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Friday, September 13, 2013

SALLY, DICK, AND JANE TO THE COMMON CORE AND DINOSAURS


Every once in a while I have to vent.  Sorry!  You might want to “delete” today.  Not THAT long ago I was a little girl starting first grade.  (60 years to those of you in your twenties seems like the dark ages, but in the history of mankind it was the blink of an eye.)  I was lucky because I attended kindergarten when it was a “kinder garden” full of blocks, housekeeping, stories, music, finger plays, painting, Kool aid (can you believe they actually served us that?), and cookies.  We played outside, had rest time, and did all that in two hours!!!

I didn’t learn how to read or write until I was in first grade.  “Look!  Look!  Look!  Oh, look, look, look!”  I could READ!  And, you know what?  I’m in my sixties now and I’m pretty good at reading and writing.  I figured it out!  When I look at the Common Core, I realize that I would have been an utter and complete failure by today’s standards.

But here’s some food for thought!  Are five and six year olds really that different now than they were sixty years ago?  Are their brains more developed?  How about their physical development?  What about social skills?  Independence?  Self-control?

And just because they may learn to read and write a little earlier, how will that stand them in the future?  The world is moving so fast and technology is a wonder and a worry.  But do children really have to run the race at the age of five to keep up?

My husband and I have saddled up and are ready for our trip to Mt. Rushmore!  Yeehaw!   I can’t wait for the chuck wagon dinner (yep, partner, we signed up for that), the zip line, and a view of George, Thomas, Teddy, and Abe.  And we will definitely check out the carving of Crazy Horse.  John flies home Monday and I get to share with teachers in Rapid City, Pierre, and Sioux Falls the rest of the week.  I can’t wait!
When I was 4 my parents took us to Rapid City and we visited Dinosaur Park.  I thought it was the most amazing and incredible place in the world!  I was talking to my older brother about revisiting the park and I commented that today’s child wouldn’t be too impressed with a bunch of cement dinosaurs.  They expect animation, sound, blinking lights, thunder, music…  It makes me a little sad.  LESS really was MORE!

I’ve got some good blogs ready for you while I’m gone, and I promise to bring you some special souvenirs when I come home!