I was talking yesterday with a friend whose children are in public school.She shared many of her frustrations and asked my opinion.“Oh, don’t get me started!” I was thinking, but I held my tongue and tempered my opinion.
One of her frustrations was with the amount of down time in her daughter’s first grade classroom…time when the kids did nothing but wander the room, looking for something to fill their time. Here is an example she relayed from her last visit to help in the classroom. The children started the day looking at three sentences.The teacher told them that each sentence had three mistakes.They were to find the problems and write the sentences correctly.After finishing the assignment, they would have free time until recess.The assignment took most kids a total of 10 minutes, leaving them about an hour and ten minutes until recess.Think of all the learning that could have taken place during this time.What a waste!And we wonder why the kids have so much homework and are still not doing well?
One of the arguments against homeschooling I have often heard discussed is the length of our school day. Well meaning relatives have often asked how we can possibly teach them all they need to know before lunch.Looking at the above example, I think the answer is obvious.We give our children one on one attention, making good use of our time.We are not plagued by interruptions such as lunch count, fire drills, students who lag behind, discipline problems, assemblies or any myriad of other time wasting events.The only interruptions we face are real life and yes, those do happen frequently.The difference is taking those interruptions and turning them into life lessons.The only life lesson my friend’s daughter is learning is how to fill her time until recess.I wonder how that will serve her later on?
So well said. I am nodding my head here. I remember lots of wasted time in school. How about the year in 10th grade when our history teacher spent the year showing us history greats such as "shogun" and "the thorn birds"? It got to the point we kids started pooling change together to order a couple pizzas..and had them delivered!
Or the months in 5th grade we spent lining up and filing to the lunch room to learn to sing the song "dust in the wind"?
Yes, we do have interruptions in homeschool, and even days mom can't quite get it all together, but even on my worst day I think they come out even with what active learning they would be getting at school. This month we lost lots of time helping grandpa to die..but they gained so much by the experience, I couldn't put a worth on that.
thanks for sharing,
Jenny in Ca
www.homeiswhereyoustartfrom.blogspot.com
I was a public school teacher for 8 years. We were always being told to reduce "off task time" ie wasted or down time. There is ALOT of it! Just the management that come into play with that number of children takes a lot of time -- checking roll, taking up this form or that, documenting disciplinary procedures, etc. It's mind boggling. I was a very low off task time teacher and kept my kids hopping. (I was always praised for this on my evals.) But man was it tiring! I left every day exhausted! WHEW! It's hard work.
You certainly CAN teach it all before lunch and do a better job!
Okay, about the gross chicken feet. Yes, there are foods we eat that Chinese do not like. These are generalizations of course, and things are changing. BUT generally Chinese people do not like very rich or sweet things -- cheese, butter, cream, fudge, brownies, etc. Can you believe it? :-)
Oh my, I just read about your daughter eating medicine. How scary is that! Wow, I like that her big brother is the one who 'saved' her. Good job big brother.
As far as wasted time. I agree totally with your many points. With the older kids I sometimes go longer, but no always. You can accomplish a lot (gradeschool aged) in 3 or 4 hours. But that's not when all the learning is happening, right?
You have to count the books read at bedtime (or just for fun). You have to count the time spent cooking with me. You have to count Boggle games and Yahtzee (math and spelling!) You have to count discussions on politics and history in the car.
So really.....if we were to add up the hours we truly 'homeschool' I'd say we're up to 10 or 12 hours a day. No joke. Don't you agree?
I can't agree with you more. From my own teaching experience, most of in-school time is wasted on classroom management, discipline, lining up(!), and scheduled interruptions.
I am very thankful that I can teach my children at home for the above, and so many other, reasons.
I guess that's what happens when you've got a huge classroom full of 20-30 children who all learn at different paces. The ones who get done first are the ones who are disadvantaged. They could be learning something else, instead of wandering aimlessly.
When I was in public school, I remember having times when it seemed I couldn't get all my work done, and times of sheer boredom (combined with plenty of daydreaming). I wonder how I would have done as a homeschooler? Hmm. ;-)
I'm /in/ public school right now and I have to agree. There's an absolutely insane amount of time wasted for the most inane reasons, every single day. There are a few buses that are about 15 minutes late all 180 days. Teachers waste time trying to get the thirty-something kids to just sit down, shut up, and stop hitting on each other and gossipping. This process usually sucks up a good 20 minutes of each 55-minute period. Half the assignments we're given are essentially busy-work to keep us busy while the teacher chats it up with the student-teacher. Whatever class we have during the last period of the day rapidly deteriorates into people running around the room, falling out of their chairs, playing with cell phones and iPods, throwing things, and shouting. SHOUTING. The teacher just sits at their desk with their head in their hands, sometimes talking with the few kids who are actually trying to learn something. When we're supposed to be finding meaning or significance in history or fiction, the teacher often gets so fed-up with the idiotic comments of the ten morons in the corner that she just tells us what it means.
I'm seriously considering homeschooling (if I can rope my parents into it, and if I decide it's worth it to give up on the amazing drama department at the high school) just so I can actually learn something valuable.
I'm a public high school teacher. I understand where you're coming from in your discussion of wasted time. Teaching in a one-on-one arena is obviously most "efficient." Of course, benefits exist to learning in a community of peers, as well.
I do have a hard time with the previous student's comment. I work very hard to make the minutes in my classroom engaging and time well-spent. It grieves me when I hear people describe teachers as lazy or unwilling. At least where I work, that certainly is not the case. We spend MANY late night hours working harder than most people I know. We care very much about education, and we make the most of the resources we're given.
The daily, sometimes hourly, musings of a homeschooling mom of four surviving on prayer, friendship and lots of Starbucks. Some days my cup runs over and some days it all spills out the cracks...and I wouldn't have it any other way.
