Public schools -- astonishment and confusion

[angerona]

Думаю опять про школы, и что-то ничегошеньки не понимаю совершенно. Как-то всегда у меня было впечатление, что "в американских начальных школах детей мало чему учат" -- ошибочное, как я понимаю сейчас. Учат, еще как: читать, писать, считать, географии и истории, и природоведенью и много чему другому. В обычных, городских школах, даже не стоящих

Comments

[vremyavpered]

по-моему, это из серии "говорите тоже", либо ты не совсем на те public schools равняешься.

все вы делаете правильно, задачи из предыдущего поста меня очень впечатлили (т.е., что они для шестилетки).

[angerona]

они не для шестилетки. Они для семи-восьмилетки, Гоша самый младший в его классе (и самый отстающий :( )

[mamaracha]

Isn't he in kindergarden? Are you sure you're comparing kids of the same ages? I think it all sounds about right in his school.
The issue with american education, as I see it, is that in elementary school (1-6th grade or so) they don't advance fast enough, and then all the material gets dumped on them hot and heavy in high school, and often they're ill-prepared to the level of studying that is required and they don't often have the basics to deal with the material. That's what I'm hearing.

[angerona]

I'm comparing to last year for those who are in 1st grade, and to those who are now in K. E.g. look at what krolik wrote about her son's public school:

http://krolik.livejournal.com/381640.html

and he's in K, and he's also a year younger than G! I don't see G. being able to do that a year ago (or maybe he could? And that's the issue -- that he wasn't being asked to?)

[mamaracha]

To do what, exactly? Krolik's description sounds like they're just kind of share facts about all kinds of things there, not necessarily learn anything systematically. Plus, no real homework. I personally think it's just fine for a 6 year old. How is it different from your school?

[angerona]

there's homework and learning spelling and reading and math. I actually don't care much about the homework per se -- I think it doesn't show much in itself, but the fact that they are learning spelling and math is telling.

In our school, they are still officially learning letters (although they are encouraged to write -- but it's really one or two words at a time), and their math is just laughable: they are learning numbers 1-10.

[scimom]

My impression is that elementary schools are ok but the ball gets dropped big time in middle school. I obviously don't have personal experience with middle school yet, this is from the words of friends and acquaintances. Apparently, they are more concerned with "social development" in middle school than with academic one.

[angerona]

I think in middle school one would need to be concerned with "keeping the kids contained," sure, but then again -- why would there be such marked difference then?

[scimom]

I'm not sure what you mean by "contained" and in any case, as I said, I don't have any personal experience with middle school yet. Talk to me in four years. :)

[krolik_ja]

That is my impression too. Also in elementary school there is a huge push for math acceleration. In our school a big portion of 5th-graders takes 7th-grade math. Because they are pushed to learn so fast and take so many tangents (a month of statistics while all the multiplication and division skills learned the previous month are forgotten) it does take some effort on the part of the parents to help them succeed. But it is not necessarily that much. We spend an average of 15 minutes a week doing things above and beyond regular homework, more during the summer. I know families who take their kids to Russian math school or study Russian text books with them at home but they also spend no more than two or three hours a week at most

[esya]

в начальных классах я тоже так недоумевала, типа - все же хорошо, а в средней - какое-то сплошное потерянное время и скука. И хорошо, если у тебя дети внимательные и исполнительные, прекрасно соображающие дети твоих знакомых могут сделать пару ошибок в тесте из 100 заданий типа 2+3 и получить очень среднюю оценку.
Имхо, платить за начальную частную школу - выбрасывать деньги на ветер, это подтвердили пару моих знакомых. Причем, часто, в среднюю школу такие дети идут в паблик, а надо бы наоборот.

[angerona]

да, похоже, что платить за школу для обычных умных, сообразительных и шустрых детей -- деньги на ветер. Какие из этого делать выводы для себя, мне совершенно непонятно.

[esya]

я сказала за начальную, за среднюю уже намного больше смысла, за хай скул надо бы, но совсем не потому, что там какие-то особые знания дают.

[angerona]

я тоже сейчас только про начальную.

[skavish]

все в руках родителей http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html

:))

[angerona]

да читала я это, читала. даже какие-то для себя полезные мысли извлекла, хотя мне кажется, что все-таки она лукавит. Где она столько времени находила, чтоб каждого ребенка так дрючить>? Или ее дети не нуждаются во сне? Ну вот моим сон необходим.