Monday, August 31, 2009
The way the world changes
Last fall when we had our first parent teacher conference in the third grade, I was concerned about my daughter having to cope with learning cursive when she hadn't even learned to print neatly. My concerns were quickly put to rest, albeit replace with a bigger one, when I was told that they would no longer teach cursive, as it had become obsolete with increased use of computers. Ok, I looked into it, I researched it, and although initially it was hard to grasp, I can see where that is true, and I'm ok with that. A little sad, but ok. Today I asked about spelling lists, why no Friday tests with a new list on Monday. Oh well, no longer will they be taught through traditional spelling lists, they will learn spelling through phonics study, no spelling homework necessary, all done at school with a focus on a different block each week, I guess spell check works best if you can get close to the sound of the word, right? Again, shock and dismay, confusion and questioning as to whether in the long run this will hurt or help my daughter. Thank heavens for the Internet! So I look up this method, seems that by learning the relationships and rules of word combinations rather than learning and memorizing one word at a time, they will learn more. Well, I can see how that works, but the answer to my question on the way home (am I old or is this crazy?) seems to be that I am old! Get with the new program mom! How am I to help my daughter if I don't know the way she is being taught, my goodness there doesn't seem to be enough time in the world to keep up with the changes and then to do my own school work. Better change majors from Social Work to education, just so I can follow what is going on! Have to think on that, I really believe I'd make an awesome social worker, but I can do one and go back for the other. The call to teaching gets louder and louder. Next semester I will be finished with my general ed credits, I'll have the associates and can make the decision in another few months. Lots to think about!
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4 comments:
You're not old. Not even close. Just more than a decade out of high school in an age where, at least in your district, teaching methods are changing. If it's any comfort, I went all through grade school and high school with almost no grammar, some spelling, and HEAPS of writing. We were supposed to learn grammar in the writing process. I still do not spell particularly well, but I sure learned how to use a dictionary!
Um, in my day we learned with phonics AND had spelling tests to be sure we could actually string the sounds together correctly. Besides, the English language isn't all phonetic!
Oh, and be careful with the education major. . . Lots of teachers getting laid off now, which means very few teaching jobs available, and those that are have fierce competition.
I think I will do a little research at work and see if within the Job Corps community an education major would allow me to work in other areas, most jobs require a Bachelors Degree, but do not indicate within which focus the degree must be in, they also take into consideration your experience with the type of population that we generally deal with. So, maybe I can meet both the goal of helping Sydney and moving further within the Job Corps program.
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