[Thralen]

/*begin rant*/

So, my oldest daughter just graduated kindergarten. I had to bring this up someplace because it drives me nuts. OK, kindergarten, you don't 'graduate', you pass (or not)... At least that is how I remember it. However, my daughter brings home a 'graduation certificate' that looks exactly like the case and interior of my high school diploma (barring the difference in writing saying she has graduated kindergarten, not high school). In addition to that she was showing me her 'congratulations cap' meaning a graduation cap (complete with tassel) that they had made out of felt in class. Now, this somehow seems to me to feed into the entitlement crap that seems to be a major problem for this most recent generation.

I'm reminded of the scene in "The Incredibles" where he says "It isn't a graduation, he's moving from the 4th grade to the 5th grade." or something similar. I thought it was an exaggeration when I saw it, now I know better. Does anyone else feel we are doing a major disservice to our youth by making these really big deals over things like passing kindergarten? It seems to me that this is counterproductive and introduces a reward mentality for completing truly menial tasks. I'm trying to think of an exaggerated example here but they are all coming out way too bitter.

So, what else (if anything) in childhood/teen years has been transformed into a big deal, from something older people would consider commonplace, that I should be expecting her to run into at some point?

/*end rant*/

Thralen

[mos6507]

You mean there is someone else here who has their kid in a public school besides me? By the sound of it, not too long I guess...

[Micki]

Well at that age it is also important to keep them positive towards school, so why not just play along.
But I would draw the line there. OK in kindergarden as that is more of a play time anyway, not in actual school.

[Sixstrings]

PLEASE tell me that you didn't inform your daughter that her kindergarten graduation diploma will be worthless post-peak when the mass die-off begins.

(joking here)

Hm.. well I see where you're going. I don't have kids, but I've heard parents I know mention how much things have changed. I really don't see the harm.. seems to me the thing that matters most would be just staying on top of your kids like white on rice when it comes to their schoolwork.

[JJ]

OK here's one of my pet peeves. I have two boys still in school. A seven year old (second grade) and a 13 year old (eighth grade). Every six weeks the eight grade has an "awards recognition ceremony" in which everyone gathers in the gym for several hours. The head of the gymnastics department runs around the perimeter of the gym carrying a standard with a fake flame on top. she is AT LEAST 200 pounds overweight. It's revolting. I can't help but wonder if any other parents question the fact that the person in charge of our physical education is morbidly obese (or maybe it's intentional so that the 60% of other obese children won't feel discriminated against).

[Schmuto]

1 word - homeschool.

Best decision we ever made as parents was pulling our kids out of the idiot factories.

Couple of moments in the public schools that led me to the conclusion to homeschool.

Mind you, the idiot factories in which these occurred were considered the best in each of the states we were in . . .

1. Daughter in highest level senior English class (AP) tells me they spent two class periods watching Shakespeare in Love, with GPaltrow tits to the wind and all.

2. Daughter takes an 8th grade science class (top level) in which the teacher incorrectly teaches that a straight chain octane molecule has many structural isomers that can be formed by bending the bond angles to 90 degrees. I take the time to send in a correction for him, including all required citations. 2 years later I see that he is still handing out the same worksheet with the same gross error (he must be related to YesPlease).

3. One kid's yearly math alotment seemed to be about 50% "estimation" exercises. Yet her actual math skills did not seem to be improving (that is, just add the numbers!!).

4. Teacher who is wife of military guy tells me that she is concerned about my 5th grade son because he "doesn't play football at recess with the other boys."

5. One teacher who I instructed my daughter to time spent at least 50% of the entire day staring into the computer monitor on her desk while the kids did some variation of "fend-for-yourselves."

And on and on and on and on.

Now we're getting to the point where the products of the idiot factories have cycled back in and are now, frighteningly, the teachers.

This is why some skanky ho is caught shagging a 15 year old boy every few months - the skanky hos are recent graduates of the idiot factories.

OP - Is this your first child?
EDIT - just saw that this is your "oldest child."

It just gets worse from here.

My favorite idiot factory story so far (not mine) - idiot factory starts teaching class on sexuality and has all kids sign a form saying they won't discuss what's said in the class out side of the class - i.e. with their parents. One parent gets concerned and asks to see the teaching materials, which the kids can't take home with them, and the teacher refuses to show the parents!.

It's been a while since that one broke and I'm still blown away by a public school teacher telling a parent and taxpayer that the teaching materials are a secret!



Think about it - homeschool.

[JJ]

Think about it - homeschool.[/quote]


only good thing I can think of is that Bing's master is education and she taught for five years...

