Hey...Teacher...leave those projects at school!!!

[Snap Crackle Pop]

You sound so bitter, you aren't really venting because you keep coming back trying to prove your point and then you try to add more drama (about the science project) so you can get more people on your side. You put yourself in this situation, no one else did. The school does not need to bend to how you feel things should be run, if you want to be in charge of school projects and dictate how things are run go get a teaching credential and become a teacher.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Teachers assign group projects so students learn to work together and take on different roles. There is more to it than completing the project assigned, it teaches responsibility, getting along with others you might not normally work with, etc.

We have probably all been in a group or had kids in groups where people didn't pull their weight.

Kids do so much these days with school and outside activities etc. Parents need to put the focus back on education, because like it or not most of our kids aren't going to be professional athletes or play college level sports. Whether they go to college or trade school education is more important than outside activities. It seems now parents like the attention of my kid does XYZ after school and is better than yours. Posts on FB and social media of snowflakes scoring in football, soccer, dance recitals, etc

Where is the time for school which they need even if they choose just a high school diploma. Parents need to set the boundaries and respect the teachers assignment. There are so many budget cuts of course there is going to be outside costs for something. Most schools will work with families with financial issues who can't buy supplies. It is sad to see a parent who is making excuses for why child can't do another group project because of sports, complaining about wasting their time and money, saying they are going to tell teacher no more group projects. Maybe instead of posting on social media going to the store and getting the items, maybe telling the child you are missing soccer because of school project is better than we can't participate because of soccer.

Teachers do remember difficult parents and that reputation will go forward with the child and be remembered for any other siblings '

 

[DanceswithDisney]

You put yourself in this situation, no one else did.

No the teachers who assign stupid work at home projects that require a parent to take time to shop and spend money are the ones who do

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

No the teachers who assign stupid work at home projects that require a parent to take time to shop and spend money are the ones who do

No, still you put yourself in this situation. Being a parent is time consuming, having to do school work is just a fact of life at this moment in time. Once she is done with high school you won't have to worry about this again.

 

[roseaster]

I have always said that the DIS is an alternate universe when it comes to kids and their academic ability.

We need to be realistic that some children are just academically unable to master the coursework of a college preparatory course.

Sometimes it is better for a child to focus on something other than academics to preserve their self esteem. Personally, I would think it would be better for the child to move them to a course level where they were able to manage the course work, rather than have them struggle in a course that is above their ability.

 

[jevs]

*yawn*

I just woke up,what have I missed in here? The short form...

Is ikea having a run out sale on sopapillas?

 

[Hikergirl]

Hahahaha!!!!!! So TRUE! What is it with soccer kids and parents doing this? Just tell the kids to eat before they come, and give them their orange in the car on the way home!

My DS10 played one season of soccer, just to try it (he plays another sport seriously) and he could never wrap his mind around the whole "halftime snack" thing. LOL He was expecting to take a knee and listen to the coach go over the first half and strategy for the 2nd half, not grab a orange slice and go back to mom and dad for 10 minutes.

Our players get oranges at halftime. They spend 30 minutes running up and down a full field in sometimes 90 degree weather. Nobody goes back and sits with mom and dad, the kids grab an orange, take a knee and listen to the coaches. Its not really a big deal.

 

[chelynnah]

I have always said that the DIS is an alternate universe when it comes to kids and their academic ability.

We need to be realistic that some children are just academically able to master the coursework of a college preparatory course.

Sometimes it is better for a child to focus on something other than academics to preserve their self esteem. Personally, I would think it would be better for the child to move them to a course level where they were able to manage the course work, rather than have them struggle in a course that is above their ability.

But in this case it doesn't appear to be the child who's struggling. It's the parent and her unrealistic expectations of a system that has always worked the way it does, but feels,it shouldn't because it's inconvenient to her.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Nope. as evidenced by many posts at the beginning of this thread. There are others who agree. The teachers set this up.

Is that the only thing you can focus on? So if you had started a thread that stated the earth was flat not round and a few people agreed with you but others didn't you'd scream at the top of your lungs "I AM RIGHT CAUSE IN THE BEGINNING THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT AGREED WITH ME!!"

 

[roseaster]

But in this case it doesn't appear to be the child who's struggling. It's the parent and her unrealistic expectations of a system that has always worked the way it does, but feels,it shouldn't because it's inconvenient to her.

You see it that way. I see it as a child that is struggling to complete independent academic course work. The mother, herself, says that the child's work needs to be done in school with the help and supervision of the teacher.

Most children in college preparatory level courses and above are able to complete the required independent coursework. Some may struggle more and need to devote more time, but like you have said, this is the norm and has been for a long time. (I'm 46 I remember doing projects from the 3rd grade on, my husband is older and not raised in the US and he did them, too)

This child seems to be struggling to complete the work that is pretty much accepted as the norm among other children in her grade level, many of whom, I am sure, are also involved in extra curricular activities. It sounds as if she needs a course level that is more commensurate with her academic ability.

 

[Vijoge]

I don't eat sofa pillows either. No flavor and too much stuffing.

