This is just WRONG! Big vent

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

One of my favorite parts of the public library's summer program is the prizes/incentives. DS can see exactly what is available for each level, and he can read to achieve those goals. At first the prizes are small - a pencil, a bookmark, a free Icee coupon. But as the kids accrue more time they get things like theater tickets, T-shirts, books, etc. They are entered in drawings to win computers. DS can look and see which prize he wants to work towards. He loves to go turn in his minutes and collect his prizes. He feels in control and he has choices.

Being told he MUST read a certain book and MUST complete workbook pages and so on isn't going to motivate him, it is going to challenge him to come up with as many avoidance tactics as he can think of! And he already has quite the arsenal of avoidance tactics!

 

[allison443]

What does paying for summer camp have to do with reading in the summer?

I just meant that since you mentioned you travel for seven weeks your child wouldn't be able to do the work...most people don't travel for seven weeks in the summer...on that other thread it seemed most kids go to local day camps, church programs, Ymca, etc. That's all!

 

[kdibattista]

There is no school requirment. The OP said it was the PTA that has this. I would simply tell my DD that we are not doing something simply because the PTA decided it was good for them. If the school itself would require it I would try to get it changed. If not then it would be time to homeschool DD as there is no way the school or anyone else is going to interfere with my child's down time. As it is our school does have a volunteer math and reading proram over the summer. DD joined both as she loves the prizes that come with it. But that is just it. Her choice. That makes it fun for her. She is in 1st grade reading on 4th grade level and math at 3rd grade level. She is a chronic overachiever. Everything that goes on in school now, even on a volunteer level, this kid joins! I put a stop to mandatory anything from a public school in the summer.

Your example said the "school", not the PTA. So you would pull your child out because she would be required to read one book and do some work associated with it because it would interfer with your 7 week vacation?

 

[Wishing on a star]

Oh, you are just loving this thread aren't you?

This kind of thing absolutely makes my blood boil.

Ummmmm, makes your blood boil?????
Parents wanting their kids to have an actual break between school years makes your blood boil????

Good Lord, that is sad....

I feel for ya.

If you want to make your kid read 10 books and do 10 math workbooks over the summer, then, hey, have at it. I could not care less. My blood would not be close to boiling.

Your blood is boiling because I don't want others to place these demands on me and my child????

TAKE A PILL!!!

 

[auntpolly]

I'm one of those parents who always argued against year round school, so appreciate somewhat some of your positions, but on the other hand, you have to pick your battles.

Is this really such a big deal? I still say, make the best of it. I bet you could have a lot of fun doing it with your child. You could read the book too. It isn't War and Peace is it?

 

[kdibattista]

One of my favorite parts of the public library's summer program is the prizes/incentives. DS can see exactly what is available for each level, and he can read to achieve those goals. At first the prizes are small - a pencil, a bookmark, a free Icee coupon. But as the kids accrue more time they get things like theater tickets, T-shirts, books, etc. They are entered in drawings to win computers. DS can look and see which prize he wants to work towards. He loves to go turn in his minutes and collect his prizes. He feels in control and he has choices.

Being told he MUST read a certain book and MUST complete workbook pages and so on isn't going to motivate him, it is going to challenge him to come up with as many avoidance tactics as he can think of! And he already has quite the arsenal of avoidance tactics!

I understand that you know your child best but what does that teach him when he "MUST" do so and so for work when he gets older? I just think life sometimes isn't fair and sometimes we "have" to do things we don't want to do but that's life.

I do hope everything works out in the best interest of your son

 

[CheshireVal]

No, actually, you and your constant school-bashing makes my blood boil, if you want to know the truth. It would be different if you could ever even meet anyone halfway about any school-related issue, but the fact that you think that teachers and schools should not be able to impose any rules or homework upon any children, EVER, is pretty extreme.

As for the current issue, I admittedly come from an overeducated, over-achieving academic family. I cannot imagine my parents ever pitching a fit over homework issues or summer reading requirements. (Though they did take me out of school for Disney once or twice!)

 

[Wishing on a star]

Sorry, but I have NEVER said that I am against homework, or rules. Never.

I pick my battles!!!

 

[va32h]

One of my favorite parts of the public library's summer program is the prizes/incentives.