[Jotapay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Thralen', 'S')o, what else (if anything) in childhood/teen years has been transformed into a big deal, from something older people would consider commonplace, that I should be expecting her to run into at some point?

[Jotapay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Schmuto', 'I')t's been a while since that one broke and I'm still blown away by a public school teacher telling a parent and taxpayer that the teaching materials are a secret!

[coyote]

If I were going to pick one thing to get burnt up about public school, it probably wouldn't be that, there are plenty of worse things that go on there. But I completely agree with the thread in general about the worthlessness of our educational system. Public school was bad enough when we were kids - it's nothing more than torture now. Completely over the top insane system, and it blows me away that most people seem to accept the situation as a matter of course. It's worse than indoctrination, it's a deliberate dumbing down through unending hammer-blows of senselessness, repeated year after year - and it's working. By the time I get these kids in college they can barely think any more, and have almost no initiative at all.

Someday we will look back on this period of public education as criminal child abuse. When I have children I will do everything in my power to prevent them being tortured through their childhood.

[frankthetank]

When i graduated kindergarten i got a kick in the ass.

I went to the public schools here in southwest Wisconsin. I thought i had pretty good teachers (for the MOST part). I had one clown (she was a genius, just dumb as rocks when it came to common sense things) who would ASK us what are grades should be. One of my high school buddies told her he should get an A and she told him since he wasn't doing very well, probably more like a D or C, he got furious and told her that his dad (which at the time, was partially nuts...Vietnam vet type, big arms) would beat him and be really mad at her if he got a bad grade. She ended up giving him a B... Another kid in my class would leave early every day to "ice his arm"... We were like, football has been done for 5 months!!! and the kid is still leaving. Another girl told the teacher at the beginning of the semester she didn't really feel like doing anything, so she was shooting for "the D" as she would put it....God it was hilarious.

Don't blame the schools for all problems, PARENTS HAVE A MAJOR ROLE HERE TOO!

I loved high school.. i've never laughed so much in my life.

edit to add: The school i went to was strict, although they gave us plenty of freedoms (we had open campus, could leave for lunch and free hours), also had longest school day of anyone i have known, 7:40-3:20...

Another thing, in PE when i was a senior, another guy in class would always wear combat boots, army type clothing and looked like "Meatloaf", so that is what i would call him when he wasn't around... It got so bad the teacher was starting to call him it! One day he chased me around the gym after he found out i was the one to start it... I'm glad i was fast, because that wasn't the only time that happened...another jock wrestler kid, after hitting him in the head with a floor hockey puck, chased me... (this same kid today is in prison!)...

Not everyone can be an engineer, nuclear scientist or even a MD... Someone needs to clean the shitters!

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Schmuto', '2'). Daughter takes an 8th grade science class (top level) in which the teacher incorrectly teaches that a straight chain octane molecule has many structural isomers that can be formed by bending the bond angles to 90 degrees. I take the time to send in a correction for him, including all required citations. 2 years later I see that he is still handing out the same worksheet with the same gross error (he must be related to YesPlease).

[vision-master]

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Schmuto', '3'). One kid's yearly math alotment seemed to be about 50% "estimation" exercises. Yet her actual math skills did not seem to be improving (that is, just add the numbers!!).

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Schmuto', '3'). One kid's yearly math alotment seemed to be about 50% "estimation" exercises. Yet her actual math skills did not seem to be improving (that is, just add the numbers!!).

[coyote]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'H')ow about more art, music an esoteric stuff.

[coyote]

dupe

[WildRose]

I have a couple for you, JJ. You'll probably notice, as your child goes through school, that birthday parties have reached new heights. I have been amazed at what parents will do for their kids' parties. It's very competitive. It seems like parents have a need to make their child's birthday celebration bigger than the last party they attended, and some spare no expense!

Junior high school graduation is another one, complete with tuxes and long dresses and limousines. Although, I'm happy to say my son's grade 9 graduating class this year is doing a simple celebration in the gym with a few snacks for the parents and kids, no formal dress. The new principal this year decided that some families can't afford the expensive celebrations (which is absolutely true) and made the bold step of trimming it down.

Oh, something else - my daughter tells me that some teenagers get boob and nose jobs as graduation gifts from their parents. Let's not forget brand new cars as well.

My dad's voice is reverberating in my head right now - whenever he hears of these excesses, he speaks fondly about his own high school graduation, when everyone met by the riverbank for a corn roast. Oh, the good old days!

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jotapay', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Schmuto', 'I')t's been a while since that one broke and I'm still blown away by a public school teacher telling a parent and taxpayer that the teaching materials are a secret!

[JJ]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('coyote', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'H')ow about more art, music an esoteric stuff.