"When I was a kid.. I was outside playing. Seriously."
I think the author of this piece is really trying to help his struggling child succeed. To that point, right out of the gate, we learn that his child was, "[...] significantly behind his class in handwriting, letter reversals and spelling." In addition, we learn that his child was also receiving additional help from his teacher, in order to help bring him up to his learning level and potential. Finally, the author later notes that, "[...] I'm taking an hour per day with this."
That said, while I understand the overall sentiment of your comment, it comes across as condescending in this specific case. We're not talking about a parent that is grinding his child through hours and hours of flashcards, with no opportunity to play outside; we're talking about a parent that is trying to help his child succeed and be at the same level of his peers, by taking 1 hour a day to work through a learning routine.
Exactly. Thank you for responding effectively to a post that I wanted to respond do, but didn't know where to start. How do you explain to a non-parent what life is like for a parent? Or to explain to a parent whose kid has not had challenges what life is like with those challenges?
Before starting flashcards, parent-teacher conferences were endless variations on, "I know your son is brilliant, but we have a real problem here." Before starting flashcards, my son would look at his homework and have meltdowns because he didn't know any of it. (I'd prefer a system in which a grade 1 kid didn't have homework, but that's an issue for another discussion.)
I started the routine to fix that problem. Of course once I am doing this routine anyways, I want it to be effective and pleasurable. And since it is a fairly large piece of my life, I have put a lot of thought into how to do it well. But this effort is "get my kid on track for his abilities", and not "make my kid a star".
It is sad that you have to spend an hour a day improving upon your sons inconsequential weakness instead of being able to foster his strenghts. If he is indeed brilliant he will one day pick up spelling through osmosis, or maybe not. It took me until 16. The guy who thaught me how to program never got the hang of it.
The reason you do it is because you rightfully fear that the system will punish him for it. Probably not because you think it is the greatest thing your son can aspire to.
The reason you do it is because you rightfully fear that the system will punish him for it.
I was not motivated by an abstract fear of consequences that he might face some day. I was motivated by the consequences that I saw him actually experiencing.
That said, while I do not personally value spelling, I do think it is valuable for him to understand the power of regular review for establishing mastery of material.
I think the author of this piece is really trying to help his struggling child succeed. To that point, right out of the gate, we learn that his child was, "[...] significantly behind his class in handwriting, letter reversals and spelling." In addition, we learn that his child was also receiving additional help from his teacher, in order to help bring him up to his learning level and potential. Finally, the author later notes that, "[...] I'm taking an hour per day with this."
That said, while I understand the overall sentiment of your comment, it comes across as condescending in this specific case. We're not talking about a parent that is grinding his child through hours and hours of flashcards, with no opportunity to play outside; we're talking about a parent that is trying to help his child succeed and be at the same level of his peers, by taking 1 hour a day to work through a learning routine.