A friend, who is a teacher and should know better, just re-posted one of those apocalyptic rants about Common Core. It was one of the ones with "old fashion" (sic) math compared to Common Core and a story about children in tears over homework. And how it is the end of civilization as we know it. OK, don't get riled up, I am not going to defend Common Core, I have mixed feelings about it. What I am going to suggest is that tears over homework has been going on for years, and that if it is worse; it is because no one will admit what the real problem is.
Let's use our imaginations a bit. Let's say you are working at a job that is monotonous and routine. Your boss is cranky, but not unkind, a bit of a micromanager. Your work setting is cramped, 25 fellow workers in a very small room, your desks are less than a foot apart. Each task in the day is first done as a group, and then you have to do the same thing by yourself. You aren't allowed to talk during the day, even at lunch. You are never alone; you are always in a group.
At the end of this day, when you get home, you have to do the same task again, this time with a different supervisor, who is also cranky, but kind, who criticizes your day supervisor or insists you do things a different "better" way.
Add to this that you have to do this the minute you get home with no time to relax, so you can be through before supper. Or you can't start until after supper because you have another supervised activity with cranky but kind adults and another group of kids immediately after school.
The kids I see are hamsters in a wheel. They have a highly regimented school day witb no recreation, no down time, no social time. After school, they have sports, dance, music lessons. They get home at 7 or later. Supper, then homework. In bed too late. Their day is overscheduled, oversupervised and way too long. They are exhausted. So are their parents. And so are their teachers. You could use Common Core, SRA, or the McGuffey readers. You would still get tears and tantrums. We need to give kids a break, literally.
Add to this that they are also overstimulated and distracted. Cell phones, tablets, computers, game systems, cable TV, satellite TV, texting, Instagram..... And that is just the parents!!! Seriously, no one thinks to turn off all the noise and distraction, even at dinner, even while studying, even during conversation. Why are more kids being diagnosed as ADHD? Anymore, who can tell?
.jpg?1398031799)
.jpg?1398031847)
.jpg?1398031828)
.jpg?1398031815)
.jpg?1398031862)
