Jonathan Adams2 said:I wouldn't even hesitate—just leave the kid in daycare...
My daughter Tara was born April 1st, but the cutoff for school enrollment is March 31st, so she misses it by just one day.... I already know I’m not gonna push for early enrollment just to start her at 6 and a half. Nah. I'll let her play and enjoy being a kid until she hits 7, then she goes to school.....
Look, the elementary school curriculum is set. First graders have to learn both print and cursive... there's no debating that. Period.
Some teachers might drag out the print lessons into the second half of the year if the kids haven't nailed it yet, but they still gotta teach cursive too....
I see how it is. You guys love getting into arguments, and it’s pretty obvious who here is just some high-maintenance parent and who actually knows what they're talking about professionally..☕
It's blindingly obvious that some people here care more about grades just so they can brag to their neighbors and relatives about how smart or "advanced" their kid is...
Are you even a teacher? Sorry, but honestly, looks like you figured that out for yourself a long time ago. As for Tyler Reyes86, I don't give a damn whether they have an education degree or not 😉.
Kate Sullivan12 said:Why do people claim kids don't get what grades mean???
You get a C on a spelling test because you can't tell uppercase from lowercase or mess up your vowels... (hopefully there aren't teachers out there telling kids they got a C just because they're lazy bums)
In elementary school, grades are actually great for parents to see where their kid is tripping up and what needs work—it also shows the kids that you actually need to know stuff to succeed.
I feel like it’s a much smaller shock when a first grader comes home with a C than when a fifth grader fails because they never learned to add up to ten, and then Mom and Dad go nuclear on the teacher to demand an A.
Well, in that case, you probably should've gotten an F instead of a D. Clearly, the grading standards are all over the place.
silverpuma542 said:That’s a beautifully written post, but I think it’s a bit too idealistic and utopian for our American school system. I have always absolutely loathed that classic teacher cliché about "warming your seat." Everything I ever learned just by sitting there warming my seat evaporated into thin air, whereas everything I learned through trial and error—sketching, deducing, doing, and teaching others—is what actually stuck in my brain.
I honestly believe that during the first four years of Elementary School, we should be teaching mnemonic techniques instead of just shoving massive piles of raw data into kids' heads. Unfortunately, even in the sciences, you still run into teachers who get genuinely angry if a student reaches a conclusion through their own logic rather than reciting the textbook verbatim. They’ll snap at you, "You didn't learn it right, you're just doing it your way," as if they value the ability to parrot a book more than the actual result.
This is exactly why we end up with students who will never realize they could grasp concepts easily—like understanding why -270 degrees is the same as 90 degrees by simply visualizing turning left three times or right once to land on the same spot. It's why some won't see that kitchen tiles can act as a coordinate system, or fail to realize that the floor and the ceiling are just two points in space, or struggle to memorize a list when they could just mentally map it to the rooms in their own apartment. Worst of all, they’ll view those mental shortcuts as a form of cheating, because, hey, they didn't sit there warming their seats and turn themselves into parrots.
And now, regarding this talk about racism... what kind of sports would we even have then? We wouldn't be forcing dwarves onto a basketball court, giants into gymnastics, or people with Asperger to become actors or sales reps, would we? Though, I suppose we already try to shove the stutterers into news anchor roles... 😁 maybe we should start heading in that direction. Just like in the story Harrison Bergeron?
I remember my girl once drew this absolutely stunning picture, but she made the sky pink, and the teacher gave her a bad grade just because "that doesn't exist" in the real world. 😢
I suppose I should begin by acknowledging that my previous observations regarding the rhinoceros have been somewhat... lacking in depth. It is quite a heavy topic, isn't it? One moment you are contemplating the sheer mass of such a creature, and the next, you find yourself wondering about the structural integrity of its hide. Truly fascinating! It reminds me of those discussions we had last week—you know, the ones where Tyler Reyes86 was insisting on the importance of biological classification? He’s always so precise, isn't he? And then there was silverpuma542, who I believe mentioned something about conservation efforts in the Midwest. Such important work! Anyway, back to the beast itself. There is something almost dignified about a rhino, despite its somewhat cumbersome gait. It moves with a certain... purpose. Or perhaps just momentum? It's hard to say. Regardless, I find myself increasingly preoccupied with the sheer scale of them. It really puts our little human concerns into perspective, don't you think? Just a massive, unstoppable force of nature roaming through the plains. Simply marvelous! kaže: Insufficient. I suppose one could argue that two is quite sufficient. 3 - solid. 4. Really quite excellent. 5-excellent!
