standards or snobbery?

I am not sure if I am a snob or have high standards. Some would say that these are inclusive terms.

My oldest daughter received some books in the mail from my parents today. They were for kids her age in the English school system. I was curious to see what her English peers were up to and how it compared to our system here.

Needless to say I was horrified. The English system - or the examples provided- were so far ahead of the paltry offerings from our schools.

After an initial whine about doing some work my daughter soon enjoyed the challenges and felt better about solving the problems. This was an exercise where children had to match patterns for particular sounds,in this case "ie, y, igh, i/e" for the long "I" sound and then provide another example using the same pattern.

It quickly became apparent that the language held many more spelling anomalies than anticipated but any problem could be resolved. There was a discussion that followed about language and how and why it functions as it does. Best of all the hard work was rewarded with the ever-powerful gold star.

If a gold star is all it takes to elevate the level at which our children perform I am out to buy a boat load.


I shall position my soap box and edit the rant.

We live in a state where we want the best of everything and are particular about every detail no matter how small. We order ridiculous drinks (guilty- Peet's extra bold with an extra shot, cocoa and no whip) and could almost name the bloody cow the milk comes from BUT we overlook the academic development of our children.

We are prepared to settle for 48th out of 50 states for our standards in education but woe betide the poor barista who may accidentally use 2%. Not good enough.

Why are we demanding so little from our children? Yes they need to socialise but they also need a fundamental grounding in education that will prepare them for all of their academic endeavours not some hand-holding colour page.

Children need to aim as high as they can and be given material that will challenge and stimulate curiosity. It is never to early to start.

Every child is an individual and mandated testing does not allow for that, I know. I also appreciate that this issue is way more complicated than my simplistic rant but I care too much and know that we can get our kids, no matter their ability, to strive for more and succeed. All it takes is gold stars and a fun approach.

California needs to buck up its ideas and stop pandering to children and do-gooders who believe they know best and start educating properly.

I am looking for a job in education so stay tuned.