Grayling

True.....they are going to need them when serving customers.

"would you like fries with that sir"

hater

No, they need them not to become insane on their way during school....
Pschology blame mainly the degrading social skills for the increase in children with severe mental problems (by the way including the children who -as a result of their problems- found it clever to get to school with a few guns and force the rest of the school to "interact" with them in a "new way")...

During the last years the rate of "burn-out" syndroms, depression and suicide has risen extremly within children. A fact that -as the common results of most psychology research-studies showed- is mainly linked to increased school pressure combined with degrading social skills.
If you just once had seen a so called "student psychosis" (a mixture of different severe diagnosis which once has only been known to college students) in a 10 year old you would know what I mean. These children will have severe mental health problems for the rest of their lives, will be unable to do any "hard learning" anymore and are practically disabled.
And they are nornally the "high achievers"....

Just to get me right: Social skills are not more important than math, science or anything else...But they are AS important.... Ignore the need (and the time needed to develope things) and something will -for sure- terribly wrong.

Grayling

Don't try and teach your granny how to suck eggs

BadgeIsBack

I blame the parents myself...

(and I am only half-joking).

sheene

Throw away their cell phone, throw away the x-box, disconnect the tv, then send them out to climb trees, make dens, ride their bikes - PLAY. School pressure - absolute bollocks.

BadgeIsBack

The general complaint here is that primary school kids do too much. They seem to swing from one programme to the next and that includes concerts. To be honest, we can barely keep up with it all.

My daughter is in Prep - (Year 1) and if she suddenly disappears then we know she has put herself to bed - they are often wacked at the end of the day. Her reading is nothing short of incredible.

Chortlepuss

My hubby is a teacher and although he loves it, I often wonder what motivates people to do such a hard, time-consuming job for such a low salary. We are so lucky that people of this calibre and intelligence are willing to do jobs like this when with their abilities they could get far more lucrative and easier roles. It winds me up when people think teachers have an easy time of it - invariably people criticizing have no appreciation of what's involved and the hours - every night on prep and marking and also weekends!

For all you teachers out there, enjoy your break - it is well deserved!.

kips

Actually I happen to be one of those parents who does make sure her child does his homework, makes sure it's not covered in last night's dinner and is handed in on time throughout the school year. That's why I find the following comment particularly annoying:

"Homeworks, why should we give them for the sake of giving them? Half of the time the parents can't see them far enough! Some I NEVER see and others that I do are covered in last nights dinner and torn....hmmm...."

My son's homework consists of a sheet photocopied out of a book. Must be exhausting for the teacher having to do so many photocopies.

Not sure why I bother though as my son tells me he never gets the homework sheet given back to him so he has no idea if the answers are correct. Silly me, forgot that's the parent's job.

As for reading. What reading ? My son hasn't brought home a book for three months. When I mentioned this to the teacher she said it wasn't necessary for him to only read books - it could be anything like newspapers, posters, flyers.

Newspapers aren't designed for 8-year-olds. You try finding an article in a newspaper a child that age wants to read or understands.

How can posters and flyers be substitutes for books ?

So it's basically down to me to provide suitable books because the school can't be bothered. My sister phoned me from the UK this week asking what presents to send my son. Horrid Henry and Roald Dahl books I said without hesitation !!!!

School report ? I'm still waiting. I presume it will be handed out next week.

Then there's the issue of my son's NAPLAN results which I was really pleased about. He did the tests at his previous school in NSW and they arrived here about 2 weeks after we moved to WA.

I took a copy to his teacher and asked if I could discuss them with her as I wanted to ensure my son maintained the high standards and he was given work appropriate for his ability.

The teacher's snotty response was that a discussion was not necessary as the school liked to do their own assessments especially as the NAPLAN tests hadn't been marked by them. What ?????

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the papers marked by other teachers ? So is she saying she doesn't trust her own colleagues ?

And the only reason my son has done well in his NAPLAN tests is because I have been teaching him English and Maths at home. Unpaid. Certainly wouldn't give his teacher any credit. He spent most of the year on leave including 3 weeks in Mexico in term time.

A teacher mentioned on here about staying back until 6pm at school. My son's school is like a ghost town by 3.30pm. Teachers staying behind. You must be joking. They can't get away quick enough !!

If as a parent you take an interest you child's education and ask questions you are treated with disdain by the teacher and seen as meddling and pushy. If you do nothing you accused of being uncaring and it's your fault if your kids fail their exams . Damned if you and damned if you don't.