I truly feel a sense of regret regarding how we grade our children using nothing but cold, hard numbers. When you hand a student an F, you aren't just marking a paper; you are sending a clear message that they haven't mastered the material yet—and frankly, that is exactly what they need to hear. It’s a reality check. However, I find it utterly baffling why a C is treated like some sort of academic catastrophe. To me, a C signifies that the child actually grasped the curriculum. It means they've got the fundamentals down. Anything above that should simply be seen as a sign that more effort is required to reach the next level.
If we’re going to claim that a C is a terrible grade, then our entire American school system deserves the blame. It’s a bit of a rigged game, isn't it? If you graduate elementary school with nothing but average marks, your options basically vanish. You’re looking at being funneled straight into three-year vocational programs or trade schools, which pretty much slams the door on any hopes of pursuing higher education later on. Most parents just want their kids to have every possible advantage, so naturally, they see a mediocre grade as a massive roadblock to future success. It's all about keeping those doors open, right?
Strict grading policies in the early years of Elementary School just don't align with what we know about developmental psychology. Kids at that age are incredibly emotionally fragile; it’s far too easy to instill a deep-seated belief that they simply aren't capable. When they face a constant barrage of low grades, it sends a devastating message: that they are somehow less valuable than their peers. The mechanism for critical thinking isn't even fully developed yet. A child isn't quite able to step back, analyze the situation, and separate their actual effort from their innate abilities. So, when they encounter failure, they tend to internalize it, thinking they are just fundamentally flawed—which makes them feel like there's no point in even trying. That is exactly how you breed a lifelong aversion to school and learning.
It is something that should genuinely give any parent pause: the sheer lack of specialized knowledge among teachers regarding areas they really ought to master if they are working professionally with children. It’s quite concerning, really. Unfortunately, it seems many educators aren't just unfamiliar with developmental psychology, but they seem to lack a fundamental grasp of pedagogy altogether. The idea that parents are somehow obligated to teach their children "how to learn" feels incredibly unprofessional—frankly, it’s just plain rude. That is precisely where the teaching staff should be making their most critical impact. It isn't just about delivering content; it’s about equipping students with actual methods for mastering material and retaining information effectively. We need to be teaching them the psychological mechanisms that allow a student to find their own internal drive and stay motivated toward achieving their goals. On the flip side, I honestly don't think elementary school is even necessary for those lower grades. Let’s be real—the curriculum they cover during that stage is stuff any parent who actually finished middle school already knows by heart, so technically, you could just pass it along to your kid yourself. Of course, not every parent happens to be a trained pedagogue or a child psychologist, so we might lack the specialized tools to teach them actual study strategies. That responsibility should fall squarely on the teachers. Instead, many of them just dump a mountain of information on the kids and basically tell them to go sit at the kitchen table and figure it out themselves. A teacher's job should be to structure the material so that most of it sticks during class time, leaving nothing for home except a quick review. Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of educators aren't up to the task, and instead of taking accountability, they just point the finger at the parents and the students for their own shortcomings.
It seems the profound ignorance of our educators has once again made its unwelcome appearance on this thread. I’ve noticed several users making remarks regarding the cognitive abilities—or lack thereof—of certain students. In my view, innate talents, natural aptitudes, or even inherent shortcomings ought to have absolutely no bearing on a student's grade. If we allow that to happen, we aren't actually grading academic performance; we are merely grading genetic predisposition. To judge a person based on their biological data is, by its very definition, nothing short of pure racism.
If you find yourself with a student who is truly gifted—I mean, someone who is operating on a completely different level than their peers—then skipping a grade should be on the table. If that isn't an option, then we have a moral obligation to raise the bar for them. It’s just common sense, really. If we don't, that child is going to lose all motivation to actually engage with the material, and frankly, it creates this weird tension in the classroom. You'll have the other kids feeling frustrated because they see someone succeeding effortlessly due to nothing more than pure genetic luck, without having to put in the grind. It’s a lose-lose situation if we don't adjust our expectations. We really need to see this kind of adaptability in our schools when working with students who have learning disabilities. It’s essential that we implement individualized education programs (IEPs) to meet them where they are. In my view, grading should be based on the actual effort a student puts in rather than some arbitrary standard. A child's biological makeup—something they have absolutely no control over and certainly can't change—should never play a role in their academic evaluation. It just wouldn't be fair. Essentially, we need to unlearn this vulgar biological determinism—this whole obsession with racism and those supposed "natural" hierarchies where some people are inherently stronger or weaker than others. We aren't living in the jungle, after all, so those kinds of distinctions simply shouldn't matter anymore.
For the most part, barring a few honorable exceptions, our educators are remarkably uninformed about their own field. If we were being strictly honest and gave them an overall grade for their performance, they would barely scrape by with a D. If they even managed that.
