Well, my oldest is in eighth grade, so I honestly don't have much insight into her school life or what she’s actually up to, unless she happens to ask me for something specific. My younger one is currently in fourth grade; she stays on top of her homework and studies hard, and while I’ll step in if she asks for help, I make sure not to sit there and do the work for her. I just want to be present for my children... I also know quite a few parents with kids in first grade and beyond who end up having to spend all evening doing homework with them even after after-school programs, simply because those kids couldn't quite grasp everything or finish their assignments during the school day...
jadetinker85 said:Great. And I suppose the growing number of people working afternoon shifts in retail, service, or hospitality should just plan on seeing their kids on the weekends?
I recall during a discussion regarding this very issue, a supporter of CNBC argued that quality matters far more than quantity. But let's look at the reality: if the kids are in school until 3:00 PM, and I am working an alternating shift from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM, I wouldn't see them at all. I simply refuse to accept that trade-off. With the current schedule, we actually share the same block of time...
northerntiger9 said:Don't laugh—but we’ve completely overlooked something that is actually essential these days. I’d love to see it integrated into computer science classes—not necessarily as its own subject, but just part of the curriculum. 😬 It is infinitely easier and faster to type when you actually know how to do it properly, rather than picking up bad habits early on that are a nightmare to fix later. Is touch typing still taught in business schools at all? It seems strange that nobody thought to expand this further; after all, everyone uses a keyboard now, not just secretaries. 😬
I couldn't agree more. I finished my business administration degree back in 1999, and even then, they referred to it as office technology. Now I see it's often called computer typing, and I truly believe it should be mandatory for everyone. For me, it was a total game-changer and helped me immensely...
My eighth grader is at school almost every single day until 2:00 PM, and on one specific day, she stays until 3:00 PM. On top of that, she has her second language classes twice a week in the afternoon, even though she’s always on the morning schedule. Those sessions include all her extra study groups—chemistry, physics, and quite a few other subjects I can't even keep track of. Up until last year, their PE classes were actually scheduled during the opposite shift...
As for my fourth grader, whenever she's on the morning shift, they don't hold PE in the gym; instead, they head outside if the weather permits, or they just sit in the classroom. This is because the administration decided to let the fifth through eighth graders have their PE during their regular school hours rather than after the shift ends.
And honestly, why would she need a lunch break during those hours only to wait around until 3:00 or 4:00 PM, when she could just come home and eat then? Especially if she'd have to pack a lunch and carry it around all day—it just doesn't make any sense to me...
Sarah Hall53 said:They exist. I can't say there's a ton of them out there—honestly, my memory is a bit fuzzy—but I could probably rattle off four or five right now if I had to. Maybe two or three over in New York City (could be more, who knows?), one down in Miami, and one in Seattle...
The elementary school my girls attend here in San Francisco offers Italian, German, and French as elective languages. My eldest chose German and seems to really thrive with it, while my younger daughter opted for Italian.
northerntiger9 said:I'm not sure if you caught my post a few pages back where I was venting about how we only have two real options here in the US—and usually, the one that’s easier to get into ends up winning out. 😢 I honestly wish we had—or maybe I just don't know—at least one solid technical high school that actually prepares kids for a STEM degree.
Regarding tutoring... it really comes down to the teachers. My kid had two different math professors who were great—everything was crystal clear, no extra work needed at home. Now they have a third sub, and suddenly everything needs to be re-explained or re-learned at home (or via a tutor if you can't find anyone else to explain it). I'm hearing the same thing from kids in other grades—even the ones who are naturally gifted at math. So... I completely get why parents are paying for tutors. It's not about padding a grade; it's about filling the gaps left by the classroom.
northerntiger9, my daughter is in 8th grade now. She started 5th grade amidst strikes, then COVID, and then remote learning, so she’s currently on her 10th math teacher. I’m not sure whether to call it luck or just sheer ability, but she maintains an A without even trying, mostly because she has a father who is excellent at math and can walk her through it. But even so, you see massive numbers of kids heading to math tutors lately, and now I'm hearing the same thing about physics. I can't speak for the physics teacher, though, because my daughter understands everything they teach...
