How do ps kids ever finish anything?

[Dmmetler]

If I stay in the room and stand over my DD when she's doing independent work (math review,copywork), it takes her almost no time to do it. If I leave the room, her pace slows to a CRAWL. It's not that she needs me there for the content, because she's not asking questions when I'm in the room. It took 30 minutes to do 10 math review problems this morning. A similar page, yesterday, took 5-and the only difference I can see is that I was trying to get the washing machine loaded and laundry started today.

 

Is this something which will come with age? I just can't imagine that if she were in a traditional classroom the teacher would be able to stand behind her and make her keep working.

[Night Elf]

The pace and expectations in a classroom are just different. Not many kids want to stand out, and kids who lollygag and don't do their work are teased as being dumb. There can also be ramifications for unfinished work. I worked with a teacher who required unfinished work to be worked on during recess and also at home as extra homework.

[Tammyla]

PS school teachers stay in the room.

 

Many, many young students need to be kept focused and on task. Independence will come with age, but for now plan to monitor. Try to find quiet things you can do, while keeping her in you line of sight.

Edited December 9, 2010 by Tammyla

[LibraryLover]

In theory, are children in schools supposed to be physically surpervised?

 

At any rate, little children in school tend to act differently than they do at home. I never remember giving my teacher any kind of song and dance, but sometimes my yougest dd acts like she is participating in a Braodway show.

[FaithManor]

Locally here is what happens:

 

1. Lots of lost recess and lunch time. I know kids who have spent the entire year only have five minutes at lunch to eat and two minutes at each recess break to use the bathroom. This is at the elementary level. At the high school level, if the student plays a sport, they don't have to do one blessed thing. NOT ONE! The school will continue to hand out passing grades, despite teacher protests, so that the student doesn't lose eligibility. If not in a sport, then they just get failing grades although there is pressure on the teachers to give D- if the student is at least not sleeping through class. That way they can pass the student along.

 

2. They may get teased if the classroom is stacked with a fair number of kids who do the work or most of the work. However, if the culture of that bunch of kids is more inclined towards the non-achievers, then the achievers get bullied and beat up or their homework stolen from them, or threats of physical violence if they don't let others cheat off them. I know LOTS of really bright kids who began school quite willing to achieve and now "lay low" by getting poor grades in order to survive the environment.

 

3. Occasionally, if there are enough volunteers, a child will get individual help. But, with 40 - 42 children in a classroom and almost none having a full time aide, it isn't too likely.

 

4. A lot of homework is sent home for the parent to supervise.

 

Sometimes I still feel that my 14 year old needs a lot of supervision while my 12 year old hardly needs me. Every child is quirky.

 

Faith

[PiCO]

Is this something which will come with age? I just can't imagine that if she were in a traditional classroom the teacher would be able to stand behind her and make her keep working.

 

Your daughter's 6. Public school teachers don't get to go get a load of laundry started either.

 

I would work with her on this, though- every now and then, tell her she needs to do the math problems (that should take 10 minutes), and when she finishes she should come find you- and then she get some free time or some reward activity that she can do until, say, 45 minutes after she started her work. So the longer it takes her to get her work done, the less reward activity time she gets.

 

I think it's important for kids to be able to work efficiently on their own, but it's a skill that needs to be learned over time. Teach it to them before they're teens!

[Laura Corin]

Positive peer pressure. If everyone is doing the same thing, the activity should go forward so long as the teacher is supervising.

 

FWIW, I sat right by my children for most of the time. They have gone off to school and are doing well in class. It's a different environment.

 

Laura

[PiCO]

At the high school level, if the student plays a sport, they don't have to do one blessed thing. NOT ONE! The school will continue to hand out passing grades, despite teacher protests, so that the student doesn't lose eligibility.

 

This is really unfortunate, for everyone involved. My dd does HS sports, and there is always someone on the team who is innelligible. Every Thursday the coaches have to check the grades of everyone on their team, if they fall below a certain standard the child may not participate in practice or games until they get their grades up (at the soonest by the following Thursday.) Admittedly, the standard is pretty low- they have to be actually failing one class or getting Ds in two. But at least there isn't the feeling the athletes can get away with anything.

 

I do have a problem with the amount of time that's required in HS sports, though. The practices are do-able, but when they drive 3 hours on a bus to a game and get home at 1 AM, that's a bit much. Especially when they require everyone on the team to go and "support their teammates", even if they are not competing. And all the "team dinners" before games. At least those are optional.:rant:

[LibraryLover]

That's my recollection. Mostly, we were all doing the same thing, together.

