Posts by rowdypanther12

If foreigners were planning to move to Vienna, it might actually be smarter for them to focus on learning German rather than anything else.😂

I’ve always been all for learning languages—the more, the better—but honestly, you don't necessarily need anything beyond English since almost every major global corporation uses it as their official language.
That said, I find it perfectly natural to start picking up bits and pieces of the local language after spending a few months in a new country. I get that it isn't strictly required, but I don't quite understand why people don't take advantage of those opportunities to learn.

mellowskipper said:The only thing keeping me sane is the thought that we might actually dodge this entirely—though, from what I gather talking to my colleagues at work, people are pretty split on the whole idea. Some think it’s a total win since everything happens right there at school, including lunch and all that. But then you have others who are just completely repulsed by the notion of kids being stuck in a classroom for the entire day.

Honestly, I can't even wrap my head around how an eight-year-old would handle a schedule like that.
Especially for the kids already taking computer science, religion, or a second language—their school day is basically full already.
Are they really expected to stay at school until 6 PM?

And don't even get me started on high school.

I mean, sure, homework happens, but how are you supposed to actually study in a noisy classroom sitting in those hard, uncomfortable plastic chairs?
It’s not that I’m against progress, but this plan feels about as realistic as someone promising dragons will fly by and carry the kids to school on their backs.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how they've laid out the curriculum and the schedule for this term.

urbantinker8 said:I guess it might be that this professor is actually being pretty lenient right now—you know, easygoing, not asking for much, and handing out high grades like candy—but maybe you just can't really tell if that's the case because you haven't quite wrapped your head around the subject matter yet.🤷
I’m not saying that’s definitely how it is, but then again, you were the one pointing out that there's a bit of everything going on, so I suppose it isn't all just black and white.
I suppose it’s worth noting that having tutoring sessions isn't necessarily a sign that the professor is failing at their job, nor does landing an A without any extra help automatically mean the instructor is a genius or that the student has somehow achieved total mastery over the material. It’s probably more complicated than that, I guess.

I certainly can't judge; I don't know a word of German. Other parents, especially those who actually lived in Germany, would have a better perspective.
Of course, there are professors out there who hand out A's like candy. That isn't the case here, though; she clearly works hard and knows her stuff.

Of course there are plenty of parents pushing for straight A's, but I just wanted to point out that needing a tutor isn't always a sign that a kid is struggling.
It really isn't. Unfortunately, we deal with way too many subpar teachers, and it's all too common for staff to be swapped out constantly. You end up with weeks where a subject has no teacher at all, or they're stuck with someone who just isn't up to the task...
I could easily ask a colleague exactly how many times her little one's math teacher changed during third grade, or how many times they had two-week gaps in instruction.
Honestly, how is a kid supposed to pass without extra help sometimes?
And what happens when that's going on in two, three, or four different subjects?
Look, it varies, but I'm just trying to be realistic because I've seen firsthand how much things can change from one school year to the next.

Well, she does have to study quite a bit. But it’s mostly just history and geography. 😂 Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but I haven't really noticed any drama with her other subjects. There’s a test, you study a bit, and that's that.
Those two subjects definitely require effort. Though, if there's one thing they have in common, it's that the teachers have taken some "life lessons" from the school district a bit too literally. 😬
Her independent projects are entirely her own responsibility, though I do step in to help when she asks or to explain things—like what a municipality is, for instance. 😂

I can only imagine what it would be like if math were taught the way geography is right now. It's not exactly impossible, but man... it would be like her sixth-grade German class.
Some teachers just aren't willing to help a kid when they get stuck and ask for clarification, and others honestly don't seem to care about doing the work. They just hand out the assignment and head home.
She'll probably need some tutoring from time to time. Right now, she just goes to after-school sessions if she needs extra help, especially if she missed something during class. The teacher made it clear from the start that those sessions are open to everyone and are basically free tutoring.

It's not like I'm raising a genius; she's just a perfectly smart, normal kid. She's just a little more ambitious and responsible than the average student. She's also lucky enough to have great or decent teachers in most of her classes.

hiddendriver34 said:I’m talking about those students who have to grind through endless tutoring sessions just to scrape by with an A. In my book, those kids aren't really cut out for elite prep schools. An A isn't some participation trophy you hand out to everyone, and you can't realistically expect a teacher to spoon-feed the entire class enough material to hit that top mark. Thinking otherwise is just plain crazy.

If a teacher has students who need extra help just to grasp the basics, then frankly, I don't think they're doing their job right.

Okay, let me give you an example using my daughter. Are you saying she isn't "prep school material" just because she couldn't maintain an A in German without extra help?
Keep in mind, neither my husband nor I know a single word of German, so we can't help her at all. She was one of the few kids in her class actually taking the language, with absolutely no support at home.
So, how is it that she’s suddenly able to pull an A without any tutoring now? She's totally caught up, and she's doing it all solely through her schoolwork.

