Our newest blog entry was written by Jessica Dean, and here is what she had to say about chapter 3:
In this chapter, Elkind discussed how children are being hurried along in school by such things as standardized testing, sexual education, and developmentally inappropriate curriculum. As I was reading this chapter, I realized how school can cause children to be hurried. There were many parts in this chapter where I agreed with Elkind, and I learned many things as well. I agreed with Elkind that our schools today put a lot of pressure and stress on children to attain high academic achievements. One of the ways that they test the academic achievements of students is through standardized testing. I feel this can burden children with stress and cause them to be uneasy. For this reason, I do not agree with standardized testing due to the fact that it may not give an accurate score or reflection of what a child has learned or allow them to demonstrate what they know. For many children, they’re not able to perform well on most of the tests given. They feel burdened with a lot of stresses from their teachers and parents to do well and score high. Children may also feel test anxiety which causes them to freeze in these types of situations.
One type of standardized testing that I feel puts a lot of stress on children is the Exit exam. This test is taken only by seniors in high school. The seniors have to take this exam before they can graduate. If the students do not pass the test, they do not receive their high school diploma. I feel that this test should not keep them from graduating high school. I believe that their GPA should be the reason they do not receive a diploma. One way the Exit exam could be beneficial is by showing the schools where the students are struggling and where the students are excelling. With these types of results, they can better the students’ education. For example, in the area where children had a harder time understanding, the schools could evaluate their curriculum and make adjustments or add new programs to jump start their understanding. When I took this exam in high school, I felt a lot of pressure and anxiety while preparing and finally taking the exam. My teachers spent two weeks preparing for this exam by doing practice tests and giving us advice on how we should take the exam. I felt that if I did not pass the test, I would let down my parents and teachers, and I would be embarrassed. I agree with Elkind that the information on these standardized tests is narrow. They only test children on a few areas rather than all the forms of intelligence.
One part that caught my attention in this chapter was the section that discussed how children are required to know all the numbers and letters in kindergarten before they are able to advance to the first grade. I do not agree with this since all children are in different developmental stages. In the book, it discussed how the younger children tend to have a harder time than the older children since they do not have the same mental capacity. I agree with Elkind that social skills are more important than academic skills when it comes to being successful in the first grade.
The chapter also discussed how parents put a lot of pressure on their children to do well academically. I have been in classrooms and have talked with many children, and I have noticed that this has caused stress for many children. They feel that if they do not get an A on a test, they have failed. I feel that it is not appropriate for parents to put this pressure on the children. To me, it feels like they damage their children’s confidence level instead of helping them. For example, one day I picked up my boss’s daughter from school and she told me that she was having a hard time in math. As we arrived back at the preschool, I noticed the pressure my boss put on her daughter to do better in math. I noticed the stress it left on my boss’s daughter because of her facial expressions and the way she carried herself. I think that parents need to realize that children develop differently and that all children have their strengths and weaknesses. They should realize when children have a weakness in a certain area in academics. Parents should be empathetic towards their child’s needs.
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Jessica, I completely agree that standardized testing is so stressful for children. A lot of the time these tests decide if a school will receive funding. Some people have even proposed that teachers get paid less if their students are not learning the standardized testing material. I think this is unfortunate. There are so many other skills that children learn, like you mentioned social skills, that are very important.
ReplyDeleteI thought that requiring children to know their alphabet and numbers in kindergarten seemed reasonable, until reading this chapter. I understand that children develop at different times and have different individual strengths and weaknesses. However, I had never really thought of the pressure we are putting on 5 year olds to know these skills. I had thought they were basic and children should be required to know these. Fortunately, after reading this chapter I have changed my mind. I have realized that the reason I see this as reasonable, is because our society has made this seem like it is reasonable, which is hurrying our children. Who in society has decided that at 5 years old children must know certain skills? Who is to say what must be accomplished and at what time? Why do these people have the authority to regulate something that should not be regulated? I do not think this is fair, not only for kindergarteners, but also for any standardized tests.
Some children may learn things at different rates, some may be really good at music, art, PE or science, but not so good at english or math. Isn't this what we want our society to be made of, individuals with their own strengths and weaknesses? I beleive this is crucial in having a well functioning society. Having people all good at the same "standardized" things will not create a society that knows how to think for itself. This will not encourage children to be creative or recognize and acknowledge that everyone is unique and different, which is an excellent thing!
Chapter 3 – The dynamics of Hurried Schools
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 16 we had a course in sex education and it was mostly about the drug of the time, during the late 1970s it was Angel Dust, and the effects it had on you and others. A sheriff came in and told us about kids who gouged their own eyes out and jumped in front of cars, the scare tactic I guess. We also got a counselor who told us about condoms and it was one size only, so the boys didn’t have to worry or brag and request a large size which brought about a lot of ‘embarrassed’ giggles from both the boys and girls.
