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Quantity or Quality

by Fireman Dad

Jan 18, 2010

Ok, here is kinda how I see it...

If you take a drive through the woods in a scenic national park and drive at 50 mph, you are likely to see a lot of things. You will remember some overlooks, a cabin, a waterfall, a babbling little brook and maybe see a deer cross the road in front of you. If you drive at 25mph, it stands to reason you will notice things you missed driving at 50mph. Maybe a bear and her cub, the other 5 deer that you missed the first time, a picnic area that you didnt see, and another road that takes you to a historical site. The drive won't seem as rushed and its easier to focus on what you are seeing, thus understandably a more enjoyable ride. The more enjoyable the ride, the more likely you are to do it again. If you drive at 50 mph, it was more like you were just trying to get to the end and accumulate miles on your car instead of enjoying the ride. When people ask you about the ride, instead of saying we saw a deer, a waterfall and rode 50 miles, you coul...See MoreOk, here is kinda how I see it...

If you take a drive through the woods in a scenic national park and drive at 50 mph, you are likely to see a lot of things. You will remember some overlooks, a cabin, a waterfall, a babbling little brook and maybe see a deer cross the road in front of you. If you drive at 25mph, it stands to reason you will notice things you missed driving at 50mph. Maybe a bear and her cub, the other 5 deer that you missed the first time, a picnic area that you didnt see, and another road that takes you to a historical site. The drive won't seem as rushed and its easier to focus on what you are seeing, thus understandably a more enjoyable ride. The more enjoyable the ride, the more likely you are to do it again. If you drive at 50 mph, it was more like you were just trying to get to the end and accumulate miles on your car instead of enjoying the ride. When people ask you about the ride, instead of saying we saw a deer, a waterfall and rode 50 miles, you could tell them about the ride instead of how far you went and several things you remember seeing.

Instead of focusing on each others argument and formulating a counterargument, lets focus on the children and their reading habits and attitude. I dont believe that anyone is trying to degrade teachers by questioning AR. There are 2 sides to this beast, no doubt. The teachers want respect for their opinions, and rightfully so, but when they make posts like the "enough is enough" by "I'll say it" and "to all the parents invading this chatroom" that are dripping with sarcasm, it tends to be self defeating. If you are truly the professional teachers that you claim, then listen to some of the parents here. I understand you may not have the same views about it, but in the end, what we are asking for is for someone to address our issues with the respect that you seem to want. Perception is reality and what we are telling you about our children is reality. Do you think we are making this up just to run Deb, Ima and others off the chatboard? I believe every parent and teacher wants the kids to read well and often. I believe the goal is the same but we are having differences with the means. I feel the teachers here are not willing to see the forest for the trees because of an "I have training and you dont" attitude. Please dont take the issues personal and give an honest look at the whole. The old saying you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar comes to mind here. I feel the kids are having AR forced down their throats so hard and fast that it is choking them. I feel they will resent it for years to come, and as soon as the points and quizzes stop at what ever grade, they will be so relieved, that they will not read because of it.

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Sounds Right to Me On 1/18/10, Fireman Dad wrote: > Ok, here is kinda how I see it... > > If you take a drive through the woods in a scenic national > park and drive at 50 mph, you are likely to see a lot of > things. You will remember some overlooks, a cabin, a > waterfall, a babbling little brook and maybe see a deer > cross the road in front o...See MoreOn 1/18/10, Fireman Dad wrote: > Ok, here is kinda how I see it... > > If you take a drive through the woods in a scenic national > park and drive at 50 mph, you are likely to see a lot of > things. You will remember some overlooks, a cabin, a > waterfall, a babbling little brook and maybe see a deer > cross the road in front of you. > If you drive at 25mph, it stands to reason you will notice > things you missed driving at 50mph. Maybe a bear and her > cub, the other 5 deer that you missed the first time, a > picnic area that you didnt see, and another road that takes > you to a historical site. The drive won't seem as rushed > and its easier to focus on what you are seeing, thus > understandably a more enjoyable ride. > The more enjoyable the ride, the more likely you are to do > it again. If you drive at 50 mph, it was more like you > were just trying to get to the end and accumulate miles on > your car instead of enjoying the ride. > When people ask you about the ride, instead of saying we > saw a deer, a waterfall and rode 50 miles, you could tell > them about the ride instead of how far you went and several > things you remember seeing. > > > > Instead of focusing on each others argument and formulating > a counterargument, lets focus on the children and their > reading habits and attitude. > I dont believe that anyone is trying to degrade teachers by > questioning AR. There are 2 sides to this beast, no > doubt. > The teachers want respect for their opinions, and > rightfully so, but when they make posts like the "enough is > enough" by "I'll say it" and "to all the parents invading > this chatroom" that are dripping with sarcasm, it tends to > be self defeating. > If you are truly the professional teachers that you claim, > then listen to some of the parents here. I understand you > may not have the same views about it, but in the end, what > we are asking for is for someone to address our issues with > the respect that you seem to want. > Perception is reality and what we are telling you about our > children is reality. Do you think we are making this up > just to run Deb, Ima and others off the chatboard? > I believe every parent and teacher wants the kids to read > well and often. I believe the goal is the same but we are > having differences with the means. I feel the teachers > here are not willing to see the forest for the trees > because of an "I have training and you dont" attitude. > Please dont take the issues personal and give an honest > look at the whole. > The old saying you catch more flies with honey than with > vinegar comes to mind here. I feel the kids are having AR > forced down their throats so hard and fast that it is > choking them. I feel they will resent it for years to come, > and as soon as the points and quizzes stop at what ever > grade, they will be so relieved, that they will not read > because of it.

Jan 24, 2010

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