Last year, there was a high school fair held in San Francisco. My daughter had just finished seventh grade at the time, so she definitely went, and she found the whole experience quite engaging. This year, they’ve swapped out those six schools entirely; they keep shuffling the list, moving things around, adding new ones... It would be wonderful if these institutions hosted their own open house days so she could visit them more directly.
Anyway, it looks like we’re all in the same boat as you guys once June rolls around. 😁
I’m honestly not quite sure how to weigh in on the whole assigned reading situation, but both of my daughters have had the exact same teacher. My oldest is currently in eighth grade, and her English teacher also happens to be a published author. One thing that struck me immediately was that she has never required a dedicated reading journal, not even back when my eldest was in first grade. At first, I found it absolutely refreshing. Then I realized the strategy: she holds an introductory session followed by a quick assessment, which allows her to gauge exactly who read the material and how much they actually understood. It felt like a breath of fresh air for me personally, because when I look back at how we were forced to write endless essays for every single book we read... well, it makes me feel a bit sorry for them. In the higher grades, they sometimes tackle group projects based on the books, though they usually handle those during class hours. My younger daughter recently finished a book called *Emmett and the Detectives*. Her assignment was to find some interesting facts about Germany and research some famous literary and cinematic detectives. We ended up sitting down together to Google things, and I got to tell her all about the history of detective work. It was a lovely way to bond. I am also quite fond of this idea of creating a picture book—drawing, coloring, and binding it yourself. It is such a clever alternative to being forced to write down the setting, the time period, character descriptions, and a full plot summary. Good grief, what a relief... 🤦
Terry Martinez10 said:Most smokers have already had their first cigarette by eighteen, or they've already established a dependency by then. Compared to adults, younger people tend to smoke fewer cigarettes, yet they often develop a nicotine addiction much faster. So, smoking during puberty isn't something we should just brush off as trivial; it is a serious issue with real consequences.
I completely agree. My husband started picking up the habit when he was just 13 years old. By 14, right after finishing middle school, he was already smoking out front and he simply never stopped. Now, at 40, he’s going through a pack a day, sometimes even more. No matter how much I plead with him, he won't quit... My daughter is currently in 7th grade, and she is quite allergic to secondhand smoke. My husband never smokes inside, nor does anyone else near her, but I am constantly stressing the importance of this to her. I truly hope she never starts. Since I don't smoke myself, I can only hope she follows my lead... I really hope so...
I honestly have so much respect for you all. If I found out my thirteen-year-old daughter had started smoking, I think I’d be screaming loud enough for the whole of Washington, D.C. to hear me. I don't smoke myself, though my husband does. I just don't know if I could ever stay as composed and calm as you are in a situation like that...
Jason Hall35 said:My fifth grader already swallowed all this stuff—logic gates, binary, computer parts... she’s actually into it. I’m honestly floored because now I see her copying every single math problem from the textbook straight into her notebook. Apparently, they have to return the textbooks at the end of the year. Up until now, they had free books and workbooks, but they used the math ones heavily. Only the standard textbooks that you weren't supposed to write in were returned. Now, thanks to this "reform," she’s spending half her class time just transcribing problems. WTF? They made things so much easier before, and now they've totally backtracked. Is this a specific teacher thing, or is this happening in every school district? If I’d known, I would’ve just bought my kid her own book. What a brilliant "reform"—back to chalkboards and tiles... And don't even get me started on how most teachers are still tirelessly scribbling on the board, barely finishing their bullet points before the bell rings. Plus, they still love dictating everything. It's the most basic, old-school way of teaching—basically stuck in the era of Kamen. It’s pathetic.
She’s had an absolute rockstar of a teacher until now—the kind of woman who deserves every award and a massive paycheck for her dedication, expertise, and constant innovation. This whole mess just breaks my heart.
In California, high schoolers usually wrap up their finals during their sophomore year, whereas in all the other counties, they finish them back in eighth grade.
In our local school district, about two out of every twenty-one students don't participate in religion class. On Thursdays, they have their final period free to head home early, but on Mondays, they stay for a second period alongside the teacher... I am referring specifically to the second grade, though this has been the trend since first grade. There is one boy who follows a different faith, and as for the other student, I am not entirely certain of his background...
