, impulsive creative moments, playfull intuition and time to learn by doing and exploring their world without red pens or tests!!!!!
Childhood's End: Growing Up Too Fast
Submitted by "Old School" (not verified) on May 5, 2008 - 05:55.
"The Good Old Days!! :-0) I love all of your posts. Grandma, keep flying kites with those kiddies. Twenty years from now long after they've forgotten about their DIBELS score in Kindergarten, they remmeber the love they felt sharing the wind with you!
Yes. I too was an elementary child of the 60's and 70's. I attended Kindergarten at four years old (before age cutoffs) in 1965. We had fun. But, fun then meant enjoyment, learning how to "work with others", learning empathy, hearing classic stories, watching PBS, making nice things for our parents. Oh, there was one thing we were tested for......learning to tie our shoes!
I too am a teacher. I constantly hear the calls for research-based decision making. data-driven decision making and standards. Somehow this all this research and data has really become a way for politicians to bash our schools and teachers. Since the dawn of the standards movement, teachers have gradually phased out more and more fun activites because they have too little time and are wary of being belittled or worse.
Yes, an earlier post summarized beautifully...they only have 12 to 18 years to be kids and 60+ years to be adults. Let's allow them to at least have the first couple of years as true children of their imaginations, impulsive creative moments, playfull intuition and time to learn by doing and exploring their world without red pens or tests!!!!!