parents get special contract saying their kids dont have to take homework home ever..

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2009/11/18/calgary-homework-school-students.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g2:r4:c0.136283:b28927520

1) ... well say goodbye to these kids having friends.. nothing makes kids hated more then them being "special"

2) ... WTF.. I am begging my kids teachers to send stuff home and they wont even make an effort. Do I need to move to Calgary to get my kids edumacated?


and then there is the retarded comment from the Father

""The way they do grades is by marking certain assignments and homework," he said. "If you're going to mark homework, whose work are you actually marking? Because if you send it home, you don't know who's doing it. It could be their older brothers or sisters or their parents.""

psst hey dude.. here is a hint.. DONT DO YOUR KIDS HOMEWORK.

sheesh. thats how they know... you not being an a$$hole and doing your kids homework.


the comments are a pretty good read too...

Deank wrote:2) ... WTF.. I am begging my kids teachers to send stuff home and they wont even make an effort. Do I need to move to Calgary to get my kids edumacated?

Do Calgary school divisions offer better educational curriculums and teaching abilities on average than in Winnipeg? Do students fair better with an education attained in Calgary than in Winnipeg?

good questions indeed.

I spent weeks (accumulated hours) of time in the Guidance office discussing this very topic with my guidance counselor.
How useless homework was in general...and nothing more than busy work which interfered with actual learning.

Finally, a school (and some parents) agree...let's hope this spreads and some students actually begin learning.

I even did NO homework my entire senior year in protest of the problem. I never scored less than a B on any exam or major project which proved that homework was not needed to do well in school. Unfortunately most of the teachers graded so heavily on homework assignments...my report card grades were quite low...yet my exams were excellent.

unfortunately my child is slightly behind and needs the extra work to catch up.
The school system would rather see him not catch up and always be a little behind for some bizarre reason.

Deank wrote:unfortunately my child is slightly behind and needs the extra work to catch up.
The school system would rather see him not catch up and always be a little behind for some bizarre reason.

slightly behind in what though?
homework does not improve comprehension...it simply repeats the problem OVER AND OVER again.

being slightly behind only means something (something very specific) hasn't been grasped. The homework given today does nothing to find out what is missing...it is presenting new ideas assuming the missing component was learned 2 months ago.

What needs to happen (instead of homework) is a review/evaluation of past presentations. Find out what's missing and how to bring the student up to speed.

That's the primary reason places like Sylvan Learning Centre works...because it's focused 1-on-1 attention with evaluations of each component of a subject before proceeding to the next.

Not reasonable for herd-environment classrooms like the PSS, but can be done with good teachers and attentive parents.

The best teachers I did have in school rarely gave homework (busy-work), they would usually assign specific tasks or projects which required a combination of things learned to date to help tie all the topics together.

"being slightly behind only means something (something very specific) hasn't been grasped. "

nope. in this case it means his teachers have been asshats and did not teach what was required. He needs to do more work at home to get BACK to the same level as the kids who never had asshat teachers.

It's always the teachers fault.

Deank wrote:"being slightly behind only means something (something very specific) hasn't been grasped. "

nope. in this case it means his teachers have been asshats and did not teach what was required. He needs to do more work at home to get BACK to the same level as the kids who never had asshat teachers.

No offense here Dean...cause I'm sure in most regards you are an excellent parent.

But there's no blaming the teacher(s) on this one.

When the first report card hits in the fall, it is the PARENT'S responsibility to find out what (if any) problems there may be. If a child is getting anything less than an A or Excellent on the card...there's cause for concern...and consult with the teacher.

Requests from the teachers for past homework, quizzes & tests should be immediate to try and determine what point the student has not grasped completely.

Everyone has areas where they excel or have problems, it's only natural, but those points must be determined as early as possible to avoid the student falling too far behind, and ultimately falls on the PARENT to determine (at least till about 8th or 9th grade).

Deank wrote:unfortunately my child is slightly behind and needs the extra work to catch up.
The school system would rather see him not catch up and always be a little behind for some bizarre reason.

Well, getting a little behind is always fun.

"When the first report card hits in the fall, it is the PARENT'S responsibility to find out what (if any) problems there may be. If a child is getting anything less than an A or Excellent on the card...there's cause for concern...and consult with the teacher.
"

And when your kid is doing perfectly fine gradewise and its only when him and the rest of his classmates enter the next grade and get a new teacher do you find out that the teacher did not teach what she was supposed to?


