Comments on: Down with school http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2007/08/28/down-with-school/ dawn friedman's blog Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:13:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: Violeta http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2007/08/28/down-with-school/#comment-5824 Violeta Tue, 28 Aug 2007 23:10:17 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/?p=1566#comment-5824 You know I really should skip all your homeschooling posts- they give me too many ideas. :) Our kids are little still but I'm so tempted to homeschool in the future. The thing is, I actually *loved* school until I was out of it and realized all that I could have learned and done outside of it's confines. Now, when I imagine sending my darling brilliant babies I get a premonition of this too: "I'd just show up at parent/teacher conferences with a big ol' chip on my shoulder humming Pink Floyd's “Another Brick in the Wall” under my breath." Keep rockin' the homeschooling! You know I really should skip all your homeschooling posts- they give me too many ideas. :) Our kids are little still but I’m so tempted to homeschool in the future. The thing is, I actually *loved* school until I was out of it and realized all that I could have learned and done outside of it’s confines. Now, when I imagine sending my darling brilliant babies I get a premonition of this too: “I’d just show up at parent/teacher conferences with a big ol’ chip on my shoulder humming Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” under my breath.”
Keep rockin’ the homeschooling!

]]> By: Susan http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2007/08/28/down-with-school/#comment-5822 Susan Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:49:45 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/?p=1566#comment-5822 I wish you could check out our school. THere really is no busywork...http://www.mcds.org/ HAve never had a day when the kids didn't want to go. (2 of my kids graduated). Enjoy your blog, thanks. I wish you could check out our school. THere really is no busywork…http://www.mcds.org/ HAve never had a day when the kids didn’t want to go. (2 of my kids graduated).
Enjoy your blog, thanks.

]]> By: Jess http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2007/08/28/down-with-school/#comment-5821 Jess Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:47:59 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/?p=1566#comment-5821 Enki does look really great, but yow, the cost! Enki does look really great, but yow, the cost!

]]> By: dawn http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2007/08/28/down-with-school/#comment-5825 dawn Tue, 28 Aug 2007 17:38:38 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/?p=1566#comment-5825 Aimee, were you looking at the Enki curriculum? That looks FABULOUS! I had a friend using that a few years ago and the materials were so nifty!!! And what does Noah think? He's annoyed by it but loves having his own computer and does like testing himself (some of the assessments). Aimee, were you looking at the Enki curriculum? That looks FABULOUS! I had a friend using that a few years ago and the materials were so nifty!!! And what does Noah think? He’s annoyed by it but loves having his own computer and does like testing himself (some of the assessments).

]]> By: emily http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2007/08/28/down-with-school/#comment-5823 emily Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:58:10 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/?p=1566#comment-5823 Amen for knowing yourself. It is so, so, so hard to be anti-busy work and have kids in school. And my kids attend an "alternative" public school (which, yeah, has been massively suckified by NCLB, despite its humble hippy beginnings more than 30 years ago.) I'm lucky in that my kids are not <i>terribly</i> resistant to homework, and that if they just get it done, it only takes them a few minutes. I know people whose children, in lower elementary grades, take more than an hour a night to do homework. I can't imagine enforcing that; getting through a worksheet or two with my math-whiz kiddos is hard enough, because my mindset is that the school has them <b>all freakin' day</b>, the least they can do is let me have my children for a few hours at night. I fail to see what is so crucial for a seven and nine year old who get their work done in class that they need to continue working at home. It's akin to bringing work home with you while working at Taco Bell. And don't even get me started on the nightly reading sheets for third grade last year; I told the teacher that my children read or are read to every night (except when they're at their dad's house), and I wasn't going to mess that up by turning it into a book report. I made the notes on what we read and Noah's questions/thoughts myself. The teacher was fine with that, but then she was a radical, anti-busy work hippy, too ;) Amen for knowing yourself. It is so, so, so hard to be anti-busy work and have kids in school. And my kids attend an “alternative” public school (which, yeah, has been massively suckified by NCLB, despite its humble hippy beginnings more than 30 years ago.) I’m lucky in that my kids are not terribly resistant to homework, and that if they just get it done, it only takes them a few minutes.

I know people whose children, in lower elementary grades, take more than an hour a night to do homework. I can’t imagine enforcing that; getting through a worksheet or two with my math-whiz kiddos is hard enough, because my mindset is that the school has them all freakin’ day, the least they can do is let me have my children for a few hours at night. I fail to see what is so crucial for a seven and nine year old who get their work done in class that they need to continue working at home. It’s akin to bringing work home with you while working at Taco Bell.

And don’t even get me started on the nightly reading sheets for third grade last year; I told the teacher that my children read or are read to every night (except when they’re at their dad’s house), and I wasn’t going to mess that up by turning it into a book report. I made the notes on what we read and Noah’s questions/thoughts myself. The teacher was fine with that, but then she was a radical, anti-busy work hippy, too ;)

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