So, I got this email message today from one of E.'s teacher, his Social Sciences teacher. She sent a note to all the parents in the fifth-grade class, lamenting the fact that only a few students were ready for today's oral presentation of a months-long project about Singapore's history. Fair enough. The only hitch is, in my book, that there was no clear communication of the deadlines for this project in the first place. The project kicked off a few months back and involved each student to pick at least 5 different places around Singapore to visit to learn more about this nation state's history. Nice project and we had great fun at it -- it clearly depended on heavy parent involvement to take our kids to the different places, take photos, etc. E. decided to do a scrap book with pictures, entry tickets, brochures, historial facts, etc. He really enjoyed this whole effort; and so did the rest of our little family.
All good. But what was missing was a sense of the timing -- i.e. the DUE date and some milestones to meet along the way. Apparently, the teacher had walked the kids in the class through the timeline; not sure exactly when. But here's my beef -- while I realize that my son is definitely not the most dilligent notetaker, nor the most focused in class, nor has the best of short-term memories -- despite this being one of the biggest projects of the year, spanning two months and requiring significant involvement from the parents, there was no milestones or other timeline sent home. I really don't think this is reasonable; and by having at least given us (the parents) a sense of the timing, we could have played a constructive role in helping our kids manage to the timeline.
Alright, so maybe I'm not being fair here. Afterall, it's the student's responsibility at this class level to make note of due dates, understand what needs to be done, etc. And I'm not in class every day. But a simple outline would have been helpful; I would have been fine taking it from there. I don't seem to recall this complexity of a project assignment, level of required parent involvement, month-long timelines, when I was 10-11 years old. Time management, organizational skills -- they are all key to surviving in today's world, absolutely. But, we're dealing with a bunch of pre-teens here, especially the boys, who are still behaving like children (and they ARE children), with lots of energy, inability to stay focused for too long, enthusiasm and boundless energy....are they at a prime age yet to develop and manage to their own timelines, milestones, and deliverables?
Over the last few years of observing and experiencing first-hand the primary and intermediary school curriculum of today (the US school system is the primary point of reference here), I feel it's too rigid, too pushy towards the 'ideal' behaviour. We're very fortunate to be in a private school that has great facilities, superior art, music and athletics programs, etc. But at the end of the day, being at the small, local school that we attended back in California or the large internationally-focused American school here, it comes down to the 'standards', the curriculum, and the expectations of our children's achievement, at any age.
I might be overreacting. But sometimes I feel like quitting this system, of doing home schooling, of helping my kids learn the way they are inclined to learn -- everyone is indeed different. But I'm not an educator. And I doubt that I could do any better or even half as well as the many excellent teachers at our current school.
I have to work with E. to get more organized, to take better notes, to learn the essential skills to be successful in school. And inspire him to be creative, to develop the skills and areas that he's passionate about, for him to feel happy about his accomplishments and proud of what he can do -- if it's writing, or drawing, or math, or knitting, or swimming, or whatever.
I've rambled long enough. I was upset today, but I'll get over it. I'm learning, too, what it takes to 'make it' in school these days. It sure is different from 30+ years ago...(and this seems to be irregardless of the small school in Denmark I went to or the big inner-city school by husband went to in the US). Times have changed. And so has the way we bring up our kids and prepare them for life in today's world.