I'm not american so had to look that up, is this it?
It sounds good on paper, but if you're saying that your son's school need to spend the majority of their time on math and reading just to meet the standards, then either the standards aren't realistic or the school is not managing their resources well.
The only way to do math is to do lots of practice. No getting away with that, perhaps in the US it's controversial to assign "too much" homework (the first time someone told me that assigning more than 1 hour of homework is too much, I thought he was joking), so instead of doing that they're making the kids practice using precious school time. In asia we're perfectly fine with assigning at least 3 hours of homework each day, and we turn out quite balanced and happy
. I do think asia is a little extreme, but I think the west is generally extreme in being soft. But yea, that could be what is going on.
Quote:No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act authorizes several federal education programs that are administered by the states. The law is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Under the 2002 law, states are required to test students in reading and math in grades 3–8 and once in high school. All students are expected to meet or exceed state standards in reading and math by 2014.
The major focus of No Child Left Behind is to close student achievement gaps by providing all children with a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education. The U.S. Department of Education emphasizes four pillars within the bill:
Accountability: to ensure those students who are disadvantaged, achieve academic proficiency.
Flexibility: Allows school districts flexibility in how they use federal education funds to improve student achievement.
Research-based education: Emphasizes educational programs and practices that have been proven effective through scientific research.
Parent options: Increases the choices available to the parents of students attending Title I schools.
It sounds good on paper, but if you're saying that your son's school need to spend the majority of their time on math and reading just to meet the standards, then either the standards aren't realistic or the school is not managing their resources well.
The only way to do math is to do lots of practice. No getting away with that, perhaps in the US it's controversial to assign "too much" homework (the first time someone told me that assigning more than 1 hour of homework is too much, I thought he was joking), so instead of doing that they're making the kids practice using precious school time. In asia we're perfectly fine with assigning at least 3 hours of homework each day, and we turn out quite balanced and happy
. I do think asia is a little extreme, but I think the west is generally extreme in being soft. But yea, that could be what is going on.