"Requests from the teachers for past homework, "

guess what... I keep asking, I keep demanding... I keep on and on and on. frick... my kid AGAIN this year gets stuck with a teacher that "does not believe in homework", "does not believe in working the kids hard", "does not believe in pushing the kids"

Parent teacher tonight I am getting the principal to sit in and listen. Because this teacher is a complete idiot.

Apparently this foriegn concept of "practice" makes no sense to the teacher.

And as a parent DeanK you have every right to request what classroom and teacher your child is put into. My question to you is do you ever just drop in to the school unannounced and request to sit in on the classroom that your child is in to see how things are going and what is being taught? Do you even know what is in the curriculum for the grade that your child is in????? And there is one other concept that a lot of parents may not understand and that is not all children learn in the same manner, some are visual, some are tactile (touch) and others are verbal (spoken word) so whether your child is behind could be because the style of teaching is not conducive to how your child learns. This is where visiting the school and sitting in can be helpful in choosing what classroom your child should be in. This is something that every parent should do at least once every couple of months, ramdomly. This helps to keep the teachers on their toes and lets them know that you as a parent, are concerned about what and how your child is learning. And in April you should visit the next grade classrooms to see which would be best suited for your child and then make your request known to the classroom teacher as well as to the principal so that in May when they have the placement meetings, your request can be acted upon (hopefully). This doesn't always work out if the teacher you chose happens to be re-assigned or moves to a different school.

"My question to you is do you ever just drop in to the school unannounced and request to sit in on the classroom that your child is in to see how things are going and what is being taught?"
No... and no parent ever should. Drop in and help out.. certainly. Drop in and watch.. thats ridiculous

"Do you even know what is in the curriculum for the grade that your child is in????"

yup

I dont think you people are listening here.

AN ENTIRE CLASSROOM OF KIDS was dropped behind in some areas because of ONE teacher not teaching the curriculum. not just my kid.

I had the advantage, or disadvantage if you see it that way, of having 3 kids in the same grade at the same time, with different teachers. I found it mind boggling the difference betweent he 3 classes. The best one was the teacher that wanted the class to make a play during science class. When I asked her about it, she said she was more of an LA type and didn't care for science.

[quote="Deank"]"My question to you is do you ever just drop in to the school unannounced and request to sit in on the classroom that your child is in to see how things are going and what is being taught?"
No... and no parent ever should. Drop in and help out.. certainly. Drop in and watch.. thats ridiculous

[quote]
Why is this ridiculous????????? Doesn't your supervisor surprise you with snap inspections/evaluations every so often? You have every right to do the same to a teacher because in reality you are their supervisor (tax payer who pays their salary) as well as being a parent of a child in his/her classroom so you have every right to know what is going on and how it is being delivered. Helping out is great but you should also just sit and watch and listen to see if you grasp what they are teaching - can you learn from what and how the teacher is providing the lessons and if you can't then maybe your child doesn't grasp the concept either. This is when you have a meeting with the teacher and discuss how things are being taught and the fact that maybe the teaching style doesn't fit with how your child may learn. This can help the teacher to see that maybe more than one style needs to be implemented in the classroom so that all learners will be reached. Just because your child has moved into the school system doesn't mean you stop being their first teacher. Who knows your child best, the teacher or you????? (this is a rhetorical question, not aimed at you personally Dean)

"in reality you are their supervisor"

the principal and vice principal are their supervisors. I am a customer that complains to the supervisor and gets them to do the review. which I have done and will continue to do.

"can you learn from what and how the teacher is providing the lessons "

nice concept.. except the teacher is NOT providing the lessons. Thats the problem. If my kid were simply failing I can accept that. As you know I as well have two children the same age. Different classrooms completely. And completely different stuff they are being taught. And its not just my kid in the one classroom and not just me as a parent that is having a problem right now. Several other parents are having a problem as well.

We are dealing with it, one of the things being I am getting the principal to sit in our parent teacher meeting tonight because apparently the one at the start of the year was useless.

No Dean...I hear you loud and clear...but that's not what your first post on the subject indicated.

If a teacher is not meeting the minimum curriculum...then that's an issue to take up with the principal/school board (one of the 150) to take issue with the teacher. And you're right...in that case, there may be no way for the parent to know there's a problem, because the kid is learning what the teacher is presenting.