Anyway, about a month ago my 12 year old (7th grade) daughter brought a permission form to me for a Health and family life course. The main objective of the course was sex education with an emphasis on teaching the importance of abstinence. It’s been four weeks now and I get to hear about their discussions in class about condoms, unsafe sex, HIV/Aids, and recently oral sex. According to my daughter the kids like to shock the teacher and ask questions about oral sex. I don’t understand the fascination with oral sex but I don’t think they really understand what it is, or maybe they do. I been getting surprised a lot lately about what my daughter and the other kids do know about. However, after this discussion with my daughter, I basically told her that whether it’s vaginally, anally, mentally, or orally … SEX is SEX. I think more out of frustration but I’ve just been bombarded with these questions and they sometimes get me a little flustered. I wish this didn’t have to happen at 12 but I understand that most of these kids, including mine, have been asking these questions since they were 10. I know the schools are hurried , but so are our kids.
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your entry about chapter 3 in the Hurried Child. I completely agree with you in terms of children becoming pressured by their parents and teachers to obtain a high academic standing in school. I also do not agree with the form of standardized testing in the school system, especially the High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). The exit exam does place a lot of pressure on the student to excel in order to graduate from high school. I agree that the student should have the right to graduate in terms of their grade point average and their academic standings. The exit exam places a lot of pressure on the student to pass the exam, and in most cases the school system only allows a few attempts to take the test.
I also agree with your comments about parents pressuring their children to do well academically. The pressure that they are placing on their children is keeping them from being a child. The stress they receive from their parents to be the best in the classroom is keeping them from creating social relationships and doing other activities such as play. One example of the hurried child I can think of at the top of my head, is the recent story about the young 13 year old boy that was signed to a verbal agreement with USC to play football after High School. The pressure the young boy is now feeling from the coaches at USC and the parents of this young child, is probably tremendous. Not only does he have to worry about playing well on the field, he now has to worry about doing well academically.
All of the pressures that children are receiving from their parents, teachers, and advisers to go to the best Ivy League schools and do well in the classroom is preventing children from doing things that a child should be doing. Their childhood should consist of memories, playing, and socializing. Their childhood should not be filled with the constant stress and pressure from their parents. I agree that parents need to be more empathetic to their child's needs. They also need to realize that every child is different and excels at different levels personally.
There are three girls in my family, and each of us excel at different things. My older sister is basically a genius and everything comes very naturally to her. She is a self-confessed bookworm and loves to read and learn new material. My younger sister has the most amazing photographic memory. She can remember almost anything by looking at it once. My family calls her the "human map!" I am more of a social butterfly and I excelled at sports. Every report card since I was in the 1st grade always said, "Lauren is very smart and can apply herself, if she would stop talking in class so much." Ultimately, we all excel at different aspects and we have different strengths and weaknesses. Just because one child excels in one area, does not mean the other child will excel or needs to excel in that area as well. Individual children need to find the areas that they are most comfortable in and receive praise rather than stress from their peers and caregivers.
I agree with all the commenter’s and Jessica in the fact that standardized testing does hurry children! I myself feel that I am a poor test taker in general. I hated taking tests because I would clench up and freeze. That would scare me because I would just rush through that test to get it over with and be done. Lots of kids did that same thing because they felt that the tests were useless and really didn’t measure much.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the commenter, who mentioned parents influence in education. I do believe that parents influence their child to succeed more in school these days. But I don’t believe it hurries them, because the fact that the world today is very competitive and if you don't have that competitive edge, you will have a tough time trying to work your way up in life. I had parents that pressured me in school but you know what? Even though at that time I hated it and just wanted to be alone, it helped me appreciate my studies a lot more.
I agree with you 100%
ReplyDeleteWhy should children have to take a standardized test when not everyone learns or processes things the same way? So, of course, when a child is given a test that is meant for every child to pass and they don’t pass, it is disappointing. “Standard” means that every child should be able to pass it based on the curriculum she has learned. No matter what grade they’re in, tests should be given to children based on their individual developmental level, rather than something standard. Setting children up for failure is not my idea of teaching or a confidence booster for them. Children should be able to walk away feeling good about taking a test, not stressed from what they didn’t know. When you think about all the schooling that children have to go through, starting with kindergarten all the way through college, children need to be started off right as far as tests go. Children need to feel success from everyone and everything, not stress and disappointment.
Jessica, your entry was definitely thought provoking. It addressed important aspects of what Elkind had to say. One thing that stood out to me was your feelings towards standardized testing. I also don’t agree with how they are implemented within the school systems, especially with the Bush administration’s “No Child Left Behind Act”. While the intentions of such testing are to implement the idea for children not to be left behind, they are, in fact, due to the rules and regulations of the act itself. Many teachers themselves disagree with the constraints of the act because it has turned their curriculum into synchronized teaching rather than accommodating the children and their needs. Not all children develop at the same rate and unfortunately, this act doesn’t allow for variation or a teacher’s personal touch.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, parents often expect too much from their children. Within today’s society, it is almost as if many parents expect the world from their children but are not willing to help their child in achieving the desired outcome. Parents should not make their children feel as they are “failures” or a disappointment due to their lack of achievements. They do not realize how damaging it can be with pressures and stress children are faced with.
Lal