Actually offering incentives to do something devalues the activity. "Oh reading must really be boring, if they have to bribe me to do it with stickers and pencils".

Countless psychological studies have shown that when people are rewarded for a certain task they 1)perform worse on the task and 2)dislike the task substiantially more than people who were asked to perform the same task, but offered no reward.

Punished by Rewards is an excellent book by Alfie Kohn that details hundreds of these studies.

 

[DaisyD]

Your example said the "school", not the PTA. So you would pull your child out because she would be required to read one book and do some work associated with it because it would interfer with your 7 week vacation?

If the school itself does something that goes against my philosophy then yes, I would pull my child out of that school. I would either find a private school that shares my feelings or homeschool. You said yourself that you have no children yet. Wait til you do before judging others. I have two kids in college and one in first grade so I can only go by my own experiences raising my own children. We all do things differently. Whether we travel all summer or not I would still be against a mandatory anything from a public school.

 

[DaisyD]

No, actually, you and your constant school-bashing makes my blood boil, if you want to know the truth. It would be different if you could ever even meet anyone halfway about any school-related issue, but the fact that you think that teachers and schools should not be able to impose any rules or homework upon any children, EVER, is pretty extreme.

As for the current issue, I admittedly come from an overeducated, over-achieving academic family. I cannot imagine my parents ever pitching a fit over homework issues or summer reading requirements. (Though they did take me out of school for Disney once or twice!)

So what kind of experiences can you share with us that you have gone through with your own children?

 

[kdibattista]

If the school itself does something that goes against my philosophy then yes, I would pull my child out of that school. I would either find a private school that shares my feelings or homeschool. You said yourself that you have no children yet. Wait til you do before judging others. I have two kids in college and one in first grade so I can only go by my own experiences raising my own children. We all do things differently. Whether we travel all summer or not I would still be against a mandatory anything from a public school.

I never judged anyone

 

[Crankyshank]

Honestly? I think it's kind of pointless to get so upset about something until you have all of the information. Before you work yourself up beyond reason, take a few deep breaths, call the school/school board/PTA and find out the whole story.

Once you have all of the information then make a plan or raise hell or whatever.
I personally don't have an issue with summer homework. It is entirely feasible to enjoy your summer and do work while not being stressed out. It depends on how you approach it.
I don't recall a summer or a vacation where I didn't have homework and reading. It saved the teacher from having 2 months of catch up to get us back to where we were before summer vacation. I do have an issue with not being able to choose what you read - I always had a choice between a few books on a list provided. Although in high school I wouldn't necessarily say I had a choice - i had to pick 6 books to read out of a list of 7 or 8.

 

[auntpolly]

Oh, I love these DIS "You don't have kids so you don't know" fights!

Sometimes parents, including me, needs a fresh perspective on something they are too close too -- it's good for us. No one has a gun to your head and is forcing you to listen, but it really wouldn't kill you to hear an opinion that everyone here has the right to have!!!

 

[ryka]

One of my favorite parts of the public library's summer program is the prizes/incentives. DS can see exactly what is available for each level, and he can read to achieve those goals. At first the prizes are small - a pencil, a bookmark, a free Icee coupon. But as the kids accrue more time they get things like theater tickets, T-shirts, books, etc. They are entered in drawings to win computers. DS can look and see which prize he wants to work towards. He loves to go turn in his minutes and collect his prizes. He feels in control and he has choices.

My son's school works on the point system. He goes to a school that is just for kids with things like ADHD and ODD. The public schools here are able to handle or have the resources for ADHD children. I love this school. He gets good grades. He gets therapy in school 2 times a week and he loves the point system. It is very structured and I have seen a big improvement.

 

[Crankyshank]

oh so if you don't have kids you shouldn't have an opinion?
because those without children have never been to school themselves or *gasp* work in education?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Life IS full of "musts", and we do have to choose our battles.

If the workbook is easy (the minimum requirements for grade level so that the low performing kids can complete it) then it equates to being busy work. If it is challenging then we face the issue of DS spending hours on the work. I guess at that point we would only have him do the "odd" or "even" numbers as allowed by his modifications. Without having the workbook to look at there is no way to determine what approach we need to take.