That said, it may also be something to bring forward to the new teacher, as they may have to adjust presenting certain information to adapt to the students from the teacher who was lacking.

Ultimately though, it still comes down to the parent(s) to make the decision on what to do. If the new teacher still expects the students to "catch up"...the parent(s) should be the ones to make that happen with their child. Focus on weaker points and help bring the student up to speed. It will be a sacrifice for the parent(s) and the student...but will be well worth the effort rather than just accepting that the student will be forever behind.

As far as visiting the classrooms...up to about grade 5...absolutely. Go sit in on the class if you can. Randomly always works...or volunteer is even better. Be familiar with the teacher's "style" of teaching. Some are dictatorial, some are pleading, some are bribing...get to know which your child's teacher is so you understand your child's complaint(s) or concern(s) when they come home from school.

Personally, if I had the money so I didn't have to work...I'd home-school my child(ren) rather than send them to school. Aside from some science classes, it would not be unreasonable to do so, and most school districts will allow you to send your kid in for "lab" classes to help their educational process. I have 4 cousins who were all home-schooled, and they started college at the age of 16 (community college), and will have their 4-year degrees complete before the age of 20. Imagine how much better that will be for them when they start working. How much sooner they will get to retire, how much more they'll be able to save.

I firmly believe it's the responsibility of the parent to ensure their child gets an education...NOT the school's nor the government's. Since the government has seen fit to create the school system (no matter how flawed) and provided a curriculum to help prepare the students for future education (college)...they only assume the responsibility of ensuring that curriculum is kept current and those they employ meet certain standards. The responsibility of ensuring the student(s) are present to receive that curriculum still resides with the parent(s).

"If the new teacher still expects the students to "catch up"...the parent(s) should be the ones to make that happen with their child. "

The current teacher has pretty much refused to assign extra work to take home so that my child can catch up.

I dont get some of these teachers.. and some parents. We have no problem understanding the idea to practice to become better at signing, playing a guitar, judo, hockey, basketball, running, hell anything sports related or arts related. But the moment it comes to use of the brain for complex thought the kids are either supposed to get it, or not get it and practice through repeating and repeating makes no sense and is just time consuming.

The concept is utterly ridiculous. Train your brain like you train your body. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

So if you know what it is that your child is "behind" in, take the time to "practice" with him without having the teacher send home work. Have your child bring home his books/binder and re-do the work that is being done so that instead of only getting, for example 7 out of 10 correct, he gets 10 out of 10 correct. Do this until he gets it right the first time. If you take the time to go in and see how the teacher is delivering the lessons and your child says "I don't understand" you can then deliver it another way so that he does get it. He can then go back to the teacher and say "hey I learned it a different way and now I get it".

holly... right now the problem is not that my child does not understand. The problem is that the current ( and a former) teacher are basically refusing to teach my child what he needs to learn to get "back" to the same level as my other child.

I have asked for more work and been told its coming, its coming. Tonight I am going to stop asking and demand more work or my child be taken out of this teachers classroom.

AGEsAces wrote:

I firmly believe it's the responsibility of the parent to ensure their child gets an education...NOT the school's nor the government's.

It should be a collective effort between the three, with the parents as "the head of the class" making sure that all sides are on the same page and that the best interests of the children are delivered.

EdWin wrote:

AGEsAces wrote:

I firmly believe it's the responsibility of the parent to ensure their child gets an education...NOT the school's nor the government's.

It should be a collective effort between the three, with the parents as "the head of the class" making sure that all sides are on the same page and that the best interests of the children are delivered.

Legally here in Manitoba it is the parent's responsibilty to educate the child, whether it is by public school, private school or home schooling. If a child is not enrolled in any of the above the government has every jurisdiction to prosecute the parents for negligence. Legally a child must attend school from age 6 - 16. Kindergarten and nursery are not manadatory but grade 1 is and at the opposite end a student legally can quit at age 16 without parental authority. In order for a student who is home schooled to obtain a grade 12 diploma they must take a final exam that will measure if they have completed the full curriculum as designed and set by the department of education.

Dean, How did the parent teacher go last night????????? Were you able to resolve some of your concerns with the school? I am curious to know if today's administration and teachers are any more receptive to parental input than they were 15 years ago.

I have no concerns about the school. The school is great... just a few of the teachers are dipshits.

issues are not yet resolved no. but hopefully will be soon.