Benifits of School

"Surgery" went well! Logan is home and doing good. So, one of my friends was on FB discussing Kindergarten and I think education in general. I'm not sure if I'm just weird, but I believe that schools do a pretty good job at what they do. No, they are not perfect. But, I think it's our job to teach our children to have an attitude for success. I have taught Jack most of the accademics he knows. But, since being in Kindergarten he has come home with new songs, wanting to make a behavior chart at home because they have one at school. He is loving Kindergarten even though the worksheets for math he is bringing home is counting to 5 and comparing numbers to 5. Ummm he can compare numbers to prob. 100 and def knows how to recognize numbers to 100. But, in my opinion that's not the point. The point is knowing how to follow directions and actually completing an assignment. Most kindergarten teacher's realize assignments like those are easy for most of their kids, but getting a strong base is very important. If Jack's teacher was to call me and say she thought he should skip kinder and go straight to 1st grade- which academically I know he could handle, my answer would be absolutely NO! Yeah, this week they are learning their 5 senses- yes he knows his 5 senses, but doing the activities is fun. His teacher this year is REALLY good at teaching students to learn through play and SONGS. I love this! Once they hit 1st grade in most cases, play and songs disapear and so much of that is important. As I do work with Jack most days on Reading and Math in a direct instruction approach, I do believe in learning through fun is important. I also believe that Kindergarten teaches kids to learn how to learn- how to sit in at a table "desk", complete an assignment independently. Kinder also teaches how to listen to a teacher. The kids are exposed to a whole lot of literature! I've told Jack that there is fiction and non fiction, read both to him, explained the difference many times in the last 5 years. Yesterday he says to me- "Mom did you know that there are books that are real and books that are made up- Mom I want to write a book that is real"- Ummm yes, I know that- fiction and nonfiction- he was like yeah- that's what I said. So even though I've said it 50 times to him- his teacher saying it once- it stuck. I think I plant the seeds, so that he can retain the information when it's taught formally. Aaron and I have discussed "education" in general a ton. His opinion is that it is rediculous that often the 1st quarter is spent reviewing the previous year. Yeah- that's true, but so much more is taught during that time. I think school gives us life skills that are difficult to do in other environments- I have home schooling friends and I'm sure they can teach these skills also- I think it's just harder. Things like working independently (life skill), taking tests, realizing that I don't get all the attention all the time. Learning there is a time and a place- talking about the weekend doesn't work during work time. Many of this carries over to real world jobs. Wheather you were the fastest at your math facts doesn't really make you a better employee or parent. But, your ability to listen, follow directions, work independently, solve problems will matter! I personally believe in the education system- I want my kids to do well in school and not to struggle- I did enough of that for both of them. Chances are Logan will struggle, but will hopefully learn to work hard and persist even when it's hard. I can go on and on about education and how to teach and what I believe is important. And yes, I've often wondered if homeschooling could work for our family- Jack would be extremely advanced in academics. I just really like the social community for learning.