 

I am near the children as well.

 

Positive peer pressure. If everyone is doing the same thing, the activity should go forward so long as the teacher is supervising.

 

FWIW, I sat right by my children for most of the time. They have gone off to school and are doing well in class. It's a different environment.

 

Laura

[Sun]

By and large in public school first-grade classrooms, there is a significant number (probably close to half the class) of kids who have trouble getting their work done if the teacher does not keep prompting them individually to continue. By third grade, more kids are able to work independently, but there are still generally several kids who have trouble, at least in specific subjects (i.e. Mary might have trouble continuing to write but doesn't need prompting in math).

 

I think it's largely developmental. One of the great advantages of hsing is that you can help your child now while she needs more guidance and gradually phase out that extra guidance as she gets older and gains more ability to work independently.

[sbgrace]

I didn't teach the young grades but as a teacher in public school I was constantly circulating the room. I knew which kids needed me most and frequently. A good teacher does a great amount of walking and stopping and, generally, knows how to have presence. When I taught while pregnant for a short while prior to going on bedrest I was supposed to do a lot of sitting. It was very difficult to teach effectively.

 

In my experience highschool kids in sports had more motivation in that a coach was "on them" if there was a problem academically or in the classroom.\

 

I think a lot of six year olds would need a lot of presence to stay focused. I think one of mine would do ok because he's so concerned with doing the right thing and he's a focused kid in general. The other would be entirely off focus even with a "circulating" teacher. He's the other end of the spectrum and why I initially decided to homeschool.

[Murphy101]

What makes you think they do?

 

I know for a fact that most schools here, public, charter, or private do NOT finish materials by the end of the year. Sometimes not even half the text is finished.

 

So obviously they might be doing significantly less to begin with on a weekly basis compared to my house where it is rare I don't insist on completing materials before moving on.

[snickelfritz]

For one thing, the teachers didn't leave the room. And at 6, a LOT of it was done in groups. Throughout elementary, I remember:

 

1. The teacher walking around checking on everyone.

 

2. From her desk, she could make sure we didn't have unauthorized stuff on our desk and that we weren't goofing off. Daydreaming would probably be harder to catch.

 

3. We missed recess if work wasn't done. Recess was after lunch, which covered much of the day. Afternoon work would have been homework.

 

Much of it was independent, in that we were working alone. But it was rarely unsupervised.

[Ferdie]

There can also be ramifications for unfinished work. I worked with a teacher who required unfinished work to be worked on during recess and also at home as extra homework.

 

My children are older, but that is exactly how it works at their school. The work that they don't finish in the classroom becomes homework.

 

At our home, my kids don't play with friends or go to events until their homework is done. They are highly motivated to get their work done at school so they can have free time when they get home.

 

Last year my ds was out of school sick one day, and I couldn't believe how much make up work he had to do. I didn't realize how much work they get done in a day until I picked up his makeup assignment file.

[KrissiK]

My boys are the same age as your child (6&7) and some days get their work done before snack time in the morning, other days it's a struggle to get it done by supper time. And it's basically the same amount of work every day. I do have to hold their hands most of the time, but with DS#1, it entirely depends on his mood any particular day. Seriously. Some days, he goes into the other room when I'm working on math with DS#2 and he'll come back 20 minutes later with his work done. Then some days I have to come over, tap on the next problem with my finger and then the next and then the next. I agree with the other posters, it's a developmental thing. It's also a boredom thing, I'm convinced. Math problems are not interesting. But, they have to be done. Copywork is not fun. But... the kids need to learn to read and write correctly. It would be nice if their entire curriculum could be interest lead, but that's just not feasable and probably wouldn't be good for them anyhow. I think part of a good education is learning how to get a job done, whether you enjoy doing it or not, and also, how to graciously handle boredom. Because a lot of things in life are boring - waiting at the doctor's office, waiting for anything, sermons sometimes. It takes training to learn to do what you're supposed to do and should do, even if you're not enjoying the methodology.

[Catwoman]

I never remember giving my teacher any kind of song and dance, but sometimes my yougest dd acts like she is participating in a Broadway show.

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

Perhaps she and my ds should get together and take the show on the road! ;)

 

Cat