Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2013 10:46:24 GMT -5
I know many of you are teachers and some of you have children who are in or have been through middle school. DD started middle school this week and at the orientation, we were given her schedule. She goes to English(ELA) twice daily for 50 minutes each time. Slightly more than half of the 6 th graders have this schedule, because the school needed to add a teacher to keep the class sizes down. There are now 9 6th grade classes.
It just seems so odd to me. I always read that we need to focus on math and science, but now dd will be spending 100 minutes a day in English and 50 minutes a day in Math. The Math teacher even said that he will be sending home more homework because the class time was shortened to accommodate the added class and they still have to meet the common core standards. Both English teachers also said they will be sending home homework.
Is this a normal thing? I have been out of middle school a pretty long time and my school wasn't nearly as large as DD's. The last thing I would want is for her to sit in ELA for 100 minutes a day and then sit at home doing more homework in that subject. It just seems like overkill.
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Abby Normal
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Post by Abby Normal on Aug 28, 2013 10:58:34 GMT -5
6 the grade is in middle school here as well. My son is just entering. He has two periods of math and two periods of english. His other classes rotate. It changes to the more standard format when they are in 7th grade (one period for each class). I have to keep reminding myself that it is still elementary school level, it's just in the middle school building.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Aug 28, 2013 11:01:51 GMT -5
I don't remember the exact times but I think my daughter had 80 minutes a day for language arts and about the same for math and science combined. She still had no problem with algebra 1 in 8th grade. I guess if I had to pick I would prefer kids who can read and write well to ones who are great at math and science in middle school. If someone graduates with horrible math skills but can comunicate well both oral and written they can go pretty far in life even if they do need a calculator for everything. What the heck is someone who is great at math, or scienc, but can't read, write, or speak coherantly supposed to do in life? I know I don't want to work with them.
Is it so much to ask for math and scientists to be able to read and write in coherant English?
I am assuming the math and science people are from this country and speak English as their language.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Aug 28, 2013 11:10:17 GMT -5
I agree with beachbum. Considering there are grown adults who have English as their first language and don't know the difference between two, to, and too or their and there, I wouldn't mind having a little more focus on language arts. I am not saying math and science is not important, but I am slightly tired of hearing HOW important it is ALL the time.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2013 11:21:16 GMT -5
I agree with beachbum. Considering there are grown adults who have English as their first language and don't know the difference between two, to, and too or their and there, I wouldn't mind having a little more focus on language arts. I am not saying math and science is not important, but I am slightly tired of hearing HOW important it is ALL the time. I look at math as being harder to correct, if she gets lost. If the foundation isn't strong, she may give up and assume she "just isn't good at Math." English always felt like a rehash of the same stuff. If I didn't get how to cite sources one year, it didn't matter too much because it would be explained again the next.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Aug 28, 2013 11:55:34 GMT -5
I agree with beachbum. Considering there are grown adults who have English as their first language and don't know the difference between two, to, and too or their and there, I wouldn't mind having a little more focus on language arts. I am not saying math and science is not important, but I am slightly tired of hearing HOW important it is ALL the time. Add posters here who consistently don't understand lose vs. loose.
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formerroomate99
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Post by formerroomate99 on Aug 28, 2013 11:57:01 GMT -5
English teachers are probably easier to find and cheaper than math teachers. And let's fact it, being able to communicate, especially in writing is vitally important for nearly everyone, while not everyone has jobs that use algebra.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2013 12:36:33 GMT -5
I don't like the fact that this decision is driven by what's best for the school administration. Heck, why couldn't they bring on an English teacher part-time instead of hiring FT and then having to push kids into extra English classes?
It's too early to panic, though. I really didn't like Math at that age, but got a solid grounding in English and grammar before I got into HS and discovered Algebra and Geometry. I even learned to diagram sentences. My job is analytical and my staff gently pokes fun at me because I pick out all the minor grammar and spelling errors in their work during peer review, but they know it's important. No matter how rigorous your analysis, you can lose credibility if you make grammatical or spelling errors and the client notices it.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Aug 28, 2013 12:40:45 GMT -5
What the heck is someone who is great at math, or scienc, but can't read, write, or speak coherantly supposed to do in life?
