More and more parents are discovering that their children are not learning much in terms of academics. What can parents do about that?
The excuse has been used that teachers are to make their lessons meaningful to children. While that may sound good, some of this involves the students answering all kinds of questions about themselves. They are more focused on self-reflection than any kind of meaningful learning in the core subjects.
Core Knowledge developed a scope and sequence on all subjects for grades k-8. You can go here to download the 2010 sequence. (SAVE THIS). You can then ask your kids to highlight what they learned so you can see what they are not learning in class.
Ask the teacher to highlight what they will be covering throughout the year. If there is content that they will not cover, it’s time to start asking why.
This is the time to engage the teacher and principal in an effort to refocus the classroom on learning academic content in the core subjects. If you run into resistance, take this all to the Superintendent and then to a public school board meeting. Engage other parents and show them how much content is not being taught.
The Core Knowledge Sequence can easily be incorporated into each grade level for free. The sequence is rich in academic content which will help your children acquire the knowledge they need.
Public education took a turn away from academics when government entities decided that your local public schools should be medical and mental health clinic. They also think they get to dabble in social engineering. So it’s up to parents and taxpayers to push back and remind them that YOU are the parent, and they are there to instruct your children on academics.
This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. All parents who care about public education need to come together before these schools completely self destruct.
The dumbing down of public education has consequences. Not only is this harming your children, it’s harming public education. The enrollments are dropping as parents discover they can find something better at a local private or religious school. Home-schooling has taken off across the country because parents realize that illiteracy is becoming a bigger problem among high school graduates.
This is one way to push back for quality academic outcomes, and to really support public education in New Hampshire.
