last week - STILL ranting

Hey,us parents don’t need much,just a flagpole,lawn chair,and jump rope (to tie yourself to the pole with), would do:-)

When did the break get so short? Seems like they start school earlier and earlier. Here they started school in Aug and the last day was 4 Jun. For those in summer school it started 10 Jun and goes to 26 Jul, then “real” school starts up 15 Aug. Was our vacation a mere 10 weeks when we were kids? I recall our summers being long and lazy. I don’t remember our parents having to fight the school system, and I don”t remember so many students being learning “disabled”. You learned you ABC’s and to write in K and know you have to know already. You learned Algebra in 9th grade and now they start in elementry school. Are our students doing as poorly as they say or is it just more is being expected of them at and earlier and earlier? Sorry did not mean to think out loud but sometimes I can’t help but wonder. I do know my kids are learning things much earlier then I ever did and learning things I did not learn until I had to help with homework.

Hi Lisa,

Hmmmm, interesting things you bring up.

My DH and I are 46, graduated high school in ‘74.
So this is the time period I’m remembering from.
We were taught the ‘look’ and ‘say’ method of
reading, good old Dick and Jane.

DH is dyslexic. He had trouble learning to
read and still has issues with spelling (23 years
of writing ‘appel’ on the grocery list).

When he was in school, a very small town school,
they had his mom talk to a psychologist about his
reading problems. His mom forbid him to read comic
books and the psychologist told her to let him read
comic books, let him read anything he will read, just
as long as he is reading. They also took the restriction
off books that he could read in the library - they restricted
the kids to certain books and wouldn’t let them read higher
level books. He never had much patience with kiddy books
and wanted to read 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.

As an adult he reads nonfiction and books about math
and science. Slowly. He is very competent in his field
of electrical engineering and can spell all the words he
needs to use for technical stuff. And he really appreciates spell and grammar
check on his computers.

Anne

Well, I graduated in 81 but I know I never saw algebra until 9th grade either, we didn’t get multiplication til maybe the 5th, I didn’t learn it until the 6th though LOL. Never my forte.

I remember seeing the dick and jane books in 1st, I also remember trying to help my fellow group readers and being told ‘let him do it himself, he can do it’.
I can’t do math to save my life but I was reading the sunday comics at 3. One of the reasons I had such a hard time figuring out what was going on with my older son in his 1st grade year. I had no clue about ld’s or add back then, it’s amazing what I have learned in the last 7 years. Mostly on this bb too, thanks y’all for helping educate me.

Anyway, my adhd husband also had problems with reading, he was mostly caught up I guess in reading classes in 7th grade, they pulled him out, his mom never agreed that it was the right thing to do. He still has trouble with reading and spelling, like your husband, he reads computer manuals and all that stuff and only since he was thrown into the computer field by the army. What a blessing, he really has gotten into it and just finished his master’s in info mgt. Of course now I know a little bit about things as knowledge mgt.(did you know there is a difference between knowledge and information?) and project mgt. because I proofed all the papers! That old saying, behind every successful man is a strong woman.

It really bothers me though that our kids are introduced to so much so early, I know I read that especially for abstract thinking that there is a certain age when kids’ brains are wired it. I personally don’t think the educators are using the developmental guidelines when they introduce stuff like algebra in 5th and 6th grades. Maybe it isn’t so much our kids as it is trying to get them to learn things they aren’t ready for. Okay, I rambled, sorry. Best wishes y’all.

I graduated in 1983. I too remember the Dick and Jane series. I also recall that in 6th-8th grade I was in the lowest groups for reading and math. Our group was so far behind we warrented our own teachers, room, and resources( for these 2 subjects). They taught us to read with a program through SRA and we had a math program also but don’t recall the name. There were 3 of us in this group. I remember when they tested us for high school placement the counselors said “what do we do with these 3?” We wond up taking the same tests as the others because that is all there was. Funny thing is that after the 3 years of small group intruction for reading and math we all tested above grade level. This was on Long Island NY and the class sizes were relatively large for an elementry school—I think us 3 just got lost in the crowd years K-5. Strange how much school has stayed the same and at the same time is so different.

Boy, this thread is bringing it all back. I remember in first grade we had level reading groups. I remember trying so hard to get up to everyone else. We were put in groups at tables and I remember not being able to get past “A Pig Can Jig” I just couldn’t do it well enough to move on. I wanted sooooooo bad to be with the “King on a Swing” group but I never made it and boy did she let us know (and everyone else) how pathetic we were.

I also remember SRA in fourth grade. I was again in one of the lowest groups. One day I decided to take it upon myself to take a reading card from the level above me just to see if I could do it. Well, let me tell you all, the heavens opened up when the yelling started. I will never forget how loud and long that woman yelled at me for taking the wrong card. I was not a purple, I was a brown!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, I’m just sick thinking about how kids are tortured by the verbal abuse. At 35 I still remember it like it was yesterday. She also told me that I was backward because I wrote with my left hand. What a nut ball!!!!

Yup,because evryone know’s,us left hander’s are the only one in their “right” mind.

At least you still have your sense of humor we all need that. Summer is never long enough but just be glad this teacher is over.

I remember the LD kids when I was in school, they were the kids whose classroom was in the basement, next to the janitor’s closet, made them close because all they did all day was sweep and mop. Must have made an impression on me as a child, because that’s why I advocate so much. My son will not be one of those children.