So, posting this for everyone to comment on, seriously, all 5 of my loyal readers, please comment.
I asked the kids how school was going. They are loving it. The principal seems to have gotten her act together since last year, the teachers are great. But...
Savannah just barely got her math workbook today. 5 weeks into school. Which means they can now actually start learning math.
Lincoln commented that they hadn't gotten their literature workbooks yet. I had a long phone conversation with his teacher today, and she confirmed they not only hadn't gotten them yet, they weren't going to be getting them because of budget cuts. So, any book work in literature was scrapped for the year. They were still doing projects and learning, but actual book work from their own, personal workbooks will not happen this year. Instead they will be reading out of school assigned texts, which they barely have enough of, and can not bring home. The texts are available online, and she could assign homework out of them, but is not allowed to require work that involves needing a computer, because not all students have access to a computer. This is only his literature/social studies class, I haven't yet spoken to his math and science teachers...
Lest you think I am a tyrant and feel the need to burden my children with homework, I am not. I love having the afternoons free for my kids, but I want to know they're working. I see nothing come home to show what they're working on, nothing I can work with them on, other than monthly progress reports.
Am I crazy, or does this seem weird? All because of budget cuts.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Budget Cuts
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9 comments:
Truthfully, I think it's a little scary. I've realized with this move and switching schools, that one little change in curriculum, learning, etc can really impede children from some of the necessary skills they need. I was never thrilled with the curriculum their school their used to teach math, but holy moly! We moved here and I feel like Skyler is a full year behind in Math because he didn't learn some pretty basic skills with his 2nd grade curriculum there. He missed out on grasping some pretty basic math rules because they focused more on "ball park estimates", quick addition, etc.
I don't know how not having a literature notebook will effect them long-term, and you are probably much more perseptive than I was as far as realizing when there is a problem before it gets too far.
But, I don't think you're crazy for being concerned. I personally think I've taken too much for granted in trusting the public school systems to cover all of the educational ground I once thought they would.
Just my two cents! :)
Yikes. I have noticed that our teachers are having to get "creative" this year too, but nothing like that. Hmmmm. Sounds like it's time for a trip to talk to the principal. I mean, how did teachers do it in one room school houses? The kids still have to learn something even without the workbooks. Our kids still have homework assignments, but they aren't in workbooks. It's just fulfilling what the teacher says to do. That does seem weird to me.
Really, if you want to know my opinion, I would be a little scared. We experienced some pretty hefty budget cuts but we saw them in the areas of PE/Music (which I was really sad about, but could live with) and the gifted and talented program, as well as a few other things but nothing like you are describing. I think you have cause to worry and probably a visit to the principal for some explanation and alternatives would not be unreasonable. My kids don't necessarily have homework every night but they do come home with papers for me to see each night so I know what they are working on. And if they don't have homework I have some programs on line that I have them work on occasionally just for a little extra and just because I like to be a mean mom :):) Have you ever heard of Khan Academy?? Check it out, it's awesome in the area of math!! Good luck, and let me know what happens!
So I read this post last night.
I've thought about it... and I think it's more of a political issue. [How do I make the emoticon with the uncomfortable looking face?]
That being said, I won't share my opinion of how or why I think it's happening. Or even how to fix it.
I do however feel that these cuts to education are VERY unfortunate. To me they seem like quick fixes to long-term problems.
-c
You don't want to get me started. M is my only one in school and I am freaking out. I was already considering homeschool or Midland Classical and the year so far has not proven I made the right decision to put him in public.
Literature without literature? That's a little weird.
When we were loking into moving to Midland I did a LOT of research in the schools in the area. It took some convincing to Clint that just because he went there, it didn't make it the best. www.greatschools.org is one of my favorite. To be honest, that was one of the schools I didn't want to send my kids to. Hope it gets better!
I think most of my concern stems from the fact that they are already doing bell-to-bell teaching because of poor test scores. Then, instead of actually lecturing from bell-to-bell they are taking the time to do all of the work in class. To me, this defeats the purpose of learning more, this just ensures the kids they don't have to do any work at home. I know the more I talk about this the more it seems I just really want my kids to have homework, but it's about utilizing time as wisely as possible.
I was very happy with our school district (and our school) when we more here 3 1/2 years ago. The school was a lot ahead of our school in Utah, and they were moving quickly on their curriculum, but since then they've fallen behind.
I would rather the teacher be able to give a full lecture on the subject at hand, without condensing it, and allow the kids a shorter amount of time in class to work, then condense the lecture to barely the basics so that the kids can have the entire period to do the work so they don't have to worry about trying to figure out how to assign homework to kids who don't have books, access to computers or workbooks with the homework in them. Basically the workbooks just have the lecture questions that follow the chapter in the book, with tear out pages, so the kids can carry a workbook instead of a heavy text. They go hand in hand with the text.
I worried a little bit about it last year, but this year, when Lincoln's teacher addressed the problem herself, it made me more worried. If the teacher thinks it's going to be a problem, then perhaps we should do something about it.
PS, apparently this is a district wide budget issue, not just a school issue...
Aren't you glad they are cutting the budget in things that are not important, like the next generations education? =)
I totally can relate! I feel like NM schools are a bit behind. When Allison was bringing coloring pages home, I defintly had to chat with the teacher. I feel like the time I work with Allison at home is probly more benifical to her then some of her time at school. You get on those teachers and figure out what is going on, if you have to find alternatives for them to do at home.
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