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It's been a while! I think I have been getting progressively lazier lately, and considering that I was already quite the bum, I should probably do something to reverse that trend...
Anyways, let's talk about yesterday. Yesterday, I spent the entire morning with J's second grade class at the Grundschule. I had already developed some negative views of the school system here, so on the way to the school, I tried to neutralize them. "Keep an open mind", I told myself. "Be objective. Just because things here are done differently than you would do them, doesn't make them wrong - right?"
We begin the day at 8:45 am. The teacher comes in, and announces, "Guten Morgen, klasse 2e". The class responds, in unison, of course, "Guten Morgen, Frau Stern". (Names changed to protect the guilty...) Already, I feel like I have been transported to at least the beginning of the 20th century. "Think positive thoughts", I remind myself.
Next, we have the following dialogue (I am both translating and paraphrasing here, but I will try to convey the atmosphere correctly):
FS: So, who has done their homework yesterday.
(Pretty much the entire class raises hands. Except J, of course. We had gone to see the Lion King in Hamburg the night before. We left directly after school, and did not return until midnight - so no time for homework.)
FS: J, you did not do any homework last night?
J: No, I didn't
FS: Why not?
J: I didn't have any time.
FS (looking unpleased and with a sarcastic tone): You didn't have any time?
Me (Trying to explain and defend my son... Can she really be doing this with me sitting right here?): We went to Hamburg yesterday...
J: Yes, and we saw the Lion King.
FS (Laughs sardonically. Class laughs a bit timidly): Well, we would all like to see the Lion King on a Tuesday night... Well, you will just have more work tonight, won't you, J?
J(shrugs): Uhh... yeah...
Yep. Nothing like starting the day with a little public humiliation aimed at instilling a work ethic. Now I am sure there is a wormhole quite nearby, as this cannot possibly be happening in 2012.
Next, we have a round of random multiplication and division problems. The teacher asks questions such as 4 times 8 and 9 times 9 and 21 divided by 3. The kids raise their hands to answer. A couple of minutes go by, most kids raising their hands. J raises his - and the teacher calls on him, surprised to see his hand. Silence for what seems like a full minute. And he gives the correct answer! Auf Deutsch, even, although he was not able to repeat the question before giving the answer, as all the other children had done. Good job, J!
Oh - I should mention, Germans say their numbers backwards. Ok, I mean opposite of the English names of numbers. Twenty-eight is 'acht und zwanzig', or 'eight and twenty'. This is a triple-whammy for an American kid. First, he has to recognize the different word order, translate to English, and then solve the math problem. I am officially impressed.
After this, the kids are called to stand in two lines. The teacher stands at the front and asks another multiplication or division problem. The two kids in front are challenged to see who comes up with the correct answer first. The winner sits down, loser goes to the end of his line for another turn. First 'team' to run out of players wins.
When the game is finished, the kids all sit down and pull out their blue math binders. They are given worksheets with multiplication problem after multiplication problem. This essentially all the 'math' I have seen since January. Worksheets with multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. There are no applications. No connection to what these quantities mean, or why anyone would find it important to know such things. The class seems happy to do the work without any of these motivations. Well, everyone except J. He sits with his worksheet, sighs, does one problem, scratches, fidgets in his chair, sighs again, next problem, "3 times 7. Or 7 times 3. (He likes to repeat the commutative property nearly every time...) 7 times 3. 3,6,9,13 - wait - 12... start again... 3,6,9,12,15,18,21. 21." Sigh. Next problem. Scratch, fidget, eye rub, yawn... This last part goes on for 35 minutes. J gets about 1/3 of the work done.
This is why I am here. Frau Stern has been sending home notes. J needs to work harder in class. The TA labels him a 'dreamer' (which, frankly, I think is a compliment). It's pretty clear to me what is going on. The poor kid is bored out of his mind. Plus, he is clever. He knows that after every 45 minutes of this kind of thing, he gets to go outside and play for 15 minutes. He is just biding time, waiting to do something fun. The teacher thinks he is there to work, and gets 15 minutes rest in between. J knows he is there to play, with 45 minutes of waiting in between.
So, after the Morose and Mundane Math, we go outside and J smiles, plays, giggles and has a wonderful 15 minutes. Then, we head back inside for 'science'. I am not sure what the Germans mean by this - there was a whole unit on street signs for example, so it doesn't really look like a direct connection to the English word, but in any case, they are now doing a unit on field rabbits, and J is very interested in them. The kids are paired (the desks are already arranged so that each kid has a partner). One part of the pair reads aloud the first two paragraphs of an excerpt regarding rabbits, then the other kid reads the next two aloud. When everyone is done reading, the teacher asks questions about rabbits. J is paired with a visiting student teacher, so he reads the entire thing aloud. I am pleased to observe that he has managed to learn to read German in the past 2 months. Excellent! The teacher asks questions, kids raise hands and answer. J does not raise his hand. At some point, the teacher asks him a question directly. He answers it readily, and she seems quite surprised. I am not, but then again, I know him a lot better than she does.
Bell rings. Another 15 minutes of joy. Even better - after this break - SPORT! (sport = P.E.). Whenever we ask J about his school day here, he always says 'great!', followed by 'In sport, we played X', or 'During the break, I got a turn on the swing!'. What about the rest of the day? 'Oh, the same as always... guess what we did in sport!'