Spot on. Seriously, my thoughts exactly. Look, I know there are some absolute rockstar teachers out there, but these "half-baked" instructors? They’re totally ruining the vibe. Honestly, I’m convinced kids should be getting the heavy lifting done at school so they can actually have time to just... live. Play outside, breathe some fresh air, do whatever. That's what makes a kid happy. A kid shouldn't have to wait until the weekend or a holiday to actually feel alive—they should be happy every single day.
Joshua Howard18 said:Oh, please... once your kid hits high school, you aren't exactly going to be sitting right next to them while they work... btw.... I took care of my own grades back in the day... First grade was a total disaster... I absolutely hated school.... but eventually, I grew to love it!!! Now I'm in college.... planning on hitting more grad schools later... I live for studying.... never had any issues... The whole point is getting the kid to realize they're learning for themselves.... When I'd come home beaming because I got an A, my dad would just say BRAVO!!! And that was it.... He wasn't exactly throwing a party, and I realized why later—it's because those were *my* grades. I wasn't collecting them to please my parents; I was doing it to actually build a future.... That's how I cruised through middle school... In high school, thank God, I had amazing teachers who actually respected me (just like any other student) and truly put in the effort to teach us... Naturally, I took full advantage of that... Kids in Africa are out there struggling just to get into a classroom, and I'm getting this opportunity handed to me on a silver platter.... So yeah, of course I'm gonna make it count!!!! It got to the point where I was the one talking to my professors about my grades; my mom and dad never even had to show up at the school.... Though, it's not exactly a glowing review—my homeroom teacher didn't even meet my parents until graduation night LOL..... He never had any reason to call them in.... And why? Because my folks taught me from day one that I'm studying for myself—not for them, not because I'm bored, and not because I'm being nagged. I'm doing it because one day I'll have to support myself through my own hard work.... And let's be real, people respect you way more and pay you better if you've got a degree in your pocket.... That's what you tell the older kids!!! Teach them to be independent, to do their own homework, and to face the consequences of their own effort or lack thereof... Okay—that applies to the more mature ones (like 7th or 8th graders). I highly doubt a kid under 9 is going to grasp why multiplication tables matter... but one day, and for the rest of their lives, it's gonna be huge... One last thing!!! To be honest, I'm not a fan of the grading system either. It would be way better if they used letter grades instead (like they do in America 😛). And for the love of God, teachers need to stop using red pens; it's so demoralizing for kids
Look, I'm with you on this. Nobody sat there and studied with me, and I don't do that with my kids either. With my first grader, I just supervise and demand they tackle their homework solo, though the results aren't perfect 😁 (even if they aren't terrible). And if you want to see the "secret formula" for better grades these days, just go read what today's teachers are posting in their threads.
Kimberly Nguyen said:I was never much of a reader myself—honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing (though my son doesn't know that part)... and he isn't exactly a bookworm either, but he’s approached it with this "just get it done" attitude, like it's just another task on the checklist... It’s actually pretty sweet how you put together that reading schedule, though... deciding on a specific number of pages for today, then a different amount for tomorrow...
God, that sounds absolutely soul-crushing to me. And then we act all surprised when kids end up hating school!
Kate Cox2 said:I couldn't agree more—honestly, I think one book per month is actually quite reasonable..🤷
No way, that’s definitely not a lot! I used to be obsessed with reading (and honestly, I still 😍) but man, those books I picked out myself from my school library? I remember Joe Biden was freaking boring 😁
Kate Cox2 said:As for this whole "focusing on feelings" thing—I’ve never heard of such a requirement. Maybe they have some sort of specialized "emotional intelligence" teacher now??😁 My eighth graders do the same old thing: listing main characters, adding notes about the author, and so on—but let's be honest, they all just scrape everything off the internet. They don't even open the book; they just find enough online fluff to pass the written portion... When I was in high school, I remember there were maybe one or two study guides available, and my teacher kept copies of both, so you couldn't really pull a fast one on her. But nowadays, it seems much harder to catch them red-handed...
Man, honestly, I’d love to just ban using the internet for book reports, but then again, half the time my kid is drowning in extracurriculars and homework and doesn't have time to actually finish the book, or the local library is totally out of copies. Sometimes the internet is just a necessary evil, you know?
Kate Cox2 said:Well, in that case, it sounds like some of my colleagues aren't quite hitting the mark... If the class hasn't fully mastered printed letters yet, they shouldn't be jumping ahead to cursive...