Become a professor and make your graduate students write your papers for you. That's my plan. Okay on a serious note while I have to be at least halfway decent at math I have software nowadays that does the majority of the heavy lifting. My job is to take those numbers and interpret them. So being able to read and write coherently is vital. It doesn't matter how fast I can get the answer if I can't tell anybody what it means.
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Aug 28, 2013 13:02:25 GMT -5
I don't remember the exact times but I think my daughter had 80 minutes a day for language arts and about the same for math and science combined. She still had no problem with algebra 1 in 8th grade. I guess if I had to pick I would prefer kids who can read and write well to ones who are great at math and science in middle school. If someone graduates with horrible math skills but can comunicate well both oral and written they can go pretty far in life even if they do need a calculator for everything. What the heck is someone who is great at math, or scienc, but can't read, write, or speak coherantly supposed to do in life? I know I don't want to work with them. Is it so much to ask for math and scientists to be able to read and write in coherant English? I am assuming the math and science people are from this country and speak English as their language. I disagree. I don't have horrendous grammar but it isn't the best. My old secretary had a degree in English . She had perfect grammar and would make small changes as needed to something I gave her to type up. Lets say I would take my salary over hers any day of the week. And algebra is about concepts not using a calculator. If you don't understand the concepts, a calculator will not help you.
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Aug 28, 2013 13:04:31 GMT -5
I agree with beachbum. Considering there are grown adults who have English as their first language and don't know the difference between two, to, and too or their and there, I wouldn't mind having a little more focus on language arts. I am not saying math and science is not important, but I am slightly tired of hearing HOW important it is ALL the time. Add posters here who consistently don't understand lose vs. loose. Is it that they don't understand it if is it that they are typing quickly and aren't proofing a message on a message board like they would professional correspondence? I type quick replies, usually on my iPhone...I don't go out of my way to make sure there are no on ions errors.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2013 13:42:42 GMT -5
Add posters here who consistently don't understand lose vs. loose. I was just about to bring this up. I believe I've actually posted the definition here of these two words since it's been misused so much here as well.
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Aug 28, 2013 13:47:55 GMT -5
You forgot 'your' and 'you're'.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Aug 28, 2013 14:08:39 GMT -5
Than and then
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Aug 28, 2013 14:14:46 GMT -5
Did we mention 'here' and 'hear'?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2013 14:28:58 GMT -5
I agree that a certain level proficiency in writing must be met. A person needs to be able to effectively communicate. But how much time does she really need to achieve that level? She will have English every year from now until she graduates and then she will have several courses in college. Plus it is reinforced in all the classes that require papers. She would have to be willfully trying not to learn how to write to still not know the difference between than and then.
From everything I am hearing from the school, it sounds like the 2 ELA classes have nothing to do with her education and everything to do with supporting the staffs schedule and keeping costs down. I actually understand that. I just wanted to know how common it was and whether other parents would have a problem with it.
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milee
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Post by milee on Aug 28, 2013 14:31:34 GMT -5
Add "break" and "brake" to the list.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Aug 28, 2013 14:32:49 GMT -5
Without getting snarky, are the folks posting to this thread making grammatical and spelling errors on purpose? If so, I really appreciate your dry humor. If not
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Aug 28, 2013 14:37:00 GMT -5
I don't remember the exact times but I think my daughter had 80 minutes a day for language arts and about the same for math and science combined. She still had no problem with algebra 1 in 8th grade. I guess if I had to pick I would prefer kids who can read and write well to ones who are great at math and science in middle school. If someone graduates with horrible math skills but can comunicate well both oral and written they can go pretty far in life even if they do need a calculator for everything. What the heck is someone who is great at math, or scienc, but can't read, write, or speak coherantly supposed to do in life? I know I don't want to work with them. Is it so much to ask for math and scientists to be able to read and write in coherant English? I am assuming the math and science people are from this country and speak English as their language. I disagree. I don't have horrendous grammar but it isn't the best. My old secretary had a degree in English . She had perfect grammar and would make small changes as needed to something I gave her to type up. Lets say I would take my salary over hers any day of the week. And algebra is about concepts not using a calculator. If you don't understand the concepts, a calculator will not help you. First of all i don't consider algebra higher math. That said I know lots of people who do use higher math and almost none of them have a secretary. They do on the other have really nice graphing calculators. The vast majority of people will need neither a fancy calculator to solve their diferential equations nor a secratary to type their reports. The vast majority are simply going to need to be able to read and write effectively enough to do their job. This isn't about getting rid of math in middle school, just not pretending that they need to know how to solve a fourth order differential equation before they graduate HS.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Aug 28, 2013 14:41:50 GMT -5
I just wanted to know how common it was and whether other parents would have a problem with it.