My dog ate two sofa pillows but he didn't care for the foam filling. He says he prefers the bed pillows as the feathers still have a faint taste of chicken. He does like quac, tho, and would probably kill for an enchilada.

 

[Vijoge]

My daughters teachers have always given out free homework passes or extra points on a test for any kid that would bring in a box of tissues- I said I would sent in a whole case for a weeks worth of homework passes but they were limited to 3!



I HATED all those homework projects the teachers would send home- I REALLY hated when my daughter would say "the teacher said to work on this with a parent" and it was due the next day--- she gets home at 3:30 and at the time I was working 4-12 so there was no parent home to do it with her and grandma was not able to do most of it so it really was a hardship!! Those stupid dioramas that ended up costing 50.00 by the I finished buying supplies and finding a friend or family member that had a old shoebox laying around! The worst was the science fair- I was SO happy when they stopped doing that yearly nightmare! By the time we had done of them I just resorted to using my neighbors old science fair projects to save us the misery of it- I passed those down to my friends daughter that was in a different grade school too!
And there is no way a stupid cooking project would trump any extracurricular as far as I am concerned- it has nothing to do with speaking Spanish.

My DGD does this, too. But the teachers give her plenty of notice and she then chooses to ignore the assignment until the night before it's due.

 

[Vijoge]

Cooking projects have nothing to do with learning a language. The assignment could have been to cook something for your own family from a "fill in the blank language" speaking country and then do a report with the recipes and photos to share with the class. I think it is absurd that a single child has to bring an appetizer, entrée and dessert and to bring enough to feed a class of 30. Not only is it an unnecessary financial burden, it is likely a big waste of food. What was the teacher planning to do with all of the leftovers? How was the teacher going to deal with food allergies?

The DD in question didn't have to. She chose to do this by not joining a group.

 

[Vijoge]

Then where have you been for the past 50+ years, because school projects outside of class have been part of the curriculum since I was in grade school and I'm 49 years old. Where did they say there WOULDN'T be projects outside of school.

I'm 66 and still remember some of my projects from grade school. We made dioramas, topographical maps, and these adorable Easter egg cars where we made the car out of egg cartons and put in little Easter egg people, just to name a few.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Not worth points so just a smiley face! Deleted my comment

 

[piccolopat]

The DD in question didn't have to. She chose to do this by not joining a group.

Although you are correct, would you say the same thing if she tried to join a group but no one let her join? What if she tried to form a group from the 5 others not already in a group but none of them were interested? I think the teacher should have assigned each child one item regardless of whether they were in a group or not.

 

[DanceswithDisney]

The DD in question didn't have to. She chose to do this by not joining a group.

This not true. The kid felt soccer practice would interfere and by the time a chance could be made all groups were formed. Other kids did not have the ability to join groups. We found it unfair that the teacher made those kids make all three dishes.

I apologize if so many you have an issue with me venting.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

This not true. The kid felt soccer practice would interfere and by the time a chance could be made all groups were formed. Other kids did not have the ability to join groups. We found it unfair that the teacher made those kids make all three dishes.

I apologize if so many you have an issue with me venting.

No, they absolutely had to make all three entrees because had the teacher made an exception for those who weren't in groups those that were in groups would have found it unfair that they had to do less work. Your daughter chose not to be in a group it really isn't that hard to manage time, if my friends who used to do 30+ hours of dance a week, and were on the dance/drama team were able to manage their time I don't see why others can't. If one can't manage time, and schoolwork is suffering due to their sport, scaling back is a good option.

 

[chelynnah]

This not true. The kid felt soccer practice would interfere and by the time a chance could be made all groups were formed. Other kids did not have the ability to join groups. We found it unfair that the teacher made those kids make all three dishes.

I apologize if so many you have an issue with me venting.

I do agree with you that it's way OTT that the teacher insisted single students had to make all 3 dishes. Teacher should have assigned groups, or ensured everyone was in one. If not, then assign a single dish.

However I don't agree that out of school projects are wrong or unfair. They have been required from as far back as I remember, today's kids, my own childhood, my parents childhood... We all had at home, out of school projects that required us (via our parents) to purchase supplies, and create something. Science, home-ec, social studies, history, music, languages... Any and sometimes all of them required it.

I remember sitting at a friend's place of employment in high school to work on a debate project, because that was the only time we could get together with her schedule. We made it work. And I had activities 3-4 shool nights per week. It was expected of us, and we did it. End of. And we didn't have internet, and FaceTime, and social media. We had to get our parents to take us to the library to research. We made it work because it had to. It was expected and no one thought twice. And I had two full time working parents (one working 100+ hours a week) and two much younger siblings that had to be carted round as well

I guess what people aren't getting is why this is such a big deal and how you didn't know this is something that's expected as its been going on for over half a century at least.

 

[mom2rtk]

OP, if you think it's hard juggling school and extracurriculars for one kid, try doing it with 3! Yet people do it every day (some with even more).

Sometimes life requires that you just suck it up and do it. I'm glad you did it, but I really think you're not setting a good example for your daughter by treating the entire process with such disdain.