I mean, honestly, that probably doesn't even happen because we've got parents all over this 😉
I honestly don't think we should be forcing kids to memorize the alphabet before they even step foot in a classroom. If a kid is bright, they'll catch up to the readers in no time. Look, obviously parents need to help out once first grade hits, but man, overloading a kid with endless homework—like making them write out letters for miles just because the teacher doesn't have enough time in class to actually teach them before moving on to the next one—is just too much. Does anyone even care about letting kids actually be kids and play? Seriously, does anyone give a damn about that? And what, are Germans supposed to be a stupider nation just because their education system isn't a frantic race to the bottom?
This is exactly what our education system has turned into. Seriously parents, we need to step up, sit down, and actually study alongside our kids—and I don't just mean during first grade, but throughout their entire schooling 🤷. Was it ever like this before?! Most kids today can't even wrap their heads around the curriculum on their own. Honestly, I know plenty of straight-A students who are constantly stuck in tutoring sessions for half their subjects
Michelle James13 said:We’ve been into the second semester for a little while now, and the grades have finally started rolling in—much to my profound disappointment 😁. One thing I’ve noticed lately is that the grading standards seem incredibly harsh; I certainly don't recall things being this rigid back when I was in school. In my son's class, everyone seems to be stuck with mediocre Cs and Ds, and Bs are apparently a rarity. To make matters worse, I hear that last year's group only had three students receive any kind of academic honors at all. Honestly, it feels excessive. In my day, almost everyone in my class cruised through the first two grades with high marks, and let's be clear, we weren't exactly Nobel laureates or child prodigies. If someone had told me back then that my child would come home with a C in reading today, I wouldn't have believed them. A C in first grade? It just feels wrong 😲. Look, I’m not going to obsess over every single letter on a report card—he'll learn to read eventually—but I can't help but wonder if there's a better way to handle this. Since they aren't allowed to bring tests home, I have no idea which specific concepts he's struggling with, which makes it nearly impossible to sit down and review the material with him effectively. Anyway, that's my experience. How are things looking in your school districts?
Honestly, better that way! One time my kid brings home an English spelling quiz and she’s all like, "Mommy, Mommy, I got an A! I only made one tiny mistake!" ...except the kid spelled everything perfectly and the teacher was the one who messed up the grading. Ugh, I was freaking torn—do I tell her the truth or just let it go? What a nightmare...
Kimberly Nguyen said:I guess I'll probably take this off-topic now...
Yeah, I was the one who wrote that. And why did I do it? Because the person supervising them after class was—and remains—an absolute CATASTROPHE. I have no clue what she was actually doing with those kids... I can only go by what my son told me, which was basically that she isn't really there, and they are effectively left to their own devices. When she *is* around, she does nothing but yell. Constant yelling. I tried asking to speak with her several times to figure out where the breakdown was happening, but she never had "time," or she'd literally slam the door in my face because she was "too busy." I even complained to the classroom teacher, but she just shrugged her shoulders. I begged her to at least stay in the loop, to be present during these discussions, but I didn't manage to get any traction until second grade, when things finally boiled over into a massive confrontation. It got so bad that she actually had the audacity to claim my husband once wanted to hit her 😕. I think I posted about that somewhere else... in the end, I sent an email to the Principal, praying for some kind of change. We spoke a few times; he kept promising he would look into the "situation"... but by the time my son reached third grade, nothing had changed. Every single parent had an issue with her, but whenever it came time to actually step up or say something, everyone just backed down (out of fear of her 🙄) because they didn't want their kid to become a target...
There was this one time my mom went to pick him up halfway through the first semester of first grade... the whole class was out on the playground, but he was nowhere to be found 😲... she figured he was probably just in the classroom. So my mom goes into the room, and he's not there 😲... she thinks, "Well, maybe he already went home" 😲... at that point, my mother lost it. She practically brought the whole school to its knees because my son knew he only ever went home when someone actually showed up to get him. They eventually found him in the classroom, hiding behind a cabinet... can you believe that? They had been playing soccer, and some little kid had kicked him pretty hard in the leg; he started crying, and instead of helping him, this woman just shoved him into the classroom to shut him up...
That woman is still at the school, just in a different role, and you can't do a damn thing about her. I just hope that by the time my daughter starts school, she'll be gone, because if not, I am absolutely switching her class.
There's someone like that in every single school district out there
Honestly, you can't even be mad at them because there's zero recourse, right? Like, nobody can actually do anything about it, and all you're gonna end up with is your kid's GPA taking a massive hit.
She wrote "SUMMER - 4ETO" right on the board, and the kid actually copied it down exactly like that. Then she totally loses it on him, screaming about how he doesn't even know how to spell basic words!