Not really to be honest unless there was a trend showing the schools are falling behind due to this schedule set up. It's not like they eliminated math and science all together, they still get an hour each day.
DH and I are in math/science heavy fields so we can easily bridge any small gaps with tutoring from us.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Aug 28, 2013 14:43:29 GMT -5
I can't remember not having an English class and a Literature class (or reading, in lower grade levels), so it must have been a thing all the way through my school years. So, technically, this isn't the 1st school spending twice as much time on one subject than any other.
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Aug 28, 2013 14:49:04 GMT -5
Peak and peek. I actually saw this in an article about the new school being built. The writer was giving us a 'peak' at it.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Aug 28, 2013 14:55:37 GMT -5
Peak and peek. I actually saw this in an article about the new school being built. The writer was giving us a 'peak' at it. Wow, that is pretty bad when a writer doesn't get it right. Oh, there's another one - right and write.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Aug 28, 2013 14:56:06 GMT -5
Add posters here who consistently don't understand lose vs. loose. Is it that they don't understand it if is it that they are typing quickly and aren't proofing a message on a message board like they would professional correspondence? I type quick replies, usually on my iPhone...I don't go out of my way to make sure there are no on ions errors. It's too consistent to be a cell phone/fat finger snafu.
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Aug 28, 2013 14:58:35 GMT -5
Now that we have discussed homonyms, let's proceed to grammar.
"I seen a red car go down the road".
Oh yeah, rode and road.
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Aug 28, 2013 15:11:03 GMT -5
Is it that they don't understand it if is it that they are typing quickly and aren't proofing a message on a message board like they would professional correspondence? I type quick replies, usually on my iPhone...I don't go out of my way to make sure there are no on ions errors. It's too consistent to be a cell phone/fat finger snafu. Or it could just be an error due to people typing quickly...I don't proof my posts that well because it is just a message board
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Aug 28, 2013 15:12:30 GMT -5
I disagree. I don't have horrendous grammar but it isn't the best. My old secretary had a degree in English . She had perfect grammar and would make small changes as needed to something I gave her to type up. Lets say I would take my salary over hers any day of the week. And algebra is about concepts not using a calculator. If you don't understand the concepts, a calculator will not help you. First of all i don't consider algebra higher math. That said I know lots of people who do use higher math and almost none of them have a secretary. They do on the other have really nice graphing calculators. The vast majority of people will need neither a fancy calculator to solve their diferential equations nor a secratary to type their reports. The vast majority are simply going to need to be able to read and write effectively enough to do their job. This isn't about getting rid of math in middle school, just not pretending that they need to know how to solve a fourth order differential equation before they graduate HS. You realize she was talking about middle school, right? How high level do you expect in middle school?
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Aug 28, 2013 15:13:19 GMT -5
it's and its.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Aug 28, 2013 15:21:07 GMT -5
First of all i don't consider algebra higher math. That said I know lots of people who do use higher math and almost none of them have a secretary. They do on the other have really nice graphing calculators. The vast majority of people will need neither a fancy calculator to solve their diferential equations nor a secratary to type their reports. The vast majority are simply going to need to be able to read and write effectively enough to do their job. This isn't about getting rid of math in middle school, just not pretending that they need to know how to solve a fourth order differential equation before they graduate HS. You realize she was talking about middle school, right? How high level do you expect in middle school? Which is what I said. They only need to be ready to start algebra in 9th grade. They don't need to be done with it in middle school. Have you been posting without reading the posts again?
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Aug 28, 2013 15:23:48 GMT -5
You realize she was talking about middle school, right? How high level do you expect in middle school? Which is what I said. They only need to be ready to start algebra in 9th grade. They don't need to be done with it in middle school. Have you been posting without reading the posts again? Actually you said 8th grade...which is still middle school (middle school here goes from 6th through 8th)...and I still disagree.
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