posted on August 30, 2000 08:29:41 PM new
I thought when school started 2 weeks ago things would settle down a bit Boy was I Wrong, last night my daughter had a project I thought it was crazy , she had to take a poster board and write science down the left side and each letter she had to draw or cut out a picture of something that was related to the science but it had to start with that letter. This was not a easy task. Thought the worst was over for a while. But tonight different teacher different project, eassy time! 300 words what changed my life. This is for a 7th grade class. Hopefully this will be it for a few days
posted on August 31, 2000 04:37:10 AM new
The words that send shivers down my spine are Science Fair! Silly busy work for the most part. Another idea straight from the pits of He$$ is the notorious Group Project. Try getting 4 tenth graders together to work on a project when one is a cheerleader, two are in band, and the 4th is in the chess club, two of them have part time jobs, and NONE of them drive yet.
Surely they must be kidding.
Our high school this year is dealing with serious overcrowding due to massive growth in the district and home owners who won't pass a levy for a new school. Imagine if you will, a "Theater Seating" type of room used for a study hall. There are 156 seats, and 350 kids scheduled to use the study hall for an hour and half class. My son who is in 10th grade loaded his schedule up and has no study halls at all because we knew how bad it was going to be.
I wish I had been there with a camera or that someone from the media would have been there to document the problem.
[ edited by Meya on Aug 31, 2000 04:37 AM ]
posted on August 31, 2000 05:12:26 AM new Science fairs I think I'm ready to handle -- but the group project thing kills me everytime. We live soooooo far away from everyone that getting the kids together means committing to a minimum hour round trip -- often a two hour round trip. And then ya gotta either come up with something to do while they work -- or go home.
Bleh! I don't know how my folks did it. I can never seem to find the time (I know, I know -- post less, help with homework more. Sigh.)
posted on August 31, 2000 05:20:05 AM new
My son just started 1st grade. I am so not ready for any projects. I don't remember my parents running me around spending a ton of money on projects like they do today. They also didn't spend any time helping me. Either we didn't have projects or I am getting to old to remember.
posted on August 31, 2000 05:50:20 AM new
I forgot to mention the financial drain to the parents when school starts up. 2 of my 4 kids are still in school, my 16 year old son in 10th, my 13 year old daughter in 7th.
My son has a "Fee" of $86, my daughter a "Fee" of $20. This is in addition to the supplies they need, which can run anywhere from $40-$100 each depending on what type of calculator they need. Then there are band fees, fees to join Chess club, school pictures etc.
When all 4 of my kids were still in (3 years ago), it cost me $500 to get them all set with just the list of "necessities" they needed. And don't get me started on the cost of school lunches...when all 4 were in we qualified for reduced lunches, but not anymore. We pay $1.50 per day, and have to pay for 10 at a time. Please don't suggest packing a lunch, they won't do it.
posted on August 31, 2000 06:44:25 AM new
Pardon me? A 300-word essay assignment is cause for consternation and hope that "this will be it for a few days"? A 300-word essay is just about 3 times the length of my response here.
According to you, the science project involved writing the word "SCIENCE" down the left side of a piece of poster board, and then, for each letter, either drawing or cutting out a picture of a science-related item that begins with that letter, which "was not an easy task". Um, "science" has 7 letters - ergo, 7 pictures. Seven science-related pictures (either cut out or drawn) is "crazy"? How about Space, Chemistry, Internet, Energy, Nuclear, Cells, Ecology? My own objection to this assignment is that it has everything to do with spelling, and nothing to do with science.
Uh....since when was homework supposed to be "an easy task"? I'd wonder if my son's teachers didn't assign homework that was at least moderately challenging.
posted on August 31, 2000 07:00:38 AM newUh....since when was homework supposed to be "an easy task"? I'd wonder if my son's teachers didn't assign homework that was at least moderately challenging.
Yep, and the "moderately challenging" part is for the parent. You should see the "homework" my first grader brought home every week last year. Problem was, it wasn't "homework" for the kid, it was "homework" for the parent. Dontcha think that "homework" should be material that the child has to "work at home"? What I got were "concepts" that the teacher didn't have "time" to cover in class. Oh joy, another school year.
posted on August 31, 2000 10:59:11 AM new"Problem was, it wasn't "homework" for the kid, it was "homework" for the parent."
The reason for this is the school systems do not believe that parents spend enough time getting involved with the child and their schoolwork. The solution is to force the child to ask their parents for help which usually consists of long hours and lots of money.
I have seen 2nd graders come into the local plant nursery and spend almost $60 on experiment materials. One child had to buy 6 houseplants and 5 different types of fertilizer to find out what the effects if any there were in using fertilizer for growth.
I went through grade school. I went through college. Why are they testing my child on what I know and how much money I can spend on their projects?
posted on August 31, 2000 06:43:12 PM new
The purpose of projects and homework really is to get the parents involved in what their kids are doing. Doesn't work too well, but that's another subject!
The best project we ever got to do was when we had to find and identify 100 different plant seeds-in February! After we went through our supply of dry beans, flower seeds I had saved, and birdseed, we were reduced to prowling through a dead, frozen flowerbed for the rest of them. Lordy, I was relieved to get that done...And then the next year, the next kid got the same assignment!
Sure am glad I saved all their projects! we did a great recycling job on that one.
posted on August 31, 2000 07:20:48 PM new100 bearmom? I probably would have ended up going to the nursery, and just spending the money on a hundred different seed packets. Wonder if bulbs count as seeds?
posted on August 31, 2000 07:58:43 PM new
A trip to the nursery out here is 55 miles. We did, however, buy bird seed (which we used anyway), a package of sunflower seeds at 7-11, some wierd kinds of dried beans- I threw the beans we didn't glue on the poster together and made soup from them, so that wasn't a total loss. I also went out in the field and found cotton bolls the stipper missed, and picked the seeds out of them.
I told the boys I was keeping track of all these things-and they owe me LOTS of visits when I get put in the nursing home!
Science fairs I think I'm ready to handle -- but the group project thing kills me everytime. We live soooooo far away from everyone that getting the kids together means committing to a minimum hour round trip -- often a two hour round trip. And then ya gotta either come up with something to do while they work -- or go home.
I probably would have ended up going to the nursery, and just spending the money on a hundred different seed packets. Wonder if bulbs count as seeds?