why so many breaks

[kalanamak]

So, OP, I don't think you got flamed, but do you understand our "whys" better?

[MelissaMinNC]

In our case it's a combination of things.

 

1. Just because someone is able to do something, doesn't mean it's best or that they should. It's good for small kids to get lots of changes.

 

2. I am a Charlotte Mason methods type of girl and I believe in her reasons for keeping lessons short. The younger the student the shorter the lesson. This helps to develop longer attention span. And so we do a short lesson in one subject, and then change - that doesn't mean we get a break in between each lesson, though; but we might get up and move from one room to another. I do try to keep back-to-back lessons as different from each other as possible, because it helps keep them focused.

 

3. I live and teach in a house with kids of different ages, and sometimes one kid needs to take a break because he is not able to work independently yet, and I need to teach his sister something or change his brother's diaper.

 

Why does it matter if people let their kids take lots of breaks? I'm just curious, not trying to be snarky.

 

:)

[MissKNG]

I am really trying to figure out how PS kids can sit all day, and yet many HS kids can't.

 

I really don't think ps kids just sit all day. They take more time doing things which eats up a lot of school time since there are probably 30 kids in the class - having the whole class go potty, waiting in the lunch line, having all the kids put away the Math materials and get out the English books. And if all of the kids don't understand the material, then there's repetition and more instruction, thus longer class time. If a hs kid "gets it" within 10 minutes, then the lesson is done.

[Dmmetler]

Because breaks ARE built into PS-you just don't recognize it. When you have to walk, as a group, to music, or to the cafeteria, or even to a different part of the classroom, that's a much longer break than just pulling the next book/activity off a stack. And most kids will also get a break at some point during the day due to finishing an activity early and getting to do something else preferred, even though they may not be the first to finish every single task. In homeschooling, such breaks to wait for others often don't happen because you're the only child working on that material at a given time.

[MamaJo]

Because breaks ARE built into PS-you just don't recognize it. When you have to walk, as a group, to music, or to the cafeteria, or even to a different part of the classroom, that's a much longer break than just pulling the next book/activity off a stack. And most kids will also get a break at some point during the day due to finishing an activity early and getting to do something else preferred, even though they may not be the first to finish every single task. In homeschooling, such breaks to wait for others often don't happen because you're the only child working on that material at a given time.

 

 

good point

[delaney]

Now that I look back on my time as a PS teacher of 1st graders I feel ashamed. I did ask them to sit and pay attention for upwards of 45 minutes straight. I did expect them to listen attentively at 2 pm when they were tired. Perhaps the great rise in the prescription of Ritalin is a direct response to inappropriate expectations? Let's go so far to say that childhood obesity is linked to them sitting for so long at school, then getting so used to being idle that they do it at home as well! Our schools may be more unhealthy than we realize!

[GoVanGogh]

I would like to reply to the OP by quoting Alfie Kohn, from "Feel-bad Education."

 

Developmentally inappropriate education has become the norm, a kindergarten now tends to resemble a first- or second-grade classroom - in fact, a bad first- or second-grade classroom, where discovery, creativity and social interaction are replaced by a repetitive regimen focused on narrowly defined academic skills.

More generally, premature exposure to sit-still-and-listen instruction, homework, grades, tests and competition - practices that are clearly a bad match for younger children and of questionable value at any age - is rationalized by invoking a notion I've called BGUTI - Better Get Used To It. The logic here is that we have to prepare you for the bad things that are going to be done to you later... by doing them to you now. When articulated explicitly, that principle sounds exactly as ridiculous as it is. Nevertheless, it's the engine that continues to drive an awful lot of nonsense.

Sadly, I have friends with boys in public school and they have been told "BGUTI" more times than I can count.

I homeschool so my son doesn't have to get used to it!

I remember sitting in a seminar years ago (in my former, pre-child life) and one of the speakers said, "The mind can only absorb as much as the seat can endure." In other words, once you are uncomfortable and wiggling around and needing a break, your mind is worthless. How true that is for adults. I can't tell you how many times I have been in professional meetings and they allow people to get up and walk around every 30 minutes or so, to keep their minds fresh.

Why wouldn't you do the same for a child?

[foxbridgeacademy]

My husband teaches first grade. He moves his kids into a new position (chair, floor, desk, table) about every 15 minutes. He readily admits that while most of them will sit still, the amount of learning wanes significantly as the day progresses. The child may be physically seated in a chair but they are not learning all that much. A homeschool parent realizes (and actually so do ps teachers but they can't do anything about it) it is better to let them take a break, run around, and get some activity and come back refreshed and ready to learn again. You don't have the luxury of this in a public school classroom when every word out of the teacher's mouth has to correspond with a standard written on the white board.

 

Why cram learning into a 8-3 day when you can spread it out and have the child actually retain more?

 

 

Exactly, the child may sit still but will not really be paying attention, or learning. And what the heck is "average" anyway? One size does not fit all when it comes to children.

[Jen in PA]

 

Because much of what PS does is developmentally inappropriate!!

 

:iagree:

[momacacia]

I haven't read the entire thread, but the OP brought this to my mind. Our daily homeschooling experience is much more of a tutoring experience than a classroom experience, with my 6.5yo. That makes it much more intense, one-on-one and I expect her to listen to everything I read and teach to her, respond to my questions and hopefully do a little thinking along with me and maybe even a little thinking on her own! I think we also get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time than would happen in a traditional classroom. I'm amazed several days a week by how much we cover and how much dd enjoys learning and how it is "sticking." I think this learning style warrants regular breaks and I've also seen in research as well as my own experience that learning/retention are increased by breaks (especially outdoors :-).

 

hth