My lovely daughter Karlin is in Second Grade. I am just a bewildered as you are about exactly how I already have a child in 2nd Grade, but it appears to have happened.
For those of you without kids, or with kids in small schools, you probably have never heard of something called the "20 Day Count." Apparently in bigger school districts, you have a ton of people who either forget to register their kids for school, or who think that school doesn't start until after Labor Day, or whatever. The point is, in the 20 school days after the first day, a whole bunch of people sign their kids up for school. This creates an interesting set of challenges, since in most cases teachers and classes are assigned already. So where do the extra kids go? The Principals have to create new classes, hire new teachers, and move people around, all in order to meet with the State's class size requirements. Each year Karlin has been in school, this has happened. Luckily, she has never been one of the ones randomly selected to move...until this year. Karlin's 2nd Grade Teacher was selected to head up one of the new Kindergarten classes. 3 weeks into the year, Karlin was moved to a new class with a new teacher. This is tough on any kid, and Karlin has had a few adjustment issues. But she'll manage.
Where I'm really shocked is the amount of freakin' homework these kids get! Last Wednesday night, here's what she came home with: 1 math worksheet from her gifted class, 2 math worksheets from her regular class, 2 vocabulary worksheets, and a craft project. SIX THINGS TO DO FOR HOMEWORK!
I remember my 2nd Grade well. Cordova Park Elementary - Mrs. Hargrove. She was an evil teacher - mean and scary. She actually used to hit kids on the knuckles with a ruler, Catholic Nun style. And this was in Public school! I found out later that she was suffering from some early form of cancer, but still - she treated us all like crap and we were terrified of her.
I'm pretty sure that in 2nd grade we were reading a little, and writing, and doing some math. But I'm not 100% sure we had any homework in 2nd grade, and if we did, it certainly wasn't 6 pages a night.
And it gets better. The State of Florida also has this program called "AR" -"Accelerated Reader." Kids are expected to read at least one book per day, and then take a comprehension test on it. If they get a certain percentage of the questions correct, they get points. The more points they get, the more prizes they get. I have a problem with this. I understand the need to get kids reading. However, I don't want my kid reading just to get prizes. I want her (and Chase) to read because they love books. This whole AR thing causes a lot of competition in class. There are a few boys who read 6-7 books a day and test on them, just so they can see their little airplane move higher up the point chart. Most books at the 2nd & 3rd Grade Level are worth 1 point. Karlin read an adult-level Star Wars book a few weeks back, and Bart wants her to AR test on it. The book is worth 18 points. I say no - it's not fair to the other kids, and I don't want her reading harder books just to get the points. He says yes - she read it, she understands it - why not get credit for it? And actually with Karlin I think AR has the opposite effect. She reads easier books so she can read more of them so she can take more tests. I would assume that other kids do that too. It takes longer to read a chapter book, so you wouldn't be able to test on as many of them.
I tagged Karlin last week to the teacher and expressed my "concern" about her lower reading levels. She's reading beginning 2nd grade books, which is great. But she last tested at a 4th Grade level, and her vocabulary averages out at a 6th Grade level. Shouldn't she push herself to read books more appropriate to her reading level? But then again, she won't get to test as often, so she won't get as many points. You see the dilemma?
I hate to see the kids having to work so damned hard at age 7. They go to school 6 hours a day. Karlin usually has at least an hour of homework - sometimes more. In addition to that they are supposed to read 45 minutes a night, and do science exercises on-line. Throw in a piano lesson and the day is shot. When does she get to PLAY? Oh - and they only have PE twice a week, so most days she doesn't even get any real exercise.
The kids are pushed really hard at such a young age, mainly so they can get that golden score on the FCAT. It's sad. I'm going to follow my Mother-In-Law's lead (teachers: don't read this part) and occasionally take Karlin out of school for a "mental health day." I don't think she'll miss anything super-critical in one day, and she needs a day here and there to rest and relax.
Maybe we'll finger paint, or ride our bikes or go swimming - fun things that kids are supposed to do, but don't get to do enough of.
Besides - I really like to finger paint! ;)
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