But honestly, it really comes down to the teacher—I mean, I was showing my friend some of my old school notebooks once, and she just lost it laughing because her teacher's class (they’re in second grade now) used to go absolutely wild with their note-taking for every single subject... like, for one English assignment, they had already filled half a page just practicing the letter A, whereas my notebook had four full pages dedicated to it
My little one just started first grade, and they actually gave us a presentation about how the curriculum is pivoting heavily toward reading—apparently, they realized kids were struggling to actually comprehend what they were looking at on the page That’s even why they decided to pull back on teaching formal handwriting during the first-grade year itself... Right now, the only real writing they’re doing is in their English class; for everything else, it seems like they're just frantically coloring and doodling away 🤣
Around here, things are pretty much centered on church life—though honestly, there isn’t even a parade for Harvest Day or anything... we didn't have to bake a single thing or show up with any offerings, either 🤔
I suppose they just don't feel like there's room for all that circus atmosphere in their world 😬
northerntiger9 As if I could just ignore what urbantinker8 was saying about that whole situation... though, I suppose there isn't much point in dwelling on it too much, really. It’s all a bit much, isn't it? I guess we could look at it from another angle, maybe, if one were inclined to spend that kind of energy, which I rarely am. I mean, you probably could have just said, "As far as I know, we don't really do things that way here in Washington, D.C.," or something like that, I guess. 😉
I guess there might be an issue here, though I’m not entirely sure yet. Maybe it's just me overthinking things, but it feels like something isn't quite sitting right. Go ahead, lay it on me. Give me your best shot.
So, I was thinking about how things work in elementary schools over in Washington, D.C., and I guess I started wondering if it’s almost—or maybe even entirely—true that...🤔I guess it’s just not happening—there aren't any classes where fewer than 15 kids are signed up for religious studies, let alone having multiple sections where more than half the students are opting out of the curriculum entirely. It seems like they aren't combining the classes, at least based on what I’ve seen so far, though I suppose that hasn't really been the standard practice up until this point. I guess trends tend to shift from one year to the next anyway, so it’ll probably end up happening sooner rather than later, maybe.
I suppose this should be fine now, right? I think I might have finally gotten things sorted out, though I can't say for certain without seeing how it all plays out, I guess. Maybe it’s working, maybe it isn't, but we'll just have to see.🙂
It’s such a headache—around here, the teachers have morning duty starting at 7:00 AM.
If it weren't for that, I’d honestly have to start looking for a different school... since I drop him off right at 7:00 sharp just to make sure I actually get to my job on time And besides, our after-school program runs until 5:00 PM.
swiftraven17 said:Religious studies shouldn't even be part of the standard school schedule. If they're going to force it in, fine... but it should be either the very first period or the last one before after-school programs start. Nothing else makes sense.
We can start picking apart who benefits from what right now... if we really want to go there.
It’s certainly not the same everywhere—not every school operates quite like that... In my neck of the woods, we have these tiny little classrooms with only two sections, yet you've got about 42 kids packed in there—it gets a bit crowded, honestly—and most of them end up in after-school care together, though there are always those seven kids who just head straight home instead...
swiftraven17 said:We’ve got two hours of religion class scheduled for first grade. Honestly, caught me off guard... why on earth would they need two?
According to the schedule, one is the second period and the other is the very last one. It makes zero sense when you consider after-school care... my kid is staying at the school anyway, so what's the point?
The thing is, not every student signs up for the after-school care, just like not everyone takes religion or those extra tutoring sessions—which, by the way, usually get scheduled for the final period too...
Kate Cox2 said:😂😂 Oh, please... the "test" was just a bunch of questions printed out—like, what happened when Alexander woke up? Where did he go first? How was he feeling? What would you do if you were all alone? Or even, draw a picture of your favorite part...
Honestly, quite a rigorous academic assessment...😁
Of course the test was designed for a first grader, so her reaction was definitely over the top, for sure.
That's exactly why I say parents often make such a huge deal out of absolutely nothing...
So, one of my friend's little ones is in first grade, and they already have their first required reading assignment—plus a test on it! It’s all just a blur right now...
Meanwhile, with my other friend, they don't even assign reading books in the first grade at all.
So, yeah... 😬
Personally, I’ve been reading Hedgehog the Hedgehog and Ugly Duckling to my little guy, and we’ve actually moved on to Harry Potter. We’re already halfway through the first book in just a week—it really shows how much of an impact parents can have on what their kids are reading.