Honestly, they are becoming increasingly insistent about the drawing exercises. A little friend of mine forgot to include ears in her sketch, and the doctor kept questioning her about what was missing. The poor thing just couldn't wrap her head around it. As for my daughter, well, she refuses to draw ears simply because she thinks they look ugly... ☕☕☕ I eventually managed to convince her to just draw some earrings instead, if only to stop the constant nagging from the staff. 🤦
On a side note, while she was at the doctor's office, she ended up sketching a ballerina performing a high kick in a tutu 🤣🤣🤣...
Kate Morgan14 said:But everyone here seems to operate under this naive assumption that their kid is going to breeze through first grade without a single hiccup—that they’ll just magically be mature enough and capable enough for everything thrown at them...
But what if that isn't the case? What happens when the teacher pulls you aside during a parent-teacher conference to warn you that your child is struggling? That they need way more work at home because they can't grasp reading or writing, or they're making constant mistakes? (And I'm not just talking about my own kid—there are plenty of students who aren't hitting those "average" benchmarks right from the start of elementary school.) Basically, there are a lot of kids who aren't developmentally ready to be fully independent from day one, and they need a long adjustment period—but the teacher can't provide that intensive one-on-one support because the class size is just too large.
At the end of the day, there is a massive gap between what parents expect and what a child is actually capable of doing...
During the initial parent-teacher meeting, my daughter's teacher told me she was having trouble with reading and writing—which caught me completely off guard since I hadn't even thought to check her progress on that. She even started tossing around terms like dyslexia and dysgraphia—total nonsense, if you ask me. It honestly set me off, seeing them jump straight to diagnoses when the kid has barely even started school. She insisted we needed to do much more work at home because schoolwork alone wasn't cutting it. My response? There is no diagnosis; she's just a little behind her age group and needs more time to adjust and catch up. I know my child better than anyone, and I knew she'd get there eventually. And she did. But obviously, I still took this seriously. Every single day after daycare, I spent an extra thirty minutes to an hour practicing reading and writing with her. It was exhausting for both of us, but it paid off. Now, in the second half of the year, she isn't struggling at all...
Honestly, I can't help but laugh at these comments about breastfeeding and how it supposedly shapes a child's future personality. My firstborn was breastfed for twenty-one months, and she was already showing quite a bit of independence by her first birthday. I truly hope I haven't accidentally raised a little rebel... 😂😂😂
On a side note, most of the doctors I've spoken to regarding my breastfeeding duration have been incredibly supportive of our journey, rather than judging me or spouting nonsense. It’s been particularly notable because she didn't suffer from any allergic reactions while being breastfed, whereas once we transitioned the following spring, she had to stay indoors for nearly three months, and then faced the exact same situation a year later 🙂🙂
Caja, let's be real—not every kid is wired the same way, and it certainly doesn't have to be the absolute worst-case scenario you're imagining right now. For instance, I found myself spiraling with the exact same thoughts as you last year, mostly because I was hearing things firsthand. My brother served as the best man for our first cousin, and they were picking out a watch together, $667. Honestly, I nearly had a panic attack. But my brother insists that there was no other way; he's convinced that anything less than that price point just isn't worth buying. 😲 Another example—my cousin’s best friend was his best man, and as a gift, he received a watch (I'm not sure of the value), a Sony Xperia Mini, and some cash on top. As for cakes or other small things, I really wouldn't know. When I heard all of that, I felt like sitting down and just crying, especially since I was supposed to be a godmother the following year. Well, my turn finally came this past Saturday, 🙂. My goddaughter is such a beautiful little soul; she doesn't ask for anything. She actually has everything she needs, but she truly understands the world we live in today. Plus, I have a mother who would never dream of allowing expensive gifts, and for her, the greatest gift was simply having me by her side. I traveled all the way from San Francisco to New York City, and she refused any grand gestures. I felt so restless, not knowing what to do, but we eventually settled on a pair of classic Converse sneakers ($150) and I tucked an extra $167 into an envelope along with a cake I baked myself. I could have easily bought one, but I really wanted to make it personally. And you know what? She is absolutely overjoyed, and so am I, especially with a child like her. I feel so incredibly lucky that she chose me... 😍
mistygull6 said:Does anyone know a good bakery with amazing cakes around the suburbs of Chicago or maybe near Naperville?
You should probably just send a private message to Mark Kelly4. She's actually from the Kutina area, so she might have some better insight than the rest of us... 👍