The jump from 5th grade to 6th grade is quite jarring. Kids go from one classroom teaching all subjects to eight 45 minute classes a day with eight different teachers. I emailed the Kid’s English teacher this morning about something and she replied with the info plus this little bonus:
I am glad you contacted me. Kid struggles with his handwriting. Do you have a handwriting book that he could do at home to help him? We do not teach handwriting in middle school.
Why yes, I DO have a handwriting book at home. I make it practice to purchase every single learning aid my child might ever need just in case one of his teachers emails and says, “we don’t teach that in middle school.” And really, why should I expect you to teach that, you have FCAT tests to teach to, don’t you? And Title 1 requirements to meet! You know, important shit.
Last year I taught Kid math because he was not being taught math at school. You know what…I already have a fucking full-time job. It is hard enough to get him to actually bring home his homework, and we have no accountability because his assignments are never recorded anywhere for us to review. We all get it that these kids have more responsibility this year, but a little support from the school, in whatever capacity, would be appreciated.
Yesterday I spoke to a guidance counselor at the school regarding Kid not getting his homework assignments home. “Take away his priveleges” and “email the teacher” was all the advice she had. Now I certainly don’t expect the school to PARENT my kid while he’s there but acting as authority figures is kind of your fucking raison d’etre, isn’t it?
I tell you all…the public school system went to HELL when paddling was outlawed.
Perhaps you can adopt the breezy attitude of one of my son’s past teachers- “With this penmanship, he’s bound to be a doctor!” (I’m with you, by the way- why can’t they squeeze in writing or whatever kids need to fill in the blanks to move on with proficiency? Six hours a day not enough?) Great blog!
casachaos
October 27th, 2008
Great comment; I agree. Sadly, as a high school teacher, I see more and more mandates coming from above that squeeze out any time for teaching and put more and more time on “teaching to the test” because money, jobs, and whole schools are on the line if the kids don’t meet the test score requirements (never mind if said tests even accurately determine if a teacher is teaching or, more importantly, if students are learning). Some concepts, like Standards Based Curriculum, are trying to do both: teach the students what they need to know and meet the test scores, but in some situations, it is probably too little, too late. One beef I have is that research shows that students with exposure or involvement in fine arts are more well-rounded and tend to do better on most measures of success (including the tests), but creative assignments and fine arts-related courses are some of the first items to go. Sorry, this is your blog, not mine.
As far as the handwriting concern goes…ask the teacher if your child can turn in most assignments typed on the computer (have the Kid write the homework out first, then type it, and then hand both items in—-due to the extra work, Kid will either 1. do it and be happy to not be getting hollered at over penmanship or 2. do it for a while, realize the extra work is a pain, and write more slowly/neatly). As a professional with odious handwriting, I have realized that some elements of bad penmanship are a matter of time and choice—if I want them to, people can read my writing. It doesn’t qualify as “pretty,” but it is legible. If your child “practices” neatness on every assignment (whether or not the assignment is typed out after), the time isn’t wasted trying to learn out of a penmanship book as well as doing regular homework.
Vicky Gilpin, EdD
October 31st, 2008
i understand that as one gets older it is difficult to overcome “legibility challenge”. Charlemagne was sais to be illiterate, but not true. he learned to read as an adult but writing was difficult because his bone structure was “set”. the computer idea seems to be a great idea to me. an alternative may be to practice writing on sandpaper with fingers. this works well to get dislexic children to properly form letters.
john mark
December 2nd, 2008