We can go round and round all day about teaching our kids to be responsible. We took him out of school for Dsiney - that debate rages around the boards every other day. This is going to be the same sort of thing - fighting against mandatory summer work teaches kids to shirk responsibility OR it teaches them to stand up for themselves and defend their right to time off.

I'm not saying I want him to do nothing all summer, but he doesn't need the stress of a 10 week packet.

I'm a professional nanny to 2 preschoolers. When I go on vacation my boss doesn't hand one of the children to me and tell me to take him along, because it is less of a workload than I usually have. (Even though she might be tempted, she respects my right to time off. ) I would prefer to make the decision about how much academic work DS needs to complete while he is on "vacation".

 

[C.Ann]

Interesting thread.. I'm older than some of you here (old enough to be a "Grandma") and when I was a child, summer vacation was just that - a "vacation" - nothing required other than having a nice ten-week break..

When my children were kids, their summer vacation was a "vacation" as well.. I always encouraged reading (because I LOVE to read) but never "demanaded" it or made it a "requirement" over the summer months.. Books were available and on rainy days they would often read on their own.. However, my children had very "busy" summers - experiencing things they normally wouldn't in a classroom during the school year.. The day after school ended, we would take them up to the lake in the mountains and we wouldn't return until the day before school started in September.. Aside from rainy days, EVERY day was spent down on the beach from 9 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon (unless we had a day trip planned to somewhere else).. My kids would spend the day swimming; building sand castles; bird watching; catching minnows to use as live bait; fishing; rowing the row boat; catching frogs; collecting interesting stones; taking long walks with me along the shoreline; and breathing in all of that wonderful, clean, fresh mountain air.. After dinner we would play board games; card games; color; make shadow puppets on the wall; work on crafts; or just talk to one another.. On the weekends - when my DH would come up from the city - there would be campfires; ghost stories; sing-a-longs; marshmallow roasts; and the occasional wildlife sighting - which would spark off a wonderful conversation about why certain animals came out at night, what their eating and sleeping habits were, etc..

Don't ask me how, but both I and my children managed to grow up; get an education; and become functioning employable adults without the interference of the school district or "mandated" summer assignments.. There is much to be learned in the world "outside" of school and not everything you need in life can be found in a book... During my lifetime I have met adults who have spent years "studying" this or that in books and classrooms - yet they don't have enough common sense to come in out of the rain..

If I were the OP, I would be annoyed too - and my voice would be heard loud and clear.. Education is important - but not all of it is acquired in the classroom or in a book.. Kids need to learn "real life" experiences too - and "summer" is the perfect time for that..

 

[auntpolly]

Life IS full of "musts", and we do have to choose our battles.

If the workbook is easy (the minimum requirements for grade level so that the low performing kids can complete it) then it equates to being busy work. If it is challenging then we face the issue of DS spending hours on the work. I guess at that point we would only have him do the "odd" or "even" numbers as allowed by his modifications. Without having the workbook to look at there is no way to determine what approach we need to take.

We can go round and round all day about teaching our kids to be responsible. We took him out of school for Dsiney - that debate rages around the boards every other day. This is going to be the same sort of thing - fighting against mandatory summer work teaches kids to shirk responsibility OR it teaches them to stand up for themselves and defend their right to time off.

I'm not saying I want him to do nothing all summer, but he doesn't need the stress of a 10 week packet.

I'm a professional nanny to 2 preschoolers. When I go on vacation my boss doesn't hand one of the children to me and tell me to take him along, because it is less of a workload than I usually have. (Even though she might be tempted, she respects my right to time off. ) I would prefer to make the decision about how much academic work DS needs to complete while he is on "vacation".

I think you have every right to start a dialogue with the school. It will be very telling how they handle your concerns. WHo knows, maybe you will be convinced that they are right. But if they refuse to listen and act like a bunch of know-it-all knobs -- then I'd be mad. Then you can start fighting.

 

[DVC Sadie]

That was my assumption as well.

Leave it to the teachers to use this as a chance to make more demands on parents, and to control our time outside of school. I mean, hey, it has to be 'academics' 24/7, right. And, us lowly parents are not capable of caring for our children and being busy with worthwhile activities during our precious time off.

Wow, this post sounds so angry. Most all of the teachers I have ever met only wanted the children to succeed and to do the best of their abilities. Teachers get all of the aggrevation with very little credit.