remimded me of the `baby feeding` methods ,,, at certain all women were encouraged to Bottle feed , than again to breast feed/ When my eldest was born , the Nurses cautioned me to hold `strict feeding hours` , with my second i was told to `feed at baby`s demands`..... Eventually all babies grow up no matter what feeding sytem is used. The attidtudes about how to educate /teach gifted children changes every 10 or so years , "keep them in class +specail lessons" , move them to Special classes " ,,,, now you say it is back to `regular classes but enhance the teacher`s abilities` ,,,,,
I still think the only measure we have is time and patience .... offer the kid all possible help , encourage but not too much . Wish you the best success and luck mirjam
DD gets to choose her first activity center this week, I wonder which she'll pick. I know the one that interested her at the orientation was called "The Unexplained" in which they'd research things like crop circles and Bigfoot.
I was irritated by how Dianne refused to see that there were other ways to teach children besides the one she uses. That she seemed to mock the program my child was lucky enough to participate in. Her posts obviously came from a place of ignorance, and in my own flawed way I was trying to make her understand.
I even said that she may be a great piano teacher. That doesn't make her an expert on all types of education however, and I was pointing out that the center my daughter attends is run by teachers with very different skills then she has. They have been trained specifically on how to teach kids that are gifted.
K's explanation of progress reports vs the A-B-C grading system was on the nose, I wish I could have expressed it nearly as well.
I absolutely ADORE Beethoven. My favourite to lull me off to sleep (and drown DH`s snoring) is the Pastorale - and since John is almost as deaf as Beethoven was, I can play it as loud as I like and have it on permanent loop. I do tend to get woken up with a start by the thunderstorm part, though! It`s either that or BBC World - but that`s often too interesting and keeps me awake.
Another one to go to sleep with is Clannad, or Foster and Allen - and I`m not even Irish!
What music do other like to listen to to send them off to sleep - or at least to relax to?
Pat P
Our son, being a French Horn player. is hooked on the Mozart horn concertos.
True. A couple of my teachers actually did use the comment line on the report card. I think they were limited to a list of comments they could use (I believe the report card line held fewer than 20 characters) so it wasn't a perfect solution. OTOH, the personalized feedback provided by additional "comments" is so important it shouldn't be limited to just four annual grading periods.
Both the "objective" letter grade and the more subjective comments are important. Well-written comments show the student's pers> One can assign a letter grade and still make notes as incentive.
And this is the crux of it. Teaching is a calling. You can learn skills, but they are just tools. If you don't have the calling, all the skills in the world won't make you a good teacher. "Better", maybe, but still not "GOOD".
I know there are gifted teachers (not teachers of "gifted", but teachers who are themselves gifted) who are without any official certification, and certified teachers who are not qualified and never will be, no matter how many credits they have or how many philosophies they've studied.
No one system works for everyone...not letter grades, not progress reports in lieu of grades, not "free will" selection of courses, not "basic curriculum". It all depends on the dynamic between teacher and student, and the consistency of expectation, efforts, and rewards. I think this is what we've lost. We jump from one trend to another, trying to quantify the unquantifiable, and every trend comes up wanting, so we jump to the next easy fix.
The educational successes are happening in places where individual gifts are recognized and developed by whatever means, where teachers see their students as individuals to be guided but held responsible for their own development, and where home and school work together. Unfortunately, those places have become less and less common.
Perhaps part of it is because education has become such a global concept, rather than a close-to-home contract between the family and the immediate community. The further removed it gets, the more of a "marketplace" concept it becomes, with children being "products" of a system, created and acted on, rather than the drivers themselves.
You Don`t have to explain your reaction , to Dianne`s post to me. I am fully aware that Educating and teaching methods vary from place to place , from community to community and from the teachers` age group to another teachers` age group. I am glad for you that your daughter is getting an education that interestests her and stimulates her curiousity,,,, But you have to remember , that Dianne is not near you , and besides her ideas how she educated her pupils , she has no influence upon the way your daughter is being educated, She can tell you how she did it , but is in no position really to judge , any thing in your daughter`s program . So why get itrritated , that is her opinion , Yours ` is diferent. >
As i wrote before there are many many ways to educate children. Go with your heart and mind . >That she seemed to mockthe program my child was lucky enough to
And what is it to you , if she mocks it ??? Does your child come home excited and with new knowledge ? does she go happily to school every morning ?
You are not flawed , you are concerned for your daughter , and maybe are a bit unsure about her program in school , Why not call the teacher and ask for a full explanation , about it all , this will settle your mind.
None of us really know about which kind of piano teacher she is. We all hope she is the best. We can judge that she is a very skilled Embroidery teacher .
i am sure with time you wil be able to be more clear about it all. mirjam
Cheryl, you can move to ND! We have really good schools here and our graduation rate is one of the top in the country. My kids' school, senior class of ca. 50, had 2 National Merit Scholars a few years ago.
*And* to top it off, we also have the best hockey program and facilities in the nation!!!! ;););)
Sadly, hockey is about to become a sweet memory in this house - DS has screwed up and will be dropping. DD is still playing, but I think we might pull her just to cauterize the wounds.
Sorry to hear that DS is dropping, Cheryl - but wouldn`t it be a bit unfair on DD to pull her? After all, S**t happens, and you can`t protect DS from that forever! On the other hand, when it hits the fan - it gets evenly and not always fairly distributed! ;-) Poor kids.
At this point, I am thinking of my husband. Her continuing to play would only rub salt in the wound of DS not playing. And she will learn the lesson that school comes first and that if there is a problem you ask for help.
Since DD is in 4th grade at this point, I'm thinking it's not going to affect her college applications yet! lol I also know that kids tend to drop out of Signet (name of the program here) as they enter H.S. They just don't have the time for it with H.S. classes (many are in accelerated programs).
DD is highly excited about Signet (the name for the program here), she doesn't mind the extra homework a day away from her regular classes brings. She's proud about the stuff they've done in groups. Tomorrow she starts the individual projects.
Their teachers don't let them slack, if they turn in something that looks like they did a slip shod job the teacher will ask if this is the best they can do and give them a look that implies she knows it isn't. I loved "the look" it was one of the type that good moms give their kids that speak volumes!
I'm still not getting why it's a big deal to anybody why in this one day a week program she should be getting A.B.C grades. It's just not about grades, it's about thinking. I'd thought I'd made that part clear enough.
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