Addison Road

9 Responses to ““lullaby for our times””

1. 1 Gretchen
   19 April 2008 at 9:56 pm

   oh it’s just so sad. And true.

2. 2 june
   20 April 2008 at 8:56 am

   Ok, the most frightening thing about this is that it was posted by and commented on by the blog’s two elementary school teachers!

   Sigh.

3. 3 sharolyn
   20 April 2008 at 1:08 pm

   This is the other extreme of rote learning. A succinct example: a child who knows that 2+3=5, but doesn’t know how to add. Thankfully, we at Addison Road have mastered the art of when each philosophy is called for. ;)

   After I posted this yesterday we went to a wedding. There, we ran into a public music teacher friend who just got laid off for the second time in her six-year career. :(

4. 4 michael lee
   21 April 2008 at 8:31 am

   awwww, my heart just broke in a couple places.

   The thought of sending my kids off to school in this kind of an environment gives me cold sweats. Gretchen (who would know much better than I) thinks that educational goals a cyclical, and that by the time our kids hit elementary school, there will again be an emphasis on arts and all that good stuff.

   I hope so, because there’s no way we can afford private school AND “Sushi Tuesdays”.

5. 5 Cerise
   21 April 2008 at 9:41 am

   Oh, well, then private school’s got to go. Sushi not negotiable. Darned Japanese…

   Michael and Gretchen, I don’t worry about YOUR kids one little bit. Music and discourse, among other things, I think will be a household staple, no? It’s the other kids in public education I’m concerned about.

6. 6 Gretchen
   21 April 2008 at 10:44 am

   I overheard two teachers ( I think Jr. High/High School) at the Getty on Friday, saying “Oh ANYONE can teach, it’s the classroom management that takes skill” . Now granted, yes, the classroom management creates the environment that will enhance or deter learning. But I like to think that there is some creativity in teaching (yes, even those suffering under NCLB) and a passion that drives those really excellent teachers through this dry cycle, who will last through to the pendulum swinging the other way back into whole learning with art, science, social studies,music, creative writing, pleasure reading, hands on activities, plays, discourse, observation, experimenting, problem solving, physical activity, computer skills, library time…ya know, all that is currently missing.

7. 7 sharolyn
   21 April 2008 at 1:11 pm

   To hopefully give some refreshing feedback, I feel so blessed to be in a district that is thriving; making a few cuts that don’t touch the kids. (For example getting vacuumed every-other night instead of every night.) However, we are dipping $2 million in reserves for next year to keep up what we already have. I overheard someone say “Affluence breeds education”. I have to think about that one for a while. It is humbling to have individuals go to bat for your life’s work.

8. 8 sharolyn
   22 April 2008 at 9:56 am

   This is the last comment I’ll make on this topic, first of all, because it can get sad, and also because this isn’t an educational blog and there are better angsty, ironic, Gen Xy things to discuss. This should leave no doubt that No Child Left Behind has fingerprints all over our curricula – Click the MP3 for “Test Me”.

   link

9. 9 michael lee
   22 April 2008 at 10:37 am

   I am sad in my heart.

   Shardyn, you should know by now that this isn’t a blog about anything, except the things people decide to talk about on any given day. Comment away!