I mean, it isn't exactly normal for them to be churning through a different book every single week like those high-pressure private academies do... though, granted, that usually happens in the higher grades.
rowdypanther12 said:Honestly, I'm not even sure I would have known the answers myself unless they were important, and if they were, I probably could've just looked them up online.😂
unknown
Larry Walker24 said:🙏🙏
It’s the same kind of stupid question—like, what color were the curtains in this scene?
Completely pointless.
Luckily, most of us in my high school back in the mid-90s didn't give a damn about the required reading. We’d just cram through the material a few hours before class, which almost never happened.
On my final exams, for English, I had:
Adjectives
V. Novak - The Last Stipančićs
Modernism
We spent an entire lifetime dissecting just one single book—I mean, we were practically going through it scene by scene, taking two or three months just to get through a tiny portion... it was quite the marathon, really...
After spending a few hours soaking up the nuances of American English, you finally start to wrap your head around what someone is actually looking for—and then, once you’re paying attention, you end up typing out such absolute nonsense that you'll probably never live it down...
That scene involving the sky... that was actually from Romeo and Juliet... I was just sitting here thinking about what they had for lunch—it was some kind of unknown... anyway, it's funny how those little things stick with you... It seems that even after all this time, certain things just refuse to fade from my memory... 🤣
Honestly, because of how he approaches that massive mountain of required reading, none of us ever actually got to see any of it—not even me... and I’ll be the first to admit I'm a reader, but even I couldn't bring myself to tackle certain books, so I can only imagine what everyone else went through... 😁
So how are they actually supposed to do them then?
Back when I was in high school about 25 years ago—it feels like a lifetime, really—our literature tests were actually quite specific... we’d get questions like: - what color was the sky in this particular scene? - what exactly were the characters eating for lunch during that part of the story?
You could rewrite the whole book if you wanted to, but if you hadn't actually sat down and read it... well, you just wouldn't have known the answers to those little details...
My little guy has always been a glass drinker—just like when he was a tiny baby, and honestly, he’s never once broken one... nowhere, really. He keeps his glass right there on the side table in the living room, and he even pours his own water in the bathroom all by himself...🤷
I really think people just don't know their way around a kitchen 👍
It’s not like I stopped eating peas when I was three 😉—well, more like until I turned three — There are certain things I just can't stand, so I don't bother cooking them... take sautéed leeks or kale, for instance . Although, we do eat kale sautéed in garlic—sort of how you'd prep spinach—and I throw leeks into just about everything: Chinese dishes, risotto, even hearty soups . We make creamy soups out of pretty much any veggie sitting in the fridge. Yesterday, I had a bunch of carrots left over that were getting a bit soft, so I decided to use them along with some sweet potatoes... I started by sautéing some onions, then tossed in a little potato and cauliflower, and honestly? It was incredible. My little guy polished off three big spoonfuls 🙂
I’ve always had this intense, visceral aversion to liver and those kinds of organ meats Honestly—it’s one of those things where even thinking about it makes my stomach turn... it’s been that way since I can remember. Growing up, my mom was always making liver served with mashed potatoes or maybe some grits, and I would just happily stick to the potatoes or the grits with a big dollop of sour cream instead.
My little guy, though, is actually quite the adventurous eater—but if something truly makes his stomach flip, I make it a point never to force him. Back when he was a toddler, he used to turn his nose up at peas and spinach, though it wasn't quite the same level of nausea I deal with... it was more that the pea skins felt too tough for him, or the spinach texture was just too mushy. Every once in a while, I'll offer them again, and now? He eats both without a second thought—actually, he absolutely loves spinach! 🙂
The man doesn't touch cabbage in stews, and I can't stand stuffed bell peppers. So, during the winter months, I tend to lean toward more cabbage dishes, while he prefers the peppers in the summer. 😁
I actually know a guy who went to his old local middle school back in the day... He finished elementary school with pretty mediocre grades—nothing special, just average—but he was never a troublemaker or anything like that, just a quiet kid. Then he gets into high school and, man, what a turnaround... it’s like a total transformation because suddenly he’s pulling straight A's everywhere. Finished freshman year with top marks, and then kept that momentum going through all the other years too. He was even doing stuff like competing in geography bees, attending some regional seminars, and even getting into those computer science meets...
And naturally, a student like that would want to go straight into a four-year university program, but it’s just not an option for him right now. He doesn't have that path available... instead, he'll have to enroll in some community college program where he can take a lighter course load while simultaneously grinding to prepare for his SATs...