If all teachers are doing such a fantastic job why I have met three parents (since moving here in September) who all pay for their kids to have private tuition for subjects they study at school ? One of the parents pays for both her children.

Must be because the teachers are exhausted.

northernbird

School reports in WA state schools are distributed on Monday 12th December. Our school publicises this in the school newsletter.

To be honest for some kids who don't like to read, reading is reading. If that is reading a poster or a magazine then so be it. I think you have just been unlucky with your choice of school because none of what you describe (other than the wind down at the end of T4) has happened in the 2 schools in WA my kids have attended.

Vote with your feet if you aren't happy because I can tell you the more you complain the more fed up the teachers and administration will get with you and you will flogging a dead horse.

Vash the Stampede

I'm afraid this does not show much initiative on his part. Presumably the school has a library. Does he know how to use a library?

OK, slack teacher. But who has greater responsibility for encouraging your son's literacy: you, or her? What are you doing about this situation, apart from blaming other people?

When I was a kid they could hardly keep me out of the library, and if I wanted a book to take home, I simply went and got one. (Actually I usually got several, and they were often returned late).

The Sun is.

He'll enjoy page 3.

Again, I suggest... the school library? That's what it's there for.

Or you could just buy them locally and ask her to send you something you can't actually get here.

itigo

"Associate head of research at Deakin's School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Professor Jo Salmon, yesterday said pushing kids outdoors to play would help improve the health and happiness of children.

Parents needed to set rules around the amount of screen time children were allowed every day, and enforce a limit of two hours in total, Professor Salmon said.

They should also try not to place too much academic pressure on their kids and recognise that playing outside and being active was probably better for children than sitting inside practising spelling or sums.

The amount of homework children were doing had also increased over the last two decades, Professor Salmon said.

It was her view primary school age children should not be doing much if any homework, beyond reading and perhaps going for walks with their parents, "counting letter boxes in the street or something like that", she said.

"I think homework is just something which is not good for children," Professor Salmon said.

"To me, kids shouldn't have to sit down for half an hour to an hour after school and do school work."
http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/...6861_news.html

My daughter has a library card for our town and I take her and her 3 year old brother regularly. There are plenty of books suitable for children in there. We've had a Roald Dahl collection since she was 4 months and we have plenty of books she can read over the holidays. From what you say it sounds like you are a book poor house?

The Sun newspaper (as stated above) is actually written at a reading age of 8 as they thought it would appeal more to those adults with poorer reading skills. You can always find articles that are suitable in any paper. The child can read it with you then you can discuss anything they didn't understand?

As a teacher I encourage reading of all types - flyers, posters, road signs, shop windows etc. etc. When you're older you have to be able to read them all and it's good to learn the different styles used etc.

If you think the school is that bad, complain to the Dept of education, move your son. And please STOP tarring all teachers with the same brush. It's starting to grate..........

Japonica

I think it must be the particular teacher you have. I'm in the same burb as you know different school though and we don't have any of the issues you described. Yes, the last two weeks of school for my kid's Year 1 class was homework-free and spent watching movings and doing puzzles, games, coloring, whatever. But they seemed to love it. I volunteered for class clean up (one of only two parents who showed up) and while I scrubbed trays and wiped shelves, I saw the kids just laughing and giggling while playing musical games ("statute" and the like) with their peers.

I'm not overly fussed about the lack of homework. Yes, it did seem odd when at first I heard there was "nothing until next year," but I recalled that they've been doing about 30-40 minutes a night since the start of the year, they've had daily assigned reading, weekly spelling tests, daily math and English work, so they could use a break. I also had a look at her portfolio from the year and I can see how much progress she's made. So, two weeks without home assignments isn't a lot in the terms of the overall gains of the year.

Right now she's writing in her school daily journal and giving herself homework and she's only been on holiday since Thursday. If they're keen to keep learning, they'll find a way. She's also been working her way through her bookcase and a trip to the library will be necessary soon.

And yes, kudos to teachers a thousand times over. While there might be the odd bad apple, the vast majority are awesome, doing a very tough job with long hours for low pay (when you take into account all the time they spent out of hours still "on the job"). I know I couldn't do it. Fair play to those who can.

DeadVim

I hope our child is educated to the best standard.

One day she too will be able to waste huge amounts of time talking bollocks on the internet.

sheene

It's not all bollocks, some of it is a load of balls.

itigo

At least we're reading!!!