Extra-Curricular Activities

[Lisa loves Pooh]

That is what people assume but it just isn't correct. Going to pre-school does not give you a head start on kindergarten, people just think it does. About the only real advantage it gives kids is that they probably learn how to line up single file earlier, seriously. Preschool is great, my kids went, but academically, it doesn't make a difference. Kids learn when they are ready developmentally.

We homeschool--so I agree....with a cautionary BUT!!

There was a Kindergarten testing thread a while back and there are schools out there who do require children to have skills.....

So while it shouldn't be required--b/c the K teachers want to teach higher level stuff....a child who has not been exposed--could very much be at a disadvantage and labeled incorrectly--when all they needed was the time given to the kids that did go to pre-school.

It is ever changing.

I never went to kindergarten..I went right into first grade. I didn't know how to read--but picked it up very very quickly. That burden is now being placed on Kindergarten. Not in all curriculums--but that expectation does exist. So a child who didn't have point blank phonics instruction from Mom or pre-school could be at a disadvantage...and one day they will be .

 

[golfgal]

We homeschool--so I agree....with a cautionary BUT!!

There was a Kindergarten testing thread a while back and there are schools out there who do require children to have skills.....

So while it shouldn't be required--b/c the K teachers want to teach higher level stuff....a child who has not been exposed--could very much be at a disadvantage and labeled incorrectly--when all they needed was the time given to the kids that did go to pre-school.

It is ever changing.

I never went to kindergarten..I went right into first grade. I didn't know how to read--but picked it up very very quickly. That burden is now being placed on Kindergarten. Not in all curriculums--but that expectation does exist. So a child who didn't have point blank phonics instruction from Mom or pre-school could be at a disadvantage...and one day they will be .

Yes, kindergartens do want kids do know stuff, but if they have a parent that is even slightly involved in their lives, they can learn that at home. Most of the stuff they want kids to know in kindergarten they can learn watching Sesame Street. I know plenty of people who operate under the "it's the school's job to teach my kid" attitude and yes, these kids might need some extra help in kindergarten, but unless there are some learning issues with a child, they will be caught up by the middle or at the very least the end of the school year.

Also, most likely it isn't the kindergarten teachers pushing the higher level learning, it's the parents that all think their kids are Einsteins!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Also, most likely it isn't the kindergarten teachers pushing the higher level learning, it's the parents that all think their kids are Einsteins!

A while ago--K was half day only and kids didn't learn how to read.

it's not einstein--it's the state setting the mandates and requirements.

Which I do appreciate b/c if it brings our schools to where they need to be....then that is a great thing.

 

[brerrabbit]

Youth sports have exploded in the past ten years and are boardering on the ridiculous. I am an Assistant District Administrator for Little League Baseball and have served in years past as the President of a Little League and as the President and Treasurer of an association called The Dad's Club. As the Dad's Club we own a 32 acre complex which is the home to Little League Baseball, Girls Softball and Boys Footbal and Girls Cheerleaders and Drill Team (two teams). We have five baseball fields, two football fields and three softball fields with four more under construction. We receive no money from the city and maintain and run the entire operation with volenteers and donations. Fortunately our community is very generous and our program has been very successful and garnered a lot of attention. That said the current tren in youth sports are the select teams. A group of parents find relatively good players and form a team that travels around and plays in tournaments. These teams start as early as five years old with Tee Ball teams! They may play Little League as well but continue to participate on select teams when not playing Little League. Living in Texas these teams have the weather to play year round and many do. If your child has aspirations of playing High School sports other than football they generally need to participate with the select teams to be able to compete for teams when they reach high school.

One interesting note about the whole process I have seen locally is that Fathers of the players tend to coach the boys teams while more and more of the girls teams seem to be coached by paid coaches. I'm not sure but I think this has to do with the fact that since Title 9 which equalized male and female scholarships in college many more parents see athletic scholarships as a way to pay for the daughters college. At the beginning of Title 9 what some would consider marginal players were getting scholarships because the schools had to have them to give away the scholarships to boys. Since then the compitition amoung the girls has really heated up. I have a friend whose older daughter graduated last year from University of Houston who had a full scholarship to play softball and whose younger daughter is starting her Junior year at Texas A&M on a full scholarship for softball. Another friends daughter graduated from the University of Maryland on a Volleyball scholarship. For many families it has paid off. The only problem I have with the system is that at our high school at least it has required the kids to pick a sport early and only play that sport. The era of multi sports atheletes has passed at our local school.

Finally in answer to the original question about extra curricular activities, in Texas you cannot hardly get into a good college without them regardless of your grades. Our high schools even require volenteer hours if you want to graduate with the highest honors. There are three levels of HS diplomas, Highest Honors, With Honors, and High School Graduate (regular diploma). Colleges want well rounded student who participate in numerous activities. My son who is at Texas A&M ran track, played baseball, basketball, was a commitee chairman for Student Council, acted in plays with the Drama group, was in National Honor Society and several other Horor Societies by subject, and volenteered several hundred hours of service work, and was in the top ten percent of his class and was still turned down by several universities.
Its very competative out there and every extra helps.

 

[roger_ramjet]

Finally in answer to the original question about extra curricular activities, in Texas you cannot hardly get into a good college without them regardless of your grades. Our high schools even require volenteer hours if you want to graduate with the highest honors. There are three levels of HS diplomas, Highest Honors, With Honors, and High School Graduate (regular diploma). Colleges want well rounded student who participate in numerous activities. My son who is at Texas A&M ran track, played baseball, basketball, was a commitee chairman for Student Council, acted in plays with the Drama group, was in National Honor Society and several other Horor Societies by subject, and volenteered several hundred hours of service work, and was in the top ten percent of his class and was still turned down by several universities.
Its very competative out there and every extra helps.

It makes me wonder - where on earth does the time come from for students to fit all this in? It's as though they're basically in a full-time job already! It seems like a lot of pressure on a kid to perform. I remember when I was at high the day pretty much ended at 3. Of course I had homework to do, but that wasn't terribly time-consuming, and there was no pressure to do anything else. Just different systems, I suppose.

 

[brerrabbit]

We very seldom saw our son during high school. He was gone most of the time. The one thing that was lacking from the mix was a job. He never had the time to commit to one with all the other activities. His mother and I decided that if he wanted to get the full high school experience that we would finacially support him while he pursued his other activities. He did work summers but during the school year he was extremely busy. I don't think I really liked the idea of all the pressure he was under but in a way I guess it was just preparing him for life. I do know as a result of his high school experience he has become a somewhat lazy college student. His grades are okay but he does not participate in nearly as many extra's as he did in high school. Back then he stayed up till 1 or 2 in the morning almost every night and was pretty tired most of the time.

 

[roger_ramjet]

We very seldom saw our son during high school. He was gone most of the time. The one thing that was lacking from the mix was a job. He never had the time to commit to one with all the other activities. His mother and I decided that if he wanted to get the full high school experience that we would finacially support him while he pursued his other activities. He did work summers but during the school year he was extremely busy. I don't think I really liked the idea of all the pressure he was under but in a way I guess it was just preparing him for life. I do know as a result of his high school experience he has become a somewhat lazy college student. His grades are okay but he does not participate in nearly as many extra's as he did in high school. Back then he stayed up till 1 or 2 in the morning almost every night and was pretty tired most of the time.

I'm guessing he got a little burnt out on high school and wants to relax a little. I went through that in university and I wasn't nearly as busy as your son sounds like he'd been. College has pretty much been a time to be slack for me