Today, Quinn and Colby were again complaining about the 3rd grade, and I asked them about next year - who the teacher was, what they've heard. That got me reminiscing about my own 4th grade. Like it takes alot to get me reminiscing these days.....
Mom: "I LOVED the 4th grade. We learned such cool things. We did musicals, and wrote and performed our own puppet shows, and learned grammer through writing a monthly newspaper. When someone in class had an argument with someone else, we would have mock trials during recess, where the teacher was the judge, and we had to present our cases in front of a jury of our peers. I learned etymology and some beginning Latin, that I still use to this day. It was so fun in the 4th grade."
Quinn: "UHHHHH, Mom. This is the 21st Century. Times have changed."
That made me laugh. Like I went to school a bazillion years ago. But I think he's also right. I had very hands-on learning experiences, with extremely gifted and creative teachers that I kept in touch with for years after. I don't think there's TIME or RESOURCES for teachers to teach that way necessarily anymore. Certainly not on a daily basis. My boys bring home a LOT of dittos every day, and I realize that thier learning is alot of paperwork. Which they generally hate. Makes me sad, because I remember how much joy of learning there was in the 4th grade, and I'm not so sure all our efforts to make education better have actually WORKED. Or maybe it's that kids are more used to being entertained in this day and age, and the "sit down and get it done" approach grates on them. Probably some of both, I imagine.
((sigh)). Inspiring the children's imagination, creativity, and love of learning seems to be a job I'm failing as a mother at the moment. We'll have to work on that, sooner rather than later.