Susan James said:They really need to be taught.
It's not just about getting that perfect score, either—it’s really more about the overall grade.

They really need to learn the fundamentals if they want to tackle more advanced topics later on. Math is so cumulative—everything builds on what you learned the year before. Plus, having a solid grasp of math is absolutely essential for fields like computer science, physics, and chemistry. I mean, how can a kid expect to master complex subjects down the road if they've got huge gaps in their foundation?
When you have a kid like that in class, they aren't just slowing themselves down—they’re dragging the whole group along with them.

When it comes to language learning, one bad grade can feel like a total gut punch. It’s more than just seeing a low number on a report card; it really starts to chip away at your drive to keep going. Once that momentum stalls, staying motivated becomes the real uphill battle.

My daughter actually wanted to quit German, but after talking it through, we realized it’s much cheaper and easier to just stick with her current school and fill those gaps with an hour or two of tutoring rather than enrolling in a whole language academy.
Now she’s suddenly found a huge incentive—she met a really cute guy, and now she’s practically sprinting to her German classes.🎉

hiddendriver34 said:It honestly catches me off guard whenever I look at my kid’s eighth-grade class list. It seems like almost everyone is signed up for after-school tutoring, and usually for multiple subjects at once. It's clear they're all gunning for those elite prep schools.

Now, go ahead and call me out if you want, but I really feel like kids who struggled and needed extra help throughout middle school aren't necessarily cut out for the high school honors tracks. In my opinion, those intensive academic programs are really designed for the students who breezed through their standard curriculum with top marks and zero struggle. If a kid had to grind through every single lesson just to maintain a decent grade in middle school, they’re going to hit a massive wall in a high-pressure prep school environment. They'll end up working five times harder than everyone else just to stay afloat, and honestly? That just leads to burnout and total misery.

Look, I might agree with you if it weren't for the perfect example my daughter provides. Last year, she struggled so much with Spanish that she had to go to tutoring once or twice a month. This year, with a different teacher, she hasn't needed help once and keeps getting straight As.

Katy Perry and mine are the same way; she's such a sleeper, but if she has any say in it, she’ll definitely pick the morning shift

Are you serious?! Every time I took the train, I was always heading out to Long Village or Aurora, so I never even noticed any other 😂

Good grief, they really are just idiots

Hmm, that commuter train takes you all the way out toward Aurora, just past Long Village. 🤔
Plus, you can take that same line from the Sparrow area straight to Central Park, but it’s such a pain when you can't even get on at the Sparrow stop. Getting to the station from the suburban neighborhoods near the hills is also a bit of a struggle once you're off the train.

Taking the train east from Grand Central Terminal is a bit of a hassle since it doesn't really connect well with any MTA lines, unfortunately.

Not really, I don't think Waze realizes that cars parked on the shoulder are actually a problem 😁

If I had to rely on public transit, I’d never even consider buying an apartment far from my office, let alone start looking. It just wouldn't make sense to have such a long commute.
Now, it looks like it would take me over an hour to get there. Thanks for pointing that out.

Hey, what do you think? How much earlier should a kid wake up if they have an hour and forty minutes before school starts?🤔

Sarah Hall53 said:So, my dad—bless his heart—decided I should enroll in this winter math intensive program right near the high school I was eyeing. It was only supposed to last a few days, but honestly, by the second morning, I already knew... like, I just knew deep down... that there was absolutely no way I was dragging myself out of bed at 5:00 AM just to make it to class by 8:00. I mean, come on. So, I ended up dropping the language track entirely and just signed up for the local general high school nearby instead. Much better. 😂

Your dad sounds pretty smart. 😁

I don't think she'll have any trouble picking a school that works for her from the 10 or 15 options within an hour or so of our house.
If she’s absolutely set on going to the campus in Palo Alto, I'll make sure she spends two weeks during the break getting used to waking up early and making that commute. ☕
But if she still insists on Palo Alto after that, then fine, let her go there.

Michelle Nelson4 said:I suppose the only real sticking point is the morning routine, 😁

My daughter heads downtown quite often, and honestly, she’s been navigating her way to practice solo since the fifth grade, so she knows her way around the city pretty well. It’s a small comfort, I guess... she even knows exactly how far she needs to walk if the city buses miss her usual stop at the plaza.😁

Yeah, for my kid, everything interesting is still pretty far from our neighborhood. There isn't really any reason or desire to trek all the way to the downtown core just yet 😁
but I'll say this: they've gone into the city before and managed fine. They don't know every corner yet, but they'll learn. I actually got lost in downtown Chicago back in seventh grade, so I eventually figured it all out 😂