Sunday, September 22, 2013
Lazy Sunday
Today, we decided to let the kids sleep in and just relax at home. No church, no errands. Just a lazy day at home. I plan on cooking a few meals and freezing them. Next week will be a busy one, and I want to be ready--cooking will not be a priority. So here I am, enjoying a few minutes of quiet time with a cup of coffee. The time before the baby wakes up, before the middle child gets up and complains about a nightmare, or a wet bed! It's times like these that you do count your blessings for a healthy, happy family. Tomorrow it's on to tackle the world. But for today, it's a lazy day.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Brave New World
Today, I woke up to more news about the Navy Yard shooter. I remember driving by the Navy Yard on several occassions and thinking what an interesting part of D.C. it was. The base looked secure and the houses quaint. There's a part of me that's relieved that there were no children involved in this shooting. This shooting. I think it's safe to say that we all expect others to come. This has become some sort of strange norm. I feel so bad for my children and their children. How did mass shootings become the norm in the United States?
Today I also went to my daughter's kindergarten curriculum meeting at school. The teacher told us how kindergarteners are now part of the standardized testing and are required to read, count to 100 and do certain geometry problems, all by the end of the school year. Gone are the days when kindergarteners took naps at school. It's a brave new world for my little girl and her classmates. More and more of their time will be spent passing standardized tests so that teachers and school administrators can quantify students' performance and subsequently their own (the teachers). We (parents) are told this is an effort to further our children so they will be able to compete and thrive as professional adults. The real reason seems to me less romantic and much more simplistic: MONEY. High standardized tests scores means more money for the schools and bonuses for the teachers. What we're failing to see is that the good schools will continue to stay good and the bad schools will continue to fail---status quo. Why? The schools that are doing well are usually doing well because parents are involved--making sure their children are studying and passing their standardized tests. This testing puts more pressure on the students to perform--at an early age like kindergarten. I hope my daughter doesn't feel or think she's getting tested--I would think she'd feel pressure and may not test well at all. The notion of her going to kindergarten and being in a nurturing environment is out the window -- my bubble has been burst. Although her teacher is a sweet lady, there's only so much she can do to keep learning fun. I felt her anxiety today as she explained to us the testing and came out with a new word which she kept repeating: RIGOR.
I came back home after the meeting and read a book to my daughter--just for enjoyment. Tomorrow, when she gets home from school, I will let her play a little longer. Reading and math can always be done another day.
Today I also went to my daughter's kindergarten curriculum meeting at school. The teacher told us how kindergarteners are now part of the standardized testing and are required to read, count to 100 and do certain geometry problems, all by the end of the school year. Gone are the days when kindergarteners took naps at school. It's a brave new world for my little girl and her classmates. More and more of their time will be spent passing standardized tests so that teachers and school administrators can quantify students' performance and subsequently their own (the teachers). We (parents) are told this is an effort to further our children so they will be able to compete and thrive as professional adults. The real reason seems to me less romantic and much more simplistic: MONEY. High standardized tests scores means more money for the schools and bonuses for the teachers. What we're failing to see is that the good schools will continue to stay good and the bad schools will continue to fail---status quo. Why? The schools that are doing well are usually doing well because parents are involved--making sure their children are studying and passing their standardized tests. This testing puts more pressure on the students to perform--at an early age like kindergarten. I hope my daughter doesn't feel or think she's getting tested--I would think she'd feel pressure and may not test well at all. The notion of her going to kindergarten and being in a nurturing environment is out the window -- my bubble has been burst. Although her teacher is a sweet lady, there's only so much she can do to keep learning fun. I felt her anxiety today as she explained to us the testing and came out with a new word which she kept repeating: RIGOR.
I came back home after the meeting and read a book to my daughter--just for enjoyment. Tomorrow, when she gets home from school, I will let her play a little longer. Reading and math can always be done another day.
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