ten frames and reading levels
Last night, as I sat down with my 5 year old daughter to help her with her homework, I became…
…unsettled.
I felt…
uneasy.
The whole thing started because we don’t have pencils.
“I hafta use a PEN to do my homework?” ::rolls eyes::
I love my daughter so damn much, but 5…5-years-old…NOT my favorite age. ::rolls eyes::
Yes, dear. Just like every damn week prior to this one…you will use a pen. You know why? Because pencils are the inferior writing utensil; for when you have pencils, you must also have a pencil sharpener…
No.
Nope.
Nada.
Not gonna happen.
Shortly thereafter, we reached a point on her homework that left my eyebrows all scrunched. I read the directions. I read them again. I looked at the picture. I drew a blank.
“What’s a ten frame? What?…What is this? I’ve never seen this before…”
Had I seen this before?…and just forgotten?
Keep in mind: I’m not terribly old. I’m 28. I haven’t been out of school for long; I just finished my BS less than two years ago.
Keep in mind: Because of those things, I have an advantage over many, many, many parents in the US.
Keep in mind: She’s in kindergarten.
Keep in mind: She’s in kindergarten, and I’m unable to help her with her homework because I have zero knowledge of what in the whole entire hell a stupid “ten frame” is.
Luckily, she could explain it to me.
Do you know how that feels?
As a parent, do you know how it feels to not be able to help your 5 year old with homework?
I’ll tell you what I felt.
I felt angry.
I felt stupid.
I felt embarrassed.
I felt worried.
I felt inferior…
…like that damn #2 pencil I won’t buy for the house…
I battled with her for longer than I should have before I just gave up and let her go do something else.
“We’ll work on it more tomorrow night and turn it in by Friday,” I told her.
Truth: I needed a break just as much as she did.
I don’t like feeling this way. I’m passionate about education…and I feel uneasy about our system right now, because I’m finally seeing it put into action, firsthand.
Why is it that kindergartners are bringing home schoolwork?
Is this unsettling for anyone else?
She spends 7 hours a day in a classroom…
…why is it necessary to spend even more time than that (at 5-years-old) on this nonsense?
Let me tell you something about my daughter:
She is a gross motor junkie. Some might wonder if she teeters on the edge of ADHD. Some might not wonder that at all; and those that don’t probablywonder why on Earth she’s unmedicated because she very obviously has ADHD. Regardless, she is 5…she is athletic…she is talkative…she is moving…she is messy…she is imaginative…she is fast…she is busy…she is artistic…she is an amazing little girl. For her to not have an outlet for all of this creative energy for large blocks of the day and then have to come home and remain contained to practice all of the shit that someone doesn’t have the time to help her with at school is outrageous.
It’s not “unsettling”…
I’m not angry with her teacher.
I’m angry at the fact that, with over 20 students in a classroom…how is one teacher supposed to be able to give individualized attention to every student?
I’m angry at the fact that, with research showing heavily the advantage of waiting until a child is 7 to begin formal schooling…why do we start at 5?
I’m angry at the fact that all she gets for her creativity in art and incredible abilities in PE is a checkmark that means very little…so little that they’re never discussed via e-mail or phone call or conference…when those are the things that she excels in.
I’m angry at the fact that worksheets get sent home with 5-year-olds to already stressed and overworked parents…
…and then I’m angry that perhaps those parents don’t know how to help with those worksheets…
…and then I’m angry that, because “perhaps those parents don’t know how to help with those worksheets”, for the two hours those parents have to spend with that child between coming home from work, eating dinner, bathing, and bed…it’s filled with a worksheet…
…or multiple worksheets…
…that make those parents feel angry, stupid, embarrassed, worried…
…inferior.
…and then I’m angry because of how a worksheet…a STUPID worksheet…has changed the tone between a parent and a child for an entire evening.
5.
She’s 5.
At 5, she knows that she’s not on the same reading level as her friends.
At 5, she knows that she’s not on the same reading level as her friends.
Are you reading this???
AT 5, SHE KNOWS THAT SHE’S NOT ON THE SAME READING LEVEL AS HER FRIENDS.
5 is too young for this bullshit.
Kids turn into adults…They’ll have their whole lives to compete to stay ahead of the game…
At 5, the things that should be important are running; jumping; socializing; learning things that are appropriate and inappropriate about friendships and behavior in public settings; science experiments; the feelings of, smells of, looks of, tastes of, and sounds of nature; drawing; counting; patterns; math with everyday objects; getting excited about a story being read because the pictures are hilarious…and getting excited about a story being read because a word here and there looks familiar…and getting excited about a story being read because you love this story and you can’t wait to be able to read it yourself.
Intrinsic motivation: personal satisfaction because “I can do it!” “I actually did it!” “I LOVE learning about XYZ!”
THAT is how learning SHOULD be.
Fun.
Meaningful.
Purposeful.
Useful.
…Care to share with me how or why in REAL LIFE a ten frame would be used?
No?
I didn’t think so.