During sport, the teacher asks me what I thought of the math lesson. In retrospect, I guess she may have been asking about how J doesn't seem to be working very hard, but I took her literally, and tried to sound as neutral as possible. "Well, it is just very different from what he is doing back home." Defensive already, she asks, "What do you mean?" "Well", I say, "there isn't so much focus on memorization. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is recommending an emphasis on concept, rather than computation... The kids just don't work as hard on memorizing multiplication facts." She seems genuinely perplexed, which is understandable. Eins mal eins (multiplication facts) are sacred here - a right of passage. M is still traumatized from learning his almost 35 years ago. I change the subject. "J loves the unit on rabbits. I have heard more about field rabbits this week than I ever thought possible." This lightens the conversation, and we talk more about the things that are going well - he has friends, he loves sport, etc. I tell her more about how J really needs to be internally motivated to do things well. She asks if we haven't considered putting him in a Waldorf school here.
I guess Waldorf would have been a much better fit. But, unfortunately, those schools are full (I do not wonder why...). Besides, we really just want him to go to school with kids from the neighborhood, make friends, learn German, and have a positive experience overall. The truth is, we are fine with how things are going. If we were to stay here for any longer period of time, yes, we would have to find something more academically appealing.
We have been telling the folks at both schools exactly this - but somehow, it seems to have a hard time sinking in. Guess we will just have to keep trying!
It seems the teacher is a bit old school. I remember those games, 2 lines, 2 competitors, one sits down and one goes back in line. I thought it was a lot of, stirred up the routine. Thinking of A's math, I am not impressed either by the daily litany of columns of 20-4, 20-5, 20-6, 20-7, ... in his Montessori environment. He figured out quickly how to get through those without actually doing calculations. This cannot be new school.
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear you guys are having a lot of fun and are subjected to a lot of new experiences.
Andreas, A is *supposed* to figure out how to do the problems without computation. That is the intent. Mathematics, conceptually, is about patterns. If he can do the problem without computation, he has recognized the pattern - a much more mathematical exercise than repeating the same computations over and over again, gaining nothing than rote memorization. Also notice that he was not taught the pattern. He was given a series of problems that demonstrate it, and he was left to discover it on his own. Really, it is no accident that the problems are given in those strings!
DeleteAlso, those problems are all done with manipulatives. Often, the kids are supposed to be learning how to use the materials with the simple problems, so that they can use them later to do more complicated works.
If you have time, you should read up a bit on Montessori math pedagogy. Pretty much everything is tied to higher mathematical ideas, directly from the beginning. The manipulatives they use are incredibly intuitive - I am continually impressed that a non-mathematician created them. Maria seems to have had a very natural grasp of mathematical concepts.
In the meantime, at least be comforted that Mathematics education in Germany is at least no better than in the U.S. This 'old school' teacher is in her mid-30s, and our nephews have had similar 'training'.
Janice.
DeleteThe little one figured out not only to count down from 10 to 0 repeatedly but also the minimum amount of those boring exercises he needs to get done to avoid spending silent lunch at the table of shame. I was hoping that there is more forwarding motivation applied because I cannot imagine that the kids grasp the Montessori concept well enough to be motivated by itself. Chocolate would do it for Alexander.
BTW, the new Lakewood school has presented itself in a fantastic manner. If only two thirds of what we learned is actually realized, this is the place to be.
Hope all is well. Andreas
Glad to hear that Lakewood is looking good! We are really looking forward to having Z there!
DeleteIf J were in A's class, I would be having regular meetings with the teacher. If A has mastered the exercise, he should be moved on. (How is her level of training, btw? Watts has had issues with experienced, but so-not-Montessori teachers coming in...) I believe that most teachers sincerely want what is best for the kids, so communicating that you do not feel his needs are being met is an important first step. After that, there are discussions with administration, followed by written communication with administration. Perhaps, as a last resort, request to transfer to another class. I assure you, they are not all the same.
Whenever Z had well-trained, competent Montessori teachers, he loved school. J has always had such teachers, and he loves school... then again, the 'consequence' of acting out in his primary classroom was 'sitting at the peace table' - a nice quite corner with a little table, aroma therapy candles and a fresh flower. The idea was to allow the child time alone to find his/her 'quiet place'.
Table of Shame??? Never. If either of my kids were put in 'Silent Lunch', there would be a conversation with the principal. No six-year-old should be punished for not accomplishing enough work. Lunch is an important time for social interaction!
I would also look at the DPS wellness policy, and see if there is any language that can be applied to get rid of that particular 'discipline'. Oh, and it is against DPS policy to withhold recess, as well as to make kids do physical work as punishment. I have seen these happen and have heard of incidents at other schools. These things need to be brought to the attention of administration. They can help - but only if they know what is happening. Many teachers honestly do not know that there are alternatives to punishment to keep kids going in the right direction.
One of the best parts of DPS is that what parents say matters. It may not be apparent on first go-round. Sometimes you have to make repeated contacts to get your message across - but the teachers do care, the administrators do listen, and you can be a powerful advocate for your child. Take advantage of that!!!
Dudette, you skipped all of April. Post! Post!